I run a store, restaurant, bar, café or hotel. What are my options?
Supplier credit, SBA and bank loans, equipment and inventory finance, crowdfunding and card-linked advances, cheapest first.
Stores, restaurants, bars, cafés and hotels take payment from customers by card or in cash at the counter or online, rather than sending 30-day invoices to other businesses. That rules out invoice factoring and accounts receivable lines, and means financing usually turns on four things: your stock, your kitchen or store equipment, your premises, and your card or online sales.
- Stock and floor plan lines: a supplier that gives you 30 days to pay is funding part of your inventory for free. Beyond that, inventory loans lend a share of the value of eligible stock — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) notes that inventory advances generally range from 20% to 65%, and leave out perishable or out-of-date goods. Dealers of high-value items with serial numbers (such as vehicles, boats, RVs, large appliances or furniture) often use floor plan lines that advance up to 100% of new invoice cost and are repaid as each item sells, with monthly curtailments if an item sits unsold.
- Premises and single-purpose buildings: if you are buying or renovating the building you trade from with an SBA 504 loan, the usual minimum borrower contribution is 10% of the project cost. Under SBA rules (13 CFR 120.910), that rises to 15% if the business has operated for two years or less, or if the building is a limited or single-purpose property (such as a hotel or car wash), and to 20% when both apply.
- Card and online sales advances: merchant cash advances, payment-processor loans and e-commerce platform advances take an agreed share of your daily card or online sales until a fixed payback amount is cleared. Because the fee is fixed, strong sales repay the advance faster and push the effective annual percentage rate (APR) much higher — check the cost with our sales-based calculator before you sign.
21 routes to look at, cheapest first
Compare the first 4 side by side- L0
Free or nearly free
Little or no cash cost, though most take time and admin. Some bring money in, and a few have small fees.- Own cash and no-cost
Customer prepayments, deposits and pre-orders
Ask customers to pay some or all of the price before you deliver. The cash comes in before your costs go out, so you need to borrow less, but until you deliver you owe customers the goods or their money back.
Days - Own cash and no-cost
Supplier trade credit
Your suppliers let you pay for goods or services some time after you receive them, often 30 or 60 days later. Usually free if you pay on time, but giving up an early-payment discount can make it expensive.
Weeks - Grants, tax credits and prizes
Business tax breaks (section 179, bonus depreciation and credits)
Federal tax rules that let you deduct the cost of equipment in the year you buy it, and credits for things like offering staff health insurance. They cut the tax you owe, so they help only if the business has taxable profit or tax to pay, and they come after you have spent the money.
6 months or more - Crowdfunding and community finance
Rewards crowdfunding
Raise money online from many backers who get a reward, often the product itself, instead of a share of the business. No repayment or dilution, but you must deliver what you promised, and the money is usually taxable income.
Months
- Own cash and no-cost
- L1
Very cheap or subsidised
Borrowing on better terms than the market, usually because a public body, community lender or large buyer is involved.- Government-backed and community lending
Community development lenders (CDFIs)
Loans from community development financial institutions: mission-driven lenders certified by the US Treasury that serve low-income communities and people who find it hard to get finance elsewhere, often with advice alongside.
WeeksPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA 504 loans
Long-term, fixed-rate financing for buildings, land and long-life equipment, split between a bank and a nonprofit Certified Development Company backed by the SBA. You usually put in 10% yourself.
MonthsUp to $5.5mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA Microloans
A small business loan of up to $50,000 from a nonprofit community lender that the SBA funds, for working capital, supplies and equipment. The average is about $13,000.
WeeksUp to $50kPersonal guarantee likely
- Government-backed and community lending
- L2
Mainstream secured debt
Standard borrowing from banks, credit unions and mainstream lenders, often secured on assets or backed by a personal guarantee.- Government-backed and community lending
SBA 7(a) loans
A business loan of up to $5 million from a bank or other lender, with part of it guaranteed by the SBA, for businesses that cannot get the credit they need on reasonable terms elsewhere.
MonthsUp to $5mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA Express loans
A loan or line of credit of up to $500,000 from a bank or other lender with SBA Express authority. The lender decides under its own procedures and the SBA guarantees half, so there is less SBA paperwork than a standard 7(a) loan, but the same rate caps and the same rules on who can borrow.
WeeksUp to $500kPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA lines of credit (CAPLines and others)
Bank lines of credit of up to $5 million for working capital, contracts, seasonal peaks or building projects, with the SBA guaranteeing part so lenders will say yes. Rates are capped, but owners usually guarantee the line and the lender watches your receivables and inventory closely.
MonthsUp to $5mPersonal guarantee likely - Bank and mainstream debt
Bank and credit union term loans
A lump sum from a bank or credit union, repaid in fixed installments over an agreed term, usually one to five years. Usually cheaper than online lenders, but slower, and usually secured on assets with a personal guarantee.
WeeksPersonal guarantee likely - Bank and mainstream debt
Business credit cards
Revolving credit for everyday business costs, up to a limit. Free if you clear the balance each month, but expensive if you carry it, and most consumer credit card protections do not apply.
DaysPersonal guarantee likely - Bank and mainstream debt
Business line of credit
A credit limit from a bank, credit union or online lender that you can draw on, repay and draw again, for short-term costs such as inventory, payroll and seasonal gaps.
WeeksPersonal guarantee likely - Bank and mainstream debt
Commercial real estate loans
A loan secured on business property, to buy, build or refinance the building you trade from or one you rent out. Long-term money at a lower risk to the lender than most business loans, but you need a deposit, and many loans end with a large final payment you must refinance.
Months - Bank and mainstream debt
Equipment leasing and sale-leaseback
Paying to use equipment that a lessor owns, with options to buy it at the end, or selling equipment you already own to a lessor and leasing it back to raise cash. Little or no deposit, but you may pay more in total and own nothing at the end.
Weeks - Bank and mainstream debt
Equipment loans and finance agreements
A loan or finance agreement to buy machinery, vehicles or other equipment now and pay for it over time. The equipment itself usually secures the deal, and tax rules can let you write off much of the cost in the first year.
Weeks
- Government-backed and community lending
- L3
Specialist secured debt
Borrowing secured on specific assets such as invoices or inventory, with more fees and conditions than mainstream debt. - L4
Expensive or fast
Quick to arrange, often unsecured, and usually the most expensive way to borrow.- Alternative and fast debt
E-commerce and payment platform finance
Financing offered by the platform you sell through or take payments with, worked out from your sales there and repaid automatically as a share of each sale. Quick and simple, but only for its own sellers, and a fixed fee can make it expensive.
Days - Alternative and fast debt
Merchant cash advance
A lump sum now in exchange for a share of your future sales, usually collected by daily or weekly withdrawals from your bank account until a fixed total is repaid. Fast, but one of the most expensive ways to raise money.
DaysPersonal guarantee likely - Alternative and fast debt
Online business loans
Term loans and lines of credit applied for online, often from finance companies rather than banks. Decisions can come within days, but rates run well above bank loans, and payments may be taken weekly or even daily.
DaysPersonal guarantee likely - Alternative and fast debt
Revenue-based finance
A lump sum repaid as a fixed share of your monthly revenue until an agreed total is paid back. Payments fall when sales fall, but the total is fixed, so repaying quickly makes it very expensive.
DaysPersonal guarantee likely
- Alternative and fast debt
Worth knowing
- If your sales peak in summer or around the holidays, ask about an SBA Seasonal CAPLine (for businesses trading at least 12 months with a clear seasonal pattern) before taking a high-cost daily cash advance.
- Finance ovens, refrigeration, point-of-sale systems, vehicles and store fixtures with equipment loans or leases so you do not drain the cash needed for stock and wages.
- A rewards crowdfunding campaign or pre-paid vouchers can help fund a new opening, menu or refurbishment from regular customers without borrowing.
- Never stack a second merchant cash advance on top of an existing one: two daily holdbacks from card takings can quickly leave too little cash to pay rent, suppliers and staff.
Sources
- OCC Comptroller's Handbook: Floor Plan Lending (version 1.2, January 27, 2017) · checked October 20, 2026
- OCC Comptroller's Handbook: Accounts Receivable and Inventory Financing (inventory advance rates) · checked October 20, 2026
- 13 CFR 120.910: borrower contributions (including new businesses and limited or single-purpose buildings) · checked October 17, 2026
- Federal Reserve: Browsing to Borrow, "Mom & Pop" small business perspectives on online lenders (2018) · checked October 20, 2026
Facts about each route are sourced on its own page.