Can a restaurant with 550 credit get funding?

Scores from 500 are considered at MFE, and advances are flexible on credit. Stronger credit usually means better offers. A restaurant at 550 is more likely to see an advance than a loan or line today.

Only what reaches your business bank account. Cash kept in the register or used to pay vendors directly does not show up. Depositing cash regularly gives a reviewer a fuller picture of your sales.

Can I finance used kitchen equipment?

Often, yes, with a vendor invoice and useful life left. Terms follow the equipment's remaining life, never more than 60 months at MFE. A down payment may be asked for older items.

Is factoring an option for restaurants?

No. Factoring needs invoices owed by business or government customers. Restaurants are paid by consumers at the point of sale, so advances, loans and equipment financing are the usual tools.

Restaurant Funding: Equipment, Payroll and Expansion

The short answer

Restaurants commonly use merchant cash advances repaid from card settlements, working capital loans for payroll and inventory, and equipment financing for ovens, hoods and refrigeration. MFE reviews restaurant requests from $5,000 to $5,000,000, mainly from 3 to 4 months of bank statements. The best fit depends on what you are buying: long-life equipment suits equipment financing, short gaps suit working capital, and a second location usually needs a plan that combines both.

What restaurants usually fund

Equipment: ranges, hoods, walk-ins, dish machines, POS hardware.
Payroll and inventory: covering a slow month or stocking for a busy one.
Repairs: the compressor that dies on a Friday in July.
Second location: build-out, deposits, opening inventory and pre-opening staff.
Refinancing: combining existing advances into one payment. See restaurant MCA refinance.

Industry details: MFE restaurant funding.

Who it fits, and who it does not

Fits: restaurants, cafes, bars, bakeries and food trucks with steady card settlements and a few months of history. For an advance, MFE's guideline is commonly about $7,500 a month and often 3+ months open, with flexible credit. A working capital loan commonly starts around $17,500 a month, 6+ months and 600+ credit.

Harder fit: a restaurant that has not opened yet, since there are no deposits to review. A concept with falling sales over several months also faces a tougher review.

Does not fit invoice factoring: restaurants are paid at the point of sale by consumers, so factoring is not an option.

Check what your business qualifies for

Merchant Fund Express reviews restaurant funding requests from $5,000 to $5,000,000. Scores from 500 are considered, and same-day decisions are common on complete files.

Check funding options with Merchant Fund Express

How funding reads POS settlements

Reviewers look at your business bank account. Card processors deposit batched sales a day or two after service, so deposits arrive in uneven chunks, heavy after weekends. Cash sales that are never deposited do not show, which can understate your real volume.

Tips: deposit cash regularly, keep processor statements handy, and avoid moving sales through a personal account. Some advances are repaid as a percentage of card sales, which flexes with volume. Others use fixed daily or weekly debits.

Illustrative example: funding a second location kitchen

Illustrative example. These figures are illustrations to show the arithmetic, not offers. Real pricing, terms and amounts come only from a reviewed application.

Assumptions: an established restaurant with about $95,000 in monthly deposits, 6 years open, credit around 650, needing $70,000 for the second location's kitchen build-out and opening inventory.

Item	Merchant cash advance	Working capital loan
Amount	$70,000 (about 0.74x monthly deposits)	$70,000
Fee	$1,400	$2,100
Net cash received	$68,600	$67,900
Total repayment	$70,000 x 1.34 = $93,800	$86,800
Payment	$426.36 per business day for 220 days	$4,822.22 per month for 18 months
Cost of the money	$23,800 plus fee	$16,800 plus fee

Arithmetic: $93,800 / 220 = $426.36 and $86,800 / 18 = $4,822.22. The loan costs less and stretches longer, but needs stronger credit and history. Many owners also put the hood and walk-in on equipment financing to shrink the cash portion.

Funding brings customers. Is your website ready for them?

A new kitchen or second location only pays off if diners can find the menu, hours, address and online ordering link from their phone. Each location needs its own page and map listing so searches near it show the right address. Cheap Cheap Websites builds professional restaurant sites from $399, with Website Care at $30/month to keep menus and hours current at every location.

See website plans See example websites

Websites from$399one-time, plus Website Care $30/month. Built for you, words included, se habla español.

What to prepare

3 to 4 months of business bank statements.
Processor statements showing card volume.
For a second location: the lease, build-out estimate and opening budget.
Equipment quotes for anything with a model number.
ID, voided check, application. Larger requests may need financials or tax returns.

When waiting or another option is better

If your first location has only a few months of history, waiting for a full year of statements before a second location usually helps both the review and the business. If you already carry two or more advances, consolidate before expanding. If the need is one piece of equipment, finance that alone and keep cash free.

Related funding guides

Restaurant MCA refinance Equipment financing Merchant cash advance Funding a second location Working capital loans Restaurant funding at Merchant Fund Express

Cheap Cheap Websites builds websites. It does not lend or make funding decisions. Funding is offered by our funding partner, Merchant Fund Express, and every request is subject to its review and approval. Figures on this page are illustrations, not offers. Updated October 15, 2026.

Restaurant funding: pick the option that matches the purchase