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Funding for your situation

Funding a second machine shop location: what it costs and how it gets sized.

What a second machine shop site really takes in cash, how Merchant Fund Express reads the file, and a worked sizing example with illustrative numbers.

✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.

Why this is a funding moment

A second machine shop location is the clearest sign the model works, and the moment cash gets tightest. A customer has a recurring program, but a second machine is needed to hold lead times. The money for the new site is spent months before the first customer arrives: deposits, build-out, equipment and payroll all come due while the original keeps paying its own bills.

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.

Typical useOpening cash for another site
TimelineSame-day decision on a complete file; funding typically the next business day after signing
CreditMinimum FICO is 500; better credit means better offers
DocumentsAbout three months of business bank statements and a short application

A machine shop file is read through customer concentration and receivable aging, equipment already financed and backlog.

Customer invoices on net 30 to 60 days, with materials and payroll paid up front. 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 spindle replacement or a coolant system can run $18,000 to $18,000 and interrupt revenue while it is down.

The documents that usually matter most for a machine shop are the machine quote and purchase orders and aging report, alongside the bank statements.

What the review looks at

Whether the existing machine shop deposits can carry the new payment on their own
A signed lease or letter of intent, and a realistic opening date
How much of the opening is already paid for out of your own cash
Customer concentration and receivable aging
Equipment already financed
Backlog

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 worked example for a second machine shop site

Cost itemIllustrative amount
Lease and electrical upgrade$40,000
Machines$250,000
Tooling and inspection$35,000
Cushion for overruns and slow early weeks (about 10%)$32,500
Funding need for the second site$357,500

Sizing check. If the full repayment shown in an offer were $465,000 over about 26 weeks, the weekly debit would be about $17,885. Against illustrative monthly deposits of $360,000 (about $83,077 a week), that is roughly 22% 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.

What the money usually covers

Lease and electrical upgrade ($40,000)

Due at signing, so it comes out of cash before the space earns anything.

Machines ($250,000)

A fixed purchase with a quote you can put in front of a funder.

Tooling and inspection ($35,000)

A real cost of the move that is easy to leave out of the first estimate.

Documents that speed it up

Three months of business bank statements
A completed application
A government-issued ID for the owner
The machine quote
Purchase orders and aging report
A lease or letter of intent for the new space

A complete file is what makes a same-day decision possible. If something is missing, tell us and we will work around it.

Options to compare

Working capital loans: Lump-sum capital sized on your deposits, for a defined need with a clear payback.
Business line of credit: A reusable pool you draw on and repay, useful when costs arrive in pieces.
Business term loans: A fixed schedule for a larger, longer project, if the file supports it.
Equipment financing: Built around the equipment itself, which often keeps the payment tied to what it earns.
How funders read a machine shop: Industry-specific notes on what the file needs.
Factor rate calculator: Run your own numbers before accepting an offer.
More funding situations: Other growth, operating and recovery moments.

What to watch out for

Funding the build-out but not the opening months of rent and payroll, which is when machine shops are cash-poor
Opening before the current location(s) can carry both without borrowing from next week
Counting projected sales at the new site as repayment capacity; a file is read on current deposits
Leaving out business license and ITAR registration where applicable, which can delay an opening while the rent runs

Common questions

How much can I get to open a second machine shop location?

Amounts are sized on your current deposits and existing obligations, not on the new site's projections. Merchant Fund Express reviews your last few months of business bank statements and gives a same-day decision on a complete file; funding is typically the next business day after signing. The how much can I borrow page shows what drives the number.

Do I need a signed lease first?

Funders generally want to see a lease or letter of intent, because it shows the opening is real and what occupancy will cost. If you are still negotiating, tell us; the file can often be prepared in parallel.

Will the new location's sales count toward the request?

Not until they exist. The review is built on the deposits you have today, plus clearly documented, already-paid opening costs.

What credit score do I need?

The minimum FICO is 500, and better credit means better products and terms. See credit score requirements for how the tiers work.

See what you qualify for

Merchant Fund Express gives a same-day decision on a complete file. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.

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