Funding for your situation
What the first hire really costs beyond the wage, and how to fund the weeks before the role pays for itself.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
The first employee changes the business from a one-person operation to a payroll. The wage is the visible cost; payroll taxes, insurance, equipment and your own time training are the rest. The ramp matters most: new hires are not at full productivity for weeks.
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.
| Cost item | Illustrative amount |
|---|---|
| Wages for 8 weeks | $11,000 |
| Payroll taxes and workers compensation | $2,400 |
| Equipment, tools and software | $3,500 |
| Recruiting and onboarding | $1,800 |
| Reserve for early mistakes | $2,500 |
| Cushion for overruns and slow early weeks (about 10%) | $2,000 |
| Cost of the first hire | $23,200 |
Sizing check. If the full repayment shown in an offer were $30,000 over about 26 weeks, the weekly debit would be about $1,154. Against illustrative monthly deposits of $25,000 (about $5,769 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.
Paid before the role generates its own revenue.
The cost on top of the wage.
Everything the person needs to start.
Often the biggest cost, and unpaid.
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.
Applying with Merchant Fund Express is a single application. We review it the same day on a complete file, explain what the numbers say in plain terms, and fund typically the next business day after signing. Nothing here affects your credit score to check.
A small working capital amount or a line of credit sized to the ramp.
That is a business and legal decision. Funding works either way, but classification matters.
Deposits that show the demand and a plan that ties the hire to revenue.
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.
