Merchant Cash Finder Blog - Business Cash Advance & Merchant Services Accounts

Restaurant Loans – A Better Way to Acquire Business Loans in Today’s Rough Market

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:41:59 +0000

A Business Cash Advance is becoming progressively more common in society these days. The current economic status and tight credit needs are huge contributors to the increase in cash advances. It is difficult for businesses to get the cash that they need with the increasingly stringent conditions for regular Restaurant Loans. Merchant cash advances are an alternative means of obtaining funds for day to day business necessities. So how does a business cash advance function? Let us explain

Business cash advances are an option provided by a funding institution to a entrepreneur that receives credit cards, usually in the retail or restaurant industry. The merchant loan funding institution basically advances the merchant a predetermined sum of cash in exchange for a portion of their future credit card revenues.

For instance, let’s take Jo’s Diner. Jo might not have adequate funds on hand to pay his workers or to buy new appliances for his kitchen. Say Joe needs 30,000 dollars and he reached out to a Merchant Loan provider for the money.

The provider would assess Jo’s preceding credit card numbers and determine if he is eligible for the advance. They would determine an interest rate for the working capital advanced. The rate is typically higher than a conventional business loan because the advance is most commonly given to merchants that do not have the credit or collateral to get working capital from a normal bank. If the fee for Jo’s advance is 30% then he would be getting the thirty thousand dollars and paying the agent $39,000 in future credit card sales.

The agent would collect the nine thousand by taking a portion of the daily credit card transactions the business gets. Say the portion the lender takes is 8% of daily credit card sales and the business received ten thousand in credit card receipts for the day. The merchant cash advance lender would capture $800 (8% of the $10,000). This process would continue until the agent received the full $39,000. This payment process goes up and down with the cash flow of the business. The percentage will be the same so if your business has a bad period, you will be paying less. This is a big selling point for the advance product. Traditional bank loans have a set payment amount, which could be hard to pay during slow periods. A merchant loan has the feature to follow a change in business cash flow.

A business cash advance is a valuable alternative to Restaurant Loans. Some will believe nine thousand dollars is a steep sum to pay but the criteria a merchant must meet for a traditional loan is becoming more and more hard to attain. A business cash advance is a way of getting quick and easy money to meet business working capital needs.

Tweet This Post

What is Small Business Factoring? Is a Merchant Cash Advance The Right Thing for Your Business?

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:40:11 +0000

Small Business Factoring is a little used financial method that gives needed working capital to entrepreneurs from their credit card processor. Very Few business owners realize that they have this choice and head straight to family or a bank when they need capital to pay for expansions, repairs or upgrades of their stock and equipment. If you are a business in need of funds fast, you should look into factoring as well.

The concept behind factoring is something like selling futures. You, as the merchant, agree to sell future credit card receipts at a discount to the factoring company. The working capital is given now in exchange for anticipated receipts in the next several months.

These arrangements are usually for the short term, rarely more than 1 year, and are a viable way for a business with a proven credit card sales track record to get necessary cash.

Unlike a bank loan, in which the repayment schedule is set for the entirety of the loan, a factoring arrangement takes into account the truth that in almost every business there are great months and tough ones. Your payment is directly tied to your credit card receivables, as a percentage, not a set number.

If you have decided to pay a 10% daily capture and you take in 8,000 dollars one month, your payment that month comes out to $800. In another month you may take in $10,000 and pay 1,000 dollars. This flexibility is a very useful asset for a growing company.

Another benefit of a business cash advance is the speed in which the money turns up in your bank account. While a bank may take several weeks of deliberation and dictate how you use the funds when and if they give it to you, with a Small Business Factoring arrangement, you will have the funds in about a few working days, and you can apply it to whatever you see fit.

Compare quotes for Small Business Factoring, apply now!

Tweet This Post

Fast Business Loans – Getting Restaurant Financing Through a Business Cash Advance

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:59:28 +0000

Restaurants are considered to be one of the highest risk business ideas. This makes it painstakingly difficult for a growing culinary small business owner to get required business loans, both when starting out the business and when growth or repairs are warranted. A small business owner could wait weeks or even months to hear a peep from the conventional bank, and in the meantime, the business could possibly fail.

Another option for attaining Fast Business Loans is a merchant loan or business cash advance. These financial arrangements fall into the category of credit card receivables factoring. Credit card factoring is a product whereby a third party provides the small business owner funds in exchange for a lower rate on future credit card revenues. That translates as follows: the credit card factoring lender will give you financing in exchange for a portion of your anticipated Visa-MasterCard receivables in the future.

Approval is often available within a day or two and the working capital is in your hands within about ten working days – often less. No collateral is required since the arrangement is based upon anticipated receipts.

Because the payment schedule is tied to actual receipts, a poor month’s business doesn’t require “creative bookkeeping” to keep up with a fixed payment amount. The one stipulation is that the entrepreneur must stick to the predetermined agreement or the entrepreneur can be held liable for repayment.

The fact is that many merchants, particularly new ones, simply can’t meet the qualification stipulations set forth by the traditional banking industry. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the entrepreneur is performing poorly or that the entrepreneur isn’t trustworthy.

Most commonly the only issue is the fact that the business is too new and hasn’t had the time to establish a lengthy reputation and credit rating. Acquiring Fast Business Loans through a merchant account factoring program makes good business sense in these types of circumstances.

Compare quotes for Fast Business Loans, apply now!

Tweet This Post

Restaurant Loans Can Help Keep Your Business Open

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:03:47 +0000

There isn’t much out of the ordinary about a small business owner coming across unanticipated costs. In the dining niche, Restaurant Loans aid in keeping the doors open while facilitating the desired working capital for improvements, new equipment or expansion, without the hardship of trying to get a conventional bank loan.

Conventional bank loans simply do not quench the desires of every merchant. For new ventures, merchants with less than perfect credit history and those merchants that require a quick approval and payout, normal bank loans are not the most suitable choices. In the months and years after the sub prime home loan collapse, few lenders are quick to loan money to any entrepreneurs, even if they are ideal candidates for financing. Fortunately, merchant account providers are stepping in to fill the gap left by normal lenders.

Restaurant Loans are not actually loans at all. Rather, they are a method of credit card factoring, where one company gives a piece of their future credit card revenues in exchange for fast access to funds. As long as the business can demonstrate a history of several months where they transact a reasonable amount of Visa-MasterCard sales – usually between $2000 and $2500 per month at the very minimum – a credit card factoring agreement can be reached.

The funding company is likely to request the merchant to modify their credit card machines so they can track receipts, but that is a slight inconvenience when compared to the ability to get necessary financing quickly. It is advisable that the merchant ensure that the agent with which he does business with adheres to “best practices” guidelines before signing on the dotted line. An exorbitant amount of funding agents have sprung up recently in response to the present economic crisis so it is best to be sure you do not work with those that are just trying to take advantage of a growing niche.

A merchant cash advance can be utilized to fund anything a small business owner requires. It is quickly obtained and with a loose repayment program it can make the difference between accomplishing your dreams and shutting your restaurant for good.

Compare & save with lender quotes on Restaurant Loans, apply now!

Tweet This Post

The Advantages of Bad Credit Small Business Loans in a Tough Market

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:46:41 +0000

For the cash strapped entrepreneur, Bad Credit Small Business Loans offer access to necessary working capital under stipulations that many traditional lenders wouldn’t even consider. New entrepreneurs often find out the irony of wanting money to get their business off the ground, but not being able to get approved through a conventional bank because they haven’t established a business history. The option of business cash advance can bridge the gap and facilitate the funds they desire within a few business days.

When you contemplate the recommendations made for financing new companies, you will come to realize that certain sources come up time an again. Family, friends, retirement accounts, savings, credit card advances and more are frequently suggested as the ideal sources to attain much wanted working capital on short notice. Unfortunately, while these are viable avenues, most of them have stipulations attached. Merchant loans, a form of credit card factoring, are strictly business transactions, which make them more appropriate for small business purposes.

Credit card factoring is a business program where a entrepreneur sells their future Visa-MasterCard receivables at a cheaper price in order to gain quick access to needed funds within a few business days. These arrangements involve a flexible repayment term, based upon credit card revenues on a daily basis. It is common that the credit card factoring provider require the small business owner to utilize only its credit card terminals in order to keep track of purchases more accurately in order to arrive at the daily repayment amounts.

Not only do Bad Credit Small Business Loans give access to necessary cash, it is frequently available to newer small business owners without a long history or stellar credit. As pay back is dependent upon the small business owners credit card receipts , a month of bad sales doesn’t stress the finances of the business like a ordinary business loan with a fixed pay back term might do.

Business cash advances are an ideal source of funds for many entrepreneurs, and are more easily procured than traditional bank loans in terms of approval criteria and turn around time.

Compare quotes and save on Bad Credit Small Business Loans apply now!

Tweet This Post

Short Term Business Loans – Locating Working Capital in a Restricted Economic Environment

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:32:09 +0000

There are several times in the natural existence of a small business when merchant capital becomes a driving need to stay open or to grow. Whether the small business owner wants funds to remain afloat or extra working capital later in the life of the business to multiply and prosper, finding cash can be challenging.

Short Term Business Loans can be attained with a variety of places. Family and friends, conventional bank loans, credit card advances and more, are all available selections. Nevertheless, for a merchant that has established themselves in their business for a minimum of 6 months, there is the selection of acquiring funding from a merchant cash advance as well.

Many entrepreneurs come to the realization that making use of the collateral of their future Visa-MasterCard sales they can receive fast, solid funding. The most important factor in receiving such funding is a history of credit card acceptance volume utilizing your monthly merchant statements. Most of the time, entrepreneurs needing these kinds of funding are usually fairly young in age, and therefore can’t be approved for a traditional bank loans. Luckily, small business cash advances, those less than $200,000 per business location, are readily available from various merchant account providers.

When a entrepreneur obtains funds from this genre of lenders, the repayment terms are ultimately binding to credit card transactions as seen on a daily basis. That is a particular strength in today’s economic state, as revenues one month can differ largely from transactions in another month. An agreed upon portion of transactions called the “daily capture” goes to paying off the balance instead of a set amount.

Another benefit to cash strapped entrepreneurs is that short term business loans are usually approved and the cash is made available within a few working days. No traditional bank can review and approve a loan package that fast.

Compare and save with FREE lender quotes for Short Term Business Loans, apply now!

Tweet This Post

Quick Business Loans in a Rough Market

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:39:27 +0000

Small business loan sources have been scarce since the economic downfall began, and beginning working capital is all but nonexistent. Even if you have had a great ability to make revenues, profits and just need a little extra working capital to advance your business, the current financial uncertainty has made local banks and investors skittish. Regardless of having received trillions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury, the banking industry is still keeping a tight leash on credit and financing. So, you may ask “Where is my bailout?”

Fortunately, there is still source with available funding for merchants that is available for businesses that generate a consistent stream of credit card transactions. This source of working capital doesn’t come from investors that will always retain a slice of your profits, or from tight fisted lenders; it is a simple financing supply called quick business loans.

Depending on factors such as the period of time you have been in business, and the average volume of your credit card transactions, you may qualify for as much as one hundred thousand, or even more under the correct circumstances, without utilizing your credit or even putting up collateral.

With a quick business loans product, the lender actually purchases a part of your future Visa-MasterCard revenues from you at a at a cheaper price; in exchange, you get a lump sum of working capital that you can use to your best judgment for advancing your business. The great thing is, if your business goes through a slow time, instead of sweating a set loan payment, the payments on your merchant cash advance slow down as well.

In addition, unlike investor working capital, once you have paid back the business cash advance you are finished, no more obligations. If you know that an infusion of working capital like this could help to advance your business by a quantum leap, you may be a good candidate for these kinds of business loans.

To compare and save on Quick Business Loans apply now!

Tweet This Post

Merchant Advance – An Alternative Source for Obtaining Business Loans

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:32:14 +0000

Similar in nature to a small business loan, a Merchant Advance is working capital a entrepreneur obtains for various reasons that is necessary to be repaid within a six to eight month duration depending on how much working capital is received. Merchant Advances are becoming more and more used as traditional banks are toughening their required conditions for small business loan approval.

Dissimilar to traditional bank loans, Merchant Loans don’t stipulate for excellent credit. As a matter of fact, if you were turned away by the traditional banks and want access to money in a fast amount of time, a business cash advance may be a great solution. As a small business owner would expect, the stipulations put upon such cash advance programs frequently include more costly interest rates since the advance company is taking on a greater risk.

Most arrangements permit the entrepreneur attach the repayment schedule to revenue levels of the business. This is particularly useful to a small business owner that has significant changes in income from month to month. Payment is directly attached to Visa-MasterCard revenues, facilitating smaller payments during slow months. This feature is extremely useful to those small business owners who are seasonal in nature because a set payment each month is not required.

A merchant advance can be of particular use to those merchants who have not been open for long. To get a conventional bank loan or a loan from the Small Business Association, a small business owner may be required to give proof of collateral, an extensive business history and a credit report with perfect scores. When a merchant is just starting out in business, this may not be possible, especially in today’s economic times.

Still,being careful is advised when looking for a merchant advance. It isn’t unlikely to find rising payment programs, application costs and a required switch to a specific credit card provider. Reading the fine print of any arrangement is a must. For those small business owners who find themselves in need of working capital and have not many other options available, the business advance can be very helpful instead of to waiting months for a conventional small business loan you most likely won’t be approved for.

Compare and save with free quotes for a Merchant Advance, apply now!

Tweet This Post

Guidelines to Follow for Credit Card Factoring Lenders

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:33:01 +0000

With the economy remaining on the ropes after the sub prime mortgage debacle, merchants are finding it harder than ever before to qualify for a normal bank loan. Credit Card Factoring may be a ideal option. A quick turn-around time, viable cash advance funds of up to $250,000, and a flexible repayment plan are all great points for traveling this alternate road for the working capital your business wants.

However, a merchant would do well to look at more than just the working capital they can acquire. The North American Merchant Advance Association (NAMAA) has a list of best business practices which they endorse for Credit Card Factoring agents. If the company offering you a business cash advance does not follow these guidelines, it is probably best to look somewhere else. The guidleines are as follows:

-Give clear disclosure of fees – NAMAA doesn’t condone closing charges as part of the application process of merchant advances but recommends that any of these fees be clearly explained and disclosed. The total payment amount should be entirely elaborated upon and determined prior to putting the final touches on the agreement.

-Demonstrate transparent disclosure of penalties – Basically, merchant advances are not considered loans; instead they are looked at as a purchase of future Visa-MasterCard sales. As such, the entrepreneur can be held personally in debt for any cash not returned if the merchant opts to violate the agreement.

-Be mindful of a entrepreneur’s business cash flow – A typical agreement involves that the small business owner repays a determined amount of Visa-MasterCard receipts on a daily basis.

-Marketing materials disclosure – All advertising materials should make it clear that the contract is one of factoring, not a loan.

-Keep tabs on your Sales Agents/Brokers – Merchant advance companies should make sure that their sales agents or brokers are appropriately representing the terms.

-Verified repayment of open Merchant Cash Advance Balances – if a entrepreneur opts to take another merchant advance with a new company the new company should immediately repay the previous balance instead of leaving it to the merchant to repay the remainder.

Compare and save with multiple lender quotes for Credit Card Factoring…Apply Now!

Tweet This Post

Quick Business Loans in a Stagnant Market

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:59:58 +0000

Often the hardest part of small business ownership is acquiring capital to maintain and sustain steady growth. This is even true when you are looking for business loans. There is a mistaken belief that restaurants are more likely to fail than any other type of work; a ten percent success rate is often noted.

The fact is that at the 5-year mark restaurants have 40% success rates, virtually matching to types of businesses. Nonetheless, it can be hard to acquire financing, especially from normal locations such as the local bank lender.

Restaurant loans can also be obtained from merchant services vendors as a factoring contract. These providers give working arrangements that range from a few $1,000 reaching to a quarter million dollars if needed. The business owner is basically selling their future Visa/MasterCard sales at a discount in order to get the cash they need within days.

The merchant cash advance is repaid with a credit card factoring based contract. A percentage of credit card receipts are paid back based on a “Daily Capture Rate” that is agreed upon prior to receiving the cash which means that on a bad business month the advance can still be paid without having to face repercussions.

When you run a restaurant it can be hard to anticipate when you will need to have additional cash on hand. Start up costs can be more than anticipated, and the first significant problem can be a “make or break” occurrence. Even if the business owner has excellent credit, it can take a long period of time for a bank loan to be funded; in the time being, business continues to hurt.

Restaurant Cash Advance options provide a much needed, fast solution for restaurants in need of working capital. Neither collateral nor years of paperwork are necessary to be considered for business loans when you work with a trustworthy financing company.

Tweet This Post