Money is tied up in living inventory
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. The plants are usually for gardening, forestry or conservation rather than for food. That definition has a cash-flow consequence: the product grows before it can be sold, and each month of growth costs something.
A flat of seedlings bought in January becomes a saleable one-gallon plant in the spring only after weeks of watering, feeding, pot and soil costs, and labor. Unlike a shop that restocks from a distributor, a grower has a long gap between buying inputs and selling the result.
A seasonal pattern around the rush
Retail and landscaping demand for plants tends to build with warmer weather, so inventory must be ready before customers show up. Spending peaks first, and revenue follows. A slow or wet spring, a late frost or a cut-back in landscaping projects pushes revenue later while bills continue.
Kern County's major crops include roses, among grapes, citrus, almonds and carrots, so cut and potted flowers have a local place in the farm economy, and an irrigation-dependent plant business competes for the same labor and water infrastructure as the county's other growers.
What a seasonal nursery budget has to carry
- Plant stock and containers bought in bulk well in advance.
- Water and power. Irrigation lines, pumps and cooling in greenhouses run all day.
- Structures. Shade cloth, greenhouse film, benches and heating or cooling equipment wear out.
- Labor. Seasonal crews in the weeks of peak sales and shipping.
- Delivery. Trucks, fuel and a driver for landscaper and contractor accounts.
Wholesale accounts add a second lag
A nursery that sells to landscape contractors and garden centers may deliver plants on 30-day terms. The grower has paid for the plant, the pot and the crew, but not been paid yet, and the customer may be slow because the contractor is waiting for its own client. For illustration only: a $20,000 wholesale order delivered in March and paid in late April means a six-week float on a bill the grower has already settled. That float is the kind of timing gap this funding is meant to bridge. These figures are an example and not our terms.
Funding from $25,000 to $5,000,000
We fund working capital from $25,000 to $5,000,000, with funding in as little as 24 hours once the file is complete. A FICO score of 500 or higher is considered. We read about three months of business bank statements and do not require tax returns, and the application takes about five minutes with a soft credit pull. Sole proprietors can apply.
Related pages: equipment financing for a new greenhouse system or truck, working capital for payroll and inventory. When you are ready, apply here.