Restaurant cash advances and business loans for independent operators.
Payroll is Friday. The walk-in died Tuesday. The card processor pays in two days but the delivery platform pays in a week, and rent does not wait for either. Funding partners in our network underwrite restaurants on card and delivery deposits, not just the owner’s credit score, with decisions in 24–48 hours and funds in the account in days.
At a glance
- Who
- Full-service and quick-service restaurants, cafés, bakeries, bars, caterers, food trucks and franchisees, 6+ months operating
- Working capital
- Cash advance of $10,000 to $500,000+, sized to monthly deposits*
- Kitchen equipment
- Equipment loans and leases of $10,000 to $150,000+, 24–60 months*
- Card and delivery sales
- Processor and platform deposits count as revenue. Cash counts once deposited.
- Credit
- Advances consider scores in the 500s. Equipment financing from the high 500s with 1–2 years operating.*
- Speed
- Decision in 24–48 hours; advances fund in 24–72 hours after final approval*
Thin margins, daily costs, and a bank that stopped returning calls.
A restaurant can be busy every night and still run short of cash. Food cost is paid on delivery or net-7, labor goes out every week or two, rent and sales tax land on fixed dates, and revenue arrives in a dozen small deposits from card processors, delivery platforms and the register. One slow month, one equipment failure or one health-department repair order can push a profitable kitchen into overdraft, and once there are negative days on the statements the bank is no longer an option.
Swyft Advance works with funding partners who underwrite restaurants every day. They read your statements the way you read a Saturday: Toast or Square settlements, DoorDash and Uber Eats payouts, catering deposits and the rhythm of your busy and slow weeks all tell them what the business actually brings in. The owner’s credit score matters less than it would at a bank, and the decision comes in days rather than weeks.
- Card processor and delivery platform deposits count as revenue
- Approval weighted toward deposits and operating history, not credit alone
- No hard credit pull to see your options*
- Four products, so a kitchen build and a payroll gap do not get the same expensive answer
Four restaurant needs, four different answers
| Need | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll, inventory, repair, slow month, sales tax | Cash advance | Fastest. Remitted from the sales it helps you make. |
| Ovens, hoods, coolers, POS, a full kitchen | Equipment financing | Secured by the units, 24–60 months, far lower cost. |
| Recurring gaps between payouts and bills | Line of credit | Draw for produce and payroll, repay from the weekend, reuse. |
| Two or more advances already drawing daily | Reverse Consolidation | Cuts the weekly outflow 30–50% instead of adding to it. |
Capital for the kitchen, and capital for everything that keeps it open.
Working capital: merchant cash advance
A funding partner purchases a portion of your future receivables and deposits the purchase price. You remit a fixed daily or weekly amount by ACH until the purchased amount is delivered. The total cost is fixed in dollars up front. It is not a loan. Restaurants were the original merchant cash advance customer, and for food service amounts typically run 80–120% of average monthly deposits.*
Kitchens and build-outs: equipment financing
Ranges, ovens, fryers, hoods, walk-in and reach-in coolers, ice machines, dish machines, espresso machines, POS systems and full kitchen packages for a second location, new or used, from a dealer or a restaurant auction. The lender holds a lien on the equipment, which is why kitchen financing stretches further on credit than an unsecured loan would.
What funders read on a restaurant bank statement.
Deposits
Card processor settlements, delivery platform payouts, catering deposits and cash. Partners total them by month and look for consistency through your slow weeks, not just the holiday peaks.
Rent, payroll and vendors
Existing rent, payroll runs and distributor payments tell the funder what the business already carries. A remittance that fits around them gets approved; one that does not gets sized down.
Negative days
Overdrafts and returned payments are the most common reason a restaurant file declines. Three or fewer a month is the usual tolerance; a run of them after an equipment failure can often be explained.
Time open and positions
Months at this location under this owner, and how many advances already draw from the account. One is normal. Three or more points to Reverse Consolidation.
Compare the advance to the nights it keeps you open, not to a bank loan.
A cash advance is priced for speed. It makes sense in food service when the capital keeps the doors open and the line moving: the compressor that saves $4,000 of inventory and a weekend of sales, the payroll that keeps a trained kitchen crew from walking, the inspection repair that lifts a closure order. It does not make sense for a planned kitchen build, which is what equipment financing is for.
The cost is a fixed total, stated in dollars in your offer, along with the advance amount, the remittance and the term. Longer operating history, steady deposits, fewer negative days and no existing advances bring it down. Partners also read the concept: established full-service and quick-service locations with a lease in place price better than pop-ups and seasonal stands.
- Advance amount
- The deposit to your account
- Total to remit
- Fixed in dollars on day one
- Remittance
- Daily or weekly amount, by ACH
- Term
- Estimated weeks or months to deliver
The restaurant math: if an advance replaces a walk-in in a kitchen grossing $60,000 a month, the location earns back the full cost of the advance within weeks of service it would otherwise have lost. Run that comparison against the total on the offer, in dollars.
Fit test: the remittance has to clear under food, labor and rent in your slowest week of the year, not an average one.
Built for restaurants with real covers on the statements.
Each funding partner sets its own criteria. These are the guidelines most of them share for food service files.
- 6+ months open at this location under the current owner. Twelve months or more opens more partners and better pricing.
- $10,000+ in monthly deposits to a business bank account, including card processor and delivery platform payouts.
- Three or fewer negative days a month on average. An equipment-failure month can be explained with the repair invoice.
- An active lease, business license and food service permit for the location.
- Credit scores in the 500s are considered for advances. Equipment financing typically wants the high 500s or above. See our bad credit funding guide.
- A US or Canadian restaurant. Franchisees are welcome; some franchisors require notice before taking on financing, so check your agreement.
What you’ll need
Have these ready and most files are decided within two business days.
- Last 3–4 months of business bank statements
- Government-issued photo ID for the owner
- Last 3 months of card processor statements if card volume is a large share of sales
- Voided business check or bank letter
- Your lease, or the landlord’s name and the lease end date
- For an equipment purchase: the vendor quote and, for used units, the serial numbers
Stacked advances are the fastest way to close a busy restaurant.
Restaurants get stacked more than almost any other industry. A repair leads to a first advance, a slow season to a second, and by the third the daily remittances are taking the money that was supposed to pay the distributor. Adding a fourth makes the week worse, not better.
Reverse Consolidation is built for exactly that position. A funding partner sends weekly deposits that cover the remittances on your existing advances, and you remit one lower weekly amount over a longer term. Net weekly outflow typically falls 30–50%, which in a restaurant is often the difference between staying open and handing back the keys.
Before you sign any restaurant advance
- Know the total dollar cost and the remittance schedule.
- Make sure the daily or weekly remittance fits under food, labor and rent in your slowest week of the year.
- Ask how reconciliation works if sales drop after a closure, a road project or a slow season.
- If the funder wants a split of card settlements instead of ACH, understand how that changes your daily cash.
- Ask whether the agreement includes a personal guarantee or confession of judgment. Some states restrict these.
Your Swyft advisor walks through each of these on every offer. If an offer would starve the kitchen, we say so.
Straight answers for operators.
Can a restaurant get a cash advance with thin margins?
Yes. Funding partners size a restaurant advance on deposits, not on profit. What they want to see is six or more months of operating history, $10,000 or more a month in deposits from card processors, delivery platforms and cash, and bank statements without a pattern of negative days. The remittance is set to fit under your food, labor and rent in a slow week. Approval is never guaranteed.
Do DoorDash, Uber Eats and Toast deposits count as revenue?
Yes. Deposits from card processors such as Toast, Square and Clover and from delivery platforms such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub all count as revenue when they land in your business bank account. Partners may ask for processor statements to confirm card volume. Cash sales count only once they are deposited.
Can I use a cash advance for payroll or a slow season?
Yes. Any legitimate business purpose qualifies. Covering payroll and sales tax in a slow month, restocking after a holiday, replacing a walk-in compressor and opening-week costs for a second location are the most common reasons restaurants apply. For a planned kitchen build or equipment package, equipment financing secured by the units is usually far cheaper than an advance.
What credit score does a restaurant owner need?
Cash advances for working capital consider owners with scores in the 500s because the decision rests mainly on deposits and operating history. Equipment lenders in our network typically want a score in the high 500s or above and one to two years in business. Lower scores may mean a smaller amount or a shorter term rather than a decline.
How fast can a restaurant get funded?
Most complete applications receive a decision within 24–48 hours. Cash advances usually fund within 24–72 hours of final approval. Equipment deals take a few days longer because the lender verifies the vendor quote and the units before releasing funds.
Does a new restaurant or a second location qualify?
A brand-new restaurant with no deposit history generally does not qualify for a cash advance, because there are no receivables to purchase. An existing operator opening a second location can usually fund it against the first location’s deposits, and equipment lenders will finance the new kitchen on the strength of the existing business. Six months of statements is the usual minimum; twelve months or more opens more partners and better pricing.
Keep the kitchen open. See your options today.
Ten-minute application, no hard credit pull to check, an advisor who knows what a Toast settlement looks like.