Use of funds: compliance
When an inspector, fire marshal or landlord gives you a date, the question is not whether to pay but how to pay without missing the deadline or starving the business. Here is the timeline and the cost comparison.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Updated October 13, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
A code-required upgrade, such as a new kitchen hood and exhaust, a fire suppression system, a sprinkler tie-in or an accessible restroom or entrance, is a cost you cannot skip. The real choice is between paying it from cash, splitting it with the contractor or landlord, financing the equipment, or using short-term funding. Short-term funding fits when the deadline is closer than slower money can arrive and the cost of being shut down or fined is larger than the funding cost.
If the deadline is months away, or the contractor will take payments, start there. Speed only earns its price when the date is close.
A restaurant receives a written notice on Tuesday, Oct 13, 2026, with 60 days to replace its hood exhaust and fire suppression system. Deadline: Saturday, Dec 12, 2026.
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| Oct 13 | Notice received; request two contractor bids |
| Oct 16 | Bids in; pick contractor, confirm equipment lead time (3 weeks) |
| Oct 20 | Apply with bids, notice and 3 months of statements |
| Oct 21 to 22 | Same-day decision on a complete file; funds in as little as 24 hours if qualified |
| Oct 23 | Contractor orders equipment |
| Nov 13 | Equipment arrives |
| Nov 16 to 20 | Installation |
| Nov 23 | Re-inspection requested |
| Dec 12 | Deadline, with 19 days of buffer |
The buffer is the point. Every week spent deciding how to pay comes out of the buffer, not out of the installer's schedule.
Assumptions: total cost $43,000 (hood and exhaust $27,500, suppression system $11,800, electrical tie-in $2,300, permit and re-inspection fees $1,400). Sales are $3,100 a day, six days a week, about $18,600 a week, at a 65% gross margin. Funding is illustrated at a 1.30 factor with no fee deducted, repaid weekly over 26 weeks.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Funding and net proceeds | $43,000 |
| Total repayment at 1.30 | $55,900 |
| Cost of the funding | $12,900 |
| Weekly payment, 26 weeks | $2,150 (about 11.6% of weekly sales) |
| Payments run | Oct 26, 2026 to Apr 19, 2027 |
| Two weeks closed (12 operating days) | $37,200 in lost sales, $24,180 in lost gross profit |
If the alternative is missing the deadline and closing for even two weeks, the $12,900 funding cost is smaller than the $24,180 in lost gross profit, before counting staff you keep paying and customers who do not come back. If you qualify for a Tier 1 line of credit, the same $43,000 drawn and repaid in four equal monthly payments of $10,750 costs about $1,075 at 1% per month (interest on $43,000, $32,250, $21,500 and $10,750). That gap is why the cheaper product comes first when your file fits it.
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
For permit and inspection fees on their own, which are usually smaller, see permit and inspection costs.
Write down your deadline, subtract installer lead time and a two-week buffer, and you have the date your money must be in place. Then run the free qualification check or apply with the notice and bids attached.
Yes, an accessible restroom, entrance or route is a legitimate use of working capital. Confirm the scope with a qualified professional; we do not give legal advice on what the law requires of your building.
Decisions are same-day on complete files, and funding can arrive in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses. The installer's lead time is usually the longer step.
No. Apply when you have the notice and bids. Applying after a closure means your statements will show the lost sales.
If you qualify for Tier 1, it usually costs far less, as the example shows. Revenue-based funding is for files that do not meet Tier 1 or need the money faster than a line can be set up.
Our funding starts at $25,000. For smaller compliance costs, a contractor payment plan or cash is usually the better route.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
