Funding for your situation
How a sole proprietor running a restaurant is reviewed, which records matter most and what to fix before applying.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Being a sole proprietor does not close any doors for a restaurant. It does mean the owner's credit and the business deposits are read together, so clean records matter. Patio weather, holidays and local events move covers up and down by the 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.
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.
Even without an LLC.
The same name and ID on documents and statements.
For a restaurant: card, ACH and any cash deposited.
Hood and line equipment or similar.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Months of business deposits | 3 |
| Minimum FICO considered | 500 |
| Typical documents needed | 3 |
| Application time in minutes | 5 |
Why it works. The review is built on deposits and credit, not entity type. See funding for independent contractors and funding with a mixed personal and business account.
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.
Yes. Sole proprietors can apply and the same products are available. Merchant Fund Express reviews the deposits and credit.
Not to apply. Whether to form one is a legal and tax decision with its own considerations.
Move business income through a business account and keep three months of clean statements.
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.
