Why seasonal businesses feel it first
Wikipedia describes Fresno as the regional hub for the San Joaquin Valley, with surrounding areas predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production. Businesses that serve that economy earn unevenly: heavy deposits in harvest and packing months, then thin deposits in winter. An advance payment, in contrast, does not follow the season. It comes out the same each day.
An owner who took an advance in a strong month, sized against those deposits, can find the payment unmanageable by January.
The squeeze in numbers
For illustration only, a Fresno farm-equipment repair shop deposits $8,000 a week in summer and $2,800 in winter. A $1,200 weekly advance payment takes 15% of a summer week and about 43% of a winter week. If the shop took a second advance to cover the first, those shares rise again. Nothing is wrong with the shop's work; the calendar and the payment do not match. These numbers are examples, not any offer.
What relief aims to do
MCA relief is designed to ease the payments on advances you already have so the business can operate at a sustainable pace. What it looks like depends on balances, schedules and your bank statements, which is why we review them before saying anything specific. It is not a promise of a particular reduction, and it is not a fit for every situation. If the business is basically sound but the payment structure is wrong, it is worth exploring.
What to bring
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| About three months of business bank statements | Shows deposits and each deduction |
| A list of advances | Holder, payment, frequency, rough balance |
| Last season versus this season | Shows how seasonal your deposits are |
Do not stop payments on your own. Share the full picture with your application.
Compare this winter to last winter
Pull deposits for the same three months in each of the last two years. If this year's slow season is lower than last year's, that is a sign the problem is more than timing, and it is worth knowing before you apply. If the two look alike, the issue is probably the mismatch between a steady payment and a seasonal income. Either way, the comparison helps a reviewer see what you are describing and helps you plan what a sustainable payment would look like.
Eligibility and next steps
We consider FICO 500 and above, need no tax returns, and use a soft credit pull on a five-minute application. Funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000, and sole proprietors can apply. If you want new money instead of relief, compare working capital, a line of credit or revenue-based financing. If you are deciding on an advance, read about merchant cash advances. Trade pages include agriculture and packing sheds. Apply here.