Funding for your situation
How a restaurant can fund a recovery after a down stretch, what funders want explained, and a worked example.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
When deposits fall, fixed costs do not. For a restaurant, most sales are card and tip-adjusted, so deposits are daily and easy to read, but food cost and payroll are paid first. The bridge has to be sized to the recovery, not to the worst week.
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.
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.
The documents that usually matter most for a restaurant are the lease or letter of intent for the space and a contractor bid or equipment quote, alongside the bank statements.
Patio weather, holidays and local events move covers up and down by the week. For a restaurant, that rhythm decides when a funding request reads best and how it should be repaid.
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 |
|---|---|
| Fixed costs not covered by deposits for 8 weeks | $34,500 |
| Supplier catch-up or deposits to restore terms | $16,000 |
| Deferred maintenance: walk-in cooler compressor | $6,500 |
| Marketing or outreach to rebuild volume | $8,500 |
| Cash buffer to avoid negative days | $11,000 |
| Cushion for overruns and slow early weeks (about 10%) | $7,500 |
| Recovery bridge to size | $84,000 |
Sizing check. If the full repayment shown in an offer were $109,000 over about 26 weeks, the weekly debit would be about $4,192. Against illustrative monthly deposits of $65,000 (about $15,000 a week), that is roughly 28% 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.
Due at signing, so it comes out of cash before the space earns anything.
Due at signing, so it comes out of cash before the space earns anything.
A fixed purchase with a quote you can put in front of a funder.
The spend that fills the new capacity, which is why it belongs in the plan.
A real cost of the move that is easy to leave out of the first estimate.
A complete file is what makes a same-day decision possible. If something is missing, tell us and we will work around it.
Often yes, if recent deposits show a floor and the explanation is credible. Options include revenue-based financing and working capital.
A short written explanation, the most recent statements and any evidence of the recovery: new contracts, restored supply, reopened locations.
We look at three months or more, and the explanation matters. A file with a clear cause and a visible floor reads differently than a trend without one.
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.
