Funding for your situation
What commercial landlords ask for at signing and how to fund it without delaying the opening.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Commercial leases ask for a lot at signing: the first month, last month, a security deposit, sometimes a personal liability clause or letter of credit. The total is often several months of rent before you open. That bill lands before the build-out, the inventory or the payroll, so it is the first thing to fund.
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.
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.
| Cost item | Illustrative amount |
|---|---|
| First month and last month rent | $12,000 |
| Security deposit | $9,000 |
| Legal and broker fees | $3,500 |
| Utility deposits and set-up | $2,500 |
| Cushion for overruns and slow early weeks (about 10%) | $2,500 |
| Cash needed at signing | $29,500 |
Sizing check. If the full repayment shown in an offer were $39,000 over about 26 weeks, the weekly debit would be about $1,500. Against illustrative monthly deposits of $25,000 (about $5,769 a week), that is roughly 26% 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 at signing.
Often one to three months of rent.
Smaller, but real.
Water, power and gas set-up.
A complete file is what makes a same-day decision possible. If something is missing, tell us and we will work around it.
Here is what happens after you apply with Merchant Fund Express: the application is reviewed against the factors on this page, you get a same-day decision on a complete file, and funding is typically the next business day after signing. If something is missing, we say exactly what.
Yes, as working capital. The lease or letter of intent is what the file needs.
That is a conversation with the landlord. We can help you plan the cash around it.
Often it is better to fund the whole opening in one request, so the sizing covers everything.
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.
