Funding for your situation
What buying a catering company takes in cash beyond the price, how files are read for acquisitions, and a worked example.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
The purchase price is only part of buying a catering company. Inventory, equipment, working capital and the transition period all draw cash. A corporate client wants weekly lunches, and the food cost and payroll hit weeks before the first invoice is paid.
Merchant Fund Express is a funding marketplace: you apply once, and the file is matched to the structure that fits it. The sections below show what this situation usually costs, how a funder reads it, and what to prepare.
Wedding season, corporate holidays and graduation weekends decide the year. For a catering company, that rhythm decides when a funding request reads best and how it should be repaid.
What it looks like on the ground: a corporate client wants weekly lunches, and the food cost and payroll hit weeks before the first invoice is paid.
Compliance touchpoints for a catering company often include catering license and commissary agreement, which can come up when the request involves a new site, a purchase or a significant change.
A catering company file is read through deposit-to-balance flow and how much is paid before the event, corporate receivables aging and seasonality across twelve months.
A real cost of the move that is easy to leave out of the first estimate.
A fixed purchase with a quote you can put in front of a funder.
A real cost of the move that is easy to leave out of the first estimate.
Often front-loaded and easy to leave out of the first estimate.
| Cost item | Illustrative amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price or down payment (illustrative) | $31,500 |
| Equipment updates: van refrigeration unit | $9,400 |
| Working capital for the first 8 weeks | $9,500 |
| Legal, transfer and licensing costs (catering license) | $3,500 |
| Cushion for overruns and slow early weeks (about 10%) | $5,500 |
| Total cash to close and operate | $59,400 |
Sizing check. If the full repayment shown in an offer were $77,000 over about 26 weeks, the weekly debit would be about $2,962. Against illustrative monthly deposits of $65,000 (about $15,000 a week), that is roughly 20% of weekly deposits. Your own offer states the real repayment amount in dollars; run your numbers on the factor rate calculator before you accept anything.
Source: worksheet by Merchant Fund Express. Illustrative only: these figures are not an offer, and real amounts depend on your file and the funder.
These are the same factors described on revenue and deposit requirements and time in business. Merchant Fund Express walks you through how your own file reads before you apply.
A complete file is what makes a same-day decision possible. If something is missing, tell us and we will work around it.
Often as part of a package: a purchase component through a term loan or other structure, plus working capital for operations. The details depend on the file.
It supports the plan, but the review is built on your file and the documentation you provide. The seller's statements help show what the business earns.
Check how catering license transfers before committing. Regulated businesses vary by file, and Merchant Fund Express will tell you plainly what is needed.
The minimum FICO is 500, and better credit means better products and terms. See credit score requirements for how the tiers work.
Merchant Fund Express gives a same-day decision on a complete file. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
