Funding for your situation
How funding works for a restaurant in its first months and a short file, and what to build before you apply.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
A new restaurant owner has a short file by definition. Funders weigh time in business, deposits and credit, and the first two are still being written. The line is full on Friday and Saturday, but the second dining room has been dark since the last tenant left.
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.
Compliance touchpoints for a restaurant often include health department plan review and certificate of occupancy, which can come up when the request involves a new site, a purchase or a significant change.
A restaurant file is read through card and total deposits over the last three months, and how steady they are week to week, whether a lease, build-out or equipment purchase is already paid for or is what the funds are for and existing advances or loans debiting the same account.
Most sales are card and tip-adjusted, so deposits are daily and easy to read, but food cost and payroll are paid first. A reviewer sees that pattern in the statements before reading a word of the application.
Equipment is part of the picture. A failure such as a walk-in cooler compressor or a dishwasher replacement can run $6,500 to $7,800 and interrupt revenue while it is down.
Business income flowing through a business account.
The single most useful thing to build.
Sized to deposits and tied to a use.
Health department plan review and insurance in place.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Months of business deposits so far | 3 |
| Average monthly deposits (illustrative) | $43,000 |
| A modest first request (illustrative) | $26,000 |
| Minimum FICO considered | 500 |
| Typical documents needed | 3 |
How it is read. A new restaurant file is judged on how the deposits behave and how the request sits against them. See time in business and funding with a new owner.
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.
Sometimes, depending on deposits and the size of the request. Merchant Fund Express gives a same-day decision on a complete file; the minimum FICO is 500.
Often a few more months of clean deposits make the same request easier and cheaper. We can tell you where the file stands today.
The seller's history helps the plan, but the review is built on your file. See funding with a new owner.
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.
