Retail business loans and cash advances for independent stores.
The holiday order has to be placed in August and paid in October. The slow season starts in January. The landlord, the staff and the supplier all want paying in between. Funding partners in our network underwrite retailers on card and marketplace 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
- Boutiques, convenience and liquor stores, salons and barbershops, auto repair and tire shops, pet and specialty stores, franchisees and e-commerce sellers, 6+ months operating
- Working capital
- Cash advance of $10,000 to $500,000+, sized to monthly deposits*
- Fixtures and vehicles
- Equipment loans and leases of $10,000 to $150,000+, 24–60 months*
- Card and online sales
- Processor and marketplace payouts count as revenue. Cash counts once deposited.
- Credit
- Advances consider scores in the 500s. Equipment financing from the high 500s with 1+ year operating.*
- Speed
- Decision in 24–48 hours; advances fund in 24–72 hours after final approval*
Your money is on the shelf until a customer takes it off.
Retail ties up cash in inventory months before it turns into sales. The seasonal order is paid before the season, the supplier wants net-30 while the goods sit for sixty days, and the best wholesale prices go to the stores that can pay for volume up front. On the other side, rent, payroll and sales tax land on fixed dates whether the week was busy or not. One slow quarter, a road closure out front or a late shipment can put a healthy store 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 retailers every day. They read your statements the way you read a sales report: card processor settlements, Shopify or Amazon payouts, cash deposits and the shape of your busy and slow months all tell them what the store actually sells. 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 online marketplace payouts count as revenue
- Approval weighted toward sales volume and time in business, not credit alone
- No hard credit pull to see your options*
- Four products, so a fixture package and an inventory buy do not get the same expensive answer
Four retail needs, four different answers
| Need | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonal inventory, payroll, rent, a slow quarter | Cash advance | Fastest. Remitted from the sales the stock produces. |
| Fixtures, POS, signage, a delivery van, shop equipment | Equipment financing | Secured by the items, 24–60 months, far lower cost. |
| Recurring gaps between supplier terms and sell-through | Line of credit | Draw for the order, repay as it sells, reuse next season. |
| Two or more advances already drawing daily | Reverse Consolidation | Cuts the weekly outflow 30–50% instead of adding to it. |
Capital for the shelves, and capital for everything that keeps the doors 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. Retail is the industry the product was built for, and for stores amounts typically run 80–120% of average monthly deposits.*
Fixtures, POS and vehicles: equipment financing
Shelving and display systems, refrigeration for grocery and convenience, salon chairs and stations, auto lifts and diagnostic equipment, POS and self-checkout systems, signage, security systems and delivery vans, new or used. The lender holds a lien on the items, which is why fixture and equipment financing stretches further on credit than an unsecured loan would.
What funders read on a retailer’s bank statement.
Deposits
Card processor settlements, marketplace and platform payouts, and cash. Partners total them by month and look for consistency through your slow season, not just the holiday peak.
Rent, payroll and suppliers
Existing rent, payroll runs and supplier payments tell the funder what the store 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 retail file declines. Three or fewer a month is the usual tolerance; a run of them after a late shipment or a slow season 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 margin on the stock it buys, not to a bank loan.
A cash advance is priced for speed. It makes sense in retail when the capital turns into inventory that sells at a healthy margin within the term: the seasonal order that does 40% of the year’s revenue, the volume buy that lifts gross margin on a core line, the display refresh that lifts conversion before the busy season. It does not make sense for fixtures or a delivery van, 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 time in business, steady sales, fewer negative days and no existing advances bring it down. Partners also read the category: established stores with a lease in place and a mix of card and online sales price better than pop-ups and single-marketplace sellers.
- 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 retail math: if an advance buys inventory that sells through at keystone margin inside the term, the gross profit on that stock should exceed the full cost of the advance with room to spare. Run that comparison against the total on the offer, in dollars, before you place the order.
Fit test: the remittance has to clear under rent, payroll and supplier payments in your slowest month of the year, not in December.
Built for stores with real sales on the statements.
Each funding partner sets its own criteria. These are the guidelines most of them share for retail files.
- 6+ months open 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 marketplace payouts.
- Three or fewer negative days a month on average. A slow-season month can be explained with last year’s statements.
- An active lease and business license for the store, or a verifiable online storefront for e-commerce sellers.
- 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 retailer. 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; 12 months helps a seasonal store
- Government-issued photo ID for the owner
- Last 3 months of card processor or marketplace statements if they carry most of your sales
- Voided business check or bank letter
- Your lease, or the landlord’s name and the lease end date
- For an equipment or fixture purchase: the vendor quote
Stacked advances turn a slow season into a going-out-of-business sale.
Retailers stack for an understandable reason: inventory has to be bought before it sells, and each advance looks like the bridge to the next season. By the third one the daily remittances are taking the money that was supposed to buy the stock that would have paid them all off. 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 for a store is often the difference between a full shelf and an empty one.
Before you sign any retail advance
- Know the total dollar cost and the remittance schedule.
- Make sure the daily or weekly remittance fits under rent, payroll and suppliers in your slowest month, not your best.
- Ask how reconciliation works if sales drop after a slow season, a road project or a lost anchor tenant.
- 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 empty the shelves, we say so.
Straight answers for store owners.
Can a small retail store get a cash advance?
Yes. Independent retail is the industry merchant cash advances were designed for. Funding partners look for six or more months in business, $10,000 or more a month in deposits from card processors, marketplaces and cash, and bank statements without a pattern of negative days. Amounts for a single store usually land between $10,000 and $100,000. Approval is never guaranteed.
Do Shopify, Amazon, Square and Stripe deposits count as revenue?
Yes. Payouts from card processors such as Square, Clover and Stripe and from platforms such as Shopify, Amazon, Etsy and eBay all count as revenue when they land in your business bank account. Partners may ask for processor or platform statements to confirm volume. Cash sales count once deposited, so run them through the business account rather than the register drawer.
Can I use a cash advance to buy inventory for the holidays?
Yes, and it is one of the better uses. Stocking for a peak season that pays for the year, buying ahead of a supplier price increase, or taking a volume discount on a core product line are the most common reasons retailers apply. The remittance is set so that it comes out of the sales the inventory produces. For fixtures, POS systems and vehicles, equipment financing is usually far cheaper than an advance.
What credit score does a retailer need?
Cash advances for working capital consider owners with scores in the 500s because the decision rests mainly on deposits and time in business. Equipment lenders in our network typically want a score in the high 500s or above and one or more years in business. Lower scores may mean a smaller amount or a shorter term rather than a decline.
How fast can a retail business get funded?
Most complete applications receive a decision within 24–48 hours. Cash advances usually fund within 24–72 hours of final approval, which matters when a supplier deadline or a seasonal order window is days away. Equipment deals take a few days longer because the lender verifies the vendor quote before releasing funds.
My sales are seasonal. Will the remittance be the same in the slow months?
The remittance on a standard advance is a fixed daily or weekly amount, so it does not fall on its own when sales do. Tell your advisor when your slow season runs so the amount is sized to it, ask the funder how reconciliation works if sales drop, and consider a line of credit for recurring seasonal gaps. Partners that work with seasonal retailers read a full year of statements where available so the slow months are expected.
Stock the season. See your options today.
Ten-minute application, no hard credit pull to check, an advisor who knows what a holiday order does to an October bank statement.