Industries

Funding guides for 48 industries.

How the money moves, when it gets tight and what fits, industry by industry.

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Start with your industry

At Merchant Fund Express, we organise funding information by industry, use and place so you can find the page that matches your problem.

Every industry has its own rhythm of cash in and cash out. Each guide below explains how the money moves in that business, when it gets tight, which funding structure tends to fit each need and what underwriters read on its bank statements, then links to every funding page written for it.

Food, drink and hospitality

Restaurants — Card and cash receipts settling daily, plus delivery-platform payouts that arrive weekly net of commission.

Coffee shops — High-frequency, low-ticket card and mobile payments with daily settlements and a morning rush.

Bakeries — Mostly counter sales by card and cash, with wholesale and catering orders billed weekly or at delivery.

Bars and nightclubs — Card tabs and cash across late-night hours, with deposits landing the next business day and weekends settling Monday.

Catering companies — Event deposits up front, final payments at or after the event, and corporate accounts billed on 30-day terms.

Food trucks — Card and cash sales at events, lunches and festivals, with variable daily totals.

Trades and construction

Construction companies — Progress billings and draws from owners, developers or general contractors, paid after inspections and sign-offs.

Concrete contractors — Progress payments from general contractors and homeowners, usually after milestones are inspected.

Excavation contractors — Progress payments and job-completion payments from contractors, developers and municipalities.

Electrical contractors — Progress payments from general contractors, plus service calls paid at completion by card.

Plumbing and HVAC contractors — Service calls paid at completion by card, plus installation projects billed in stages and commercial accounts on terms.

Roofing contractors — Deposits and progress payments, with insurance-claim jobs paid on the insurer’s timeline.

Painting contractors — Deposits to book a job and the balance at completion, with commercial work billed on terms.

Flooring contractors — Deposits when jobs are booked and final payments at completion, with contractor accounts billed on terms.

Landscaping companies — Recurring maintenance contracts billed monthly plus one-time design and installation projects.

Nurseries and garden centres — In-store card sales that peak sharply in spring, plus landscaper accounts billed on terms.

Auto, transport and logistics

Auto repair shops — Customers pay at pickup by card, with a smaller share of cash and a few fleet accounts billed on terms.

Car washes — Card and membership billing, with weather-driven daily swings in single washes.

Trucking companies — Brokers and shippers pay on 30 to 60-day terms, with quick-pay or factoring available at a fee.

Freight and logistics companies — Broker and shipper payments, often on 30 to 60-day terms, with quick-pay options at a fee.

Moving companies — Deposits when a move is booked and final payment at delivery, usually by card.

Health, beauty and care

Medical practices — A blend of copays, cash-pay patients and insurer or programme reimbursements with 30 to 60-day lags.

Dental practices — A blend of patient card payments and insurance reimbursements that arrive weeks after procedures.

Chiropractic practices — Patient copays and cash-pay visits by card, with insurance reimbursements arriving 30 to 60 days after visits.

Physical therapy clinics — A blend of copays, cash-pay sessions and insurer reimbursements that arrive weeks after sessions.

Veterinary practices — Client payments by card at checkout, plus insurance and wellness-plan billing.

Home health agencies — Reimbursements from insurers, Medicare/Medicaid programmes or private pay that arrive after services are delivered.

Day spas and med spas — Appointment and package payments by card, with memberships and retail products adding recurring income.

Hair salons — Appointment payments and tips by card, with retail product and chair rentals adding recurring income.

Barbershops — Chair rentals or commissions plus card and cash tips, with deposits landing daily.

Gyms and fitness studios — Recurring membership billing by card or ACH, plus class packs, personal training and retail.

Pet grooming businesses — Appointment payments by card and tips at the end of each visit.

Daycare centres — Tuition billed monthly or weekly by parents, plus subsidy payments that can arrive on delay.

Retail and ecommerce

Clothing stores — In-store card sales and ecommerce payouts, with strong spikes around seasons and sales events.

Furniture stores — In-store card sales, financing programmes that pay out later, and online orders.

Hardware stores — In-store card and cash sales, plus contractor accounts billed monthly.

Jewellery stores — In-store card sales with larger ticket sizes and seasonal gift peaks, plus repair work.

Convenience stores — High-volume card and cash sales with lottery, tobacco and fuel handled on separate settlement timing.

Gas stations — Card and cash fuel sales plus in-store sales, with fuel margin thin relative to volume.

Grocery stores — High-volume card, EBT and cash sales with daily settlement and a mix of payment types.

Liquor stores — In-store card and cash sales with price-sensitive volume and holiday peaks.

Ecommerce businesses — Marketplace and processor payouts arriving on a schedule that can run weekly or biweekly, with reserves held back.

Services and manufacturing

Cleaning companies — Recurring clients billed monthly or per visit, plus one-time jobs paid by card or ACH.

Security companies — Contract billing to commercial and government clients, paid on 30 to 60-day terms.

Staffing agencies — Clients are invoiced weekly or biweekly for placed workers, with payment on 30 to 60-day terms.

Printing companies — Jobs billed on delivery to business customers, with online orders paid by card.

Machine shops — Purchase-order work billed on completion, with customers paying on 30 to 60-day terms.

Laundromats — Coin, card-reader and app payments collected from machines, plus wash-dry-fold service revenue.

How the guides fit together

Each guide links to the product pages for that industry, the situations it faces (payroll, inventory, equipment repair, slow season, emergencies, large contracts), the qualification page and the state and city funding directory. For the twenty largest industries there are four deeper pages: term loans, refinancing an existing advance, funding a new business and SBA alternatives. Browse by use instead on the uses of funds pages, or by place in the funding directory.

Common questions

Is my industry eligible?

Most small-business industries are eligible. Find yours above, or see eligible industries. Eligibility varies by industry and funder. Merchant Fund Express shows the exact amount, schedule and total cost in your offer before you sign.

What credit score is needed?

The minimum FICO is 500, and the better your credit, the better your offer. Merchant Fund Express publishes its terms and thresholds before you apply.

How fast can I be funded?

A decision is typically same day, with funding usually the next business day.