Business funding for bars and pubs
Draft lines and coolers fail on a Friday night, not a convenient Tuesday, and licence renewals and keg deposits land whether the room is full or empty. Bars run on card sales, which is exactly what most bar funding is built around.
- One application, several lenders
- No credit pull to see your options
- No fee to you, ever
Common funding needs
- Replacing a draft system, walk-in cooler or ice machine
- Covering payroll through a slow winter stretch
- Building or renovating a patio before the season starts
- Paying a liquor licence renewal or bond
What usually fits
Products that usually fit
- Merchant cash advance sized to daily card sales, for an urgent repair or a licence renewal.
- Line of credit for slow-season payroll and keg deposits.
- Equipment financing for draft systems, coolers and kitchen gear that hold value.
- Term loan for a patio build or a bigger renovation.
How a merchant cash advance works for you, and when it is too expensive
An MCA for a bar is repaid as a fixed percentage of daily card sales, so a slow Tuesday means a small debit and a packed Saturday means a bigger one. The cost is the factor rate, not the speed: at an illustrative 1.15–1.45, a $30,000 advance costs $34,500–$43,500 no matter how fast the holdback clears it.
It gets expensive when card sales drop for weeks at a time, since the daily debit does not pause with the slow season. Before signing, compare the total cost with a line of credit or a term loan sized to the same repair or renewal.
Compare term loans, lines of credit, cash advances and equipment financing side by side →
Separately, our sister company CELER Merchants offers card processing.
Illustrative example
A worked example
A pub needs $22,000 to replace a failing draft system and two coolers. With equipment financing over 3 years at an illustrative 8–18% a year, payments come to about $689–$795 per month, or $24,818–$28,633 in total.
The same $22,000 as a merchant cash advance at an illustrative factor of 1.20–1.35 means paying back $26,400–$29,700, usually inside 6 to 10 months, out of daily card sales.
Illustrative example only, not an offer or a quote. Rates, fees and terms are set by each lender and depend on your business. Fees are not included unless stated.
Underwriting
What lenders look at
- Monthly card and bank deposits over 3 to 6 months
- Liquor licence status and any bonding requirements
- Existing cash advances or daily debits on the account
- Lease length and landlord relationship
- Owner credit
Honestly
Who this is not for
- A bar that has not opened yet: most lenders want deposit history
- Covering a room that loses money every month with no plan to fix it
- Stacking a second advance while still paying down the first
If borrowing does not make sense, we will say so.
Are you a match?
Lender network minimums
Close but not quite there? Apply anyway and we will tell you honestly what is possible.
*Best available terms from lenders in our network. Every lender sets its own criteria; approval, amount and funding time are decided by the lender and not guaranteed.
| Time in business | 1 year+ |
|---|---|
| Monthly bank deposits | $20,000+ |
| Credit score | 500+ |
| Bank account | Business |
| Fee to you | $0 |
| Credit pull to start | None |
FAQ
Bars & pubs funding questions
Can a new bar get funding?
Most lenders want 6 to 12 months of card and bank deposits. Equipment financing sometimes works sooner if the gear itself secures the loan. Tell us your situation and we will say honestly what fits.
Does a liquor licence renewal count as an emergency expense?
Lenders do not treat it specially, but it is a real, dated cost many bars fund with a short-term advance or a line of credit rather than draining cash reserves.
Will slow winter months hurt my application?
Lenders look at the full pattern, not one bad month. Bring 6 months of statements so the seasonal dip is visible in context.
Can I finance a patio build?
Yes, usually as a term loan or working capital rather than equipment financing, since a patio is not resellable collateral the way a cooler is.
Guides
Guides for bars & pubs
Related
Similar businesses
Restaurants · Cafés & bakeries · Food trucks · Catering · Hotels & motels · Event venues
Where we work: all US states · all Canadian provinces
See your options
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