How a merchant cash advance works
With a merchant cash advance you receive a lump sum and repay it from a share of your sales or through fixed daily or weekly withdrawals. There is no monthly installment on a calendar. The upside is simplicity and speed. The downside is that payments continue in weak weeks, so the product suits a business whose deposits are steady and frequent more than one whose income comes in a few large pieces.
We do not publish pricing here; it depends on your statements and the offer. Always compare the total you will repay against the amount you receive, not only the daily figure.
Lancaster's retail and dining tenants
Per Wikipedia, Lancaster's economic development department is working to attract retail and dining to Lancaster Town Center, Front Row Center and other retail centers, and the city put effort into revitalizing Downtown Lancaster. Retail and food service are the businesses that tend to use advances: they have constant card and cash deposits and a need for fast money, whether for a kitchen repair, a restock before a busy weekend, or a second location's deposit.
The city had 173,516 residents in the 2020 census over roughly 94.52 square miles. In a spread-out place, a shop's traffic depends on driving patterns and weather; a slow stretch lasts longer than one bad day.
Good fits and poor fits
| Usually a fit | Usually a poor fit |
|---|---|
| Daily card and cash deposits that are fairly even | Income arriving in a few big invoices a month |
| A short, specific need that pays back quickly | A long-term asset such as a building or heavy machine |
| A business already tracking daily sales | A business with sharply seasonal troughs |
For invoice-driven businesses, working capital or revenue-based financing may be a better match.
Three questions before you accept any offer
- What is the total repayment, in dollars, compared with the amount you receive?
- What does the payment look like in your worst week from the last quarter?
- What happens if you want to take another advance later?
Stacking advances is how owners get into trouble; if that has already happened, see MCA relief.
What we ask for
Requests run from $25,000 to $5,000,000. We ask for about three months of business bank statements and a 5-minute application. FICO 500+ is considered, tax returns are not required, and the credit pull is soft. Funding can arrive in as little as 24 hours after approval. Sole proprietors can apply. Apply here, or compare the line of credit first.