Many businesses, especially the small ones, find themselves in dire need of cash from time to time to meet their daily operations. There are various avenues available to obtain the much-needed cash and among them is merchant cash advance. A merchant cash advance is a method of obtaining finance mostly for small businesses whereby a financial institution extends a one-off lump sum to be recovered as a part of future credit card sales. Businesses need to understand the following tips to qualify for a merchant cash advance program before embarking on sourcing for the same.
How to be eligible for merchant cash advance
The applicant must be the actual business owner
The merchant cash advance finance can only be applied for by the principle owner. An agent or representative of the business owner cannot get into this financing method negotiation. The requirements make sure that the arrangement is properly made as it does not need a collateral.The security for the finance extended is future credit sales.
The Business must have been in existence for over four months
The finance method is given against a percentage of future credit sales hence a new business that has had no sales may not qualify for it. A business needs to have been running for not less than four months so as to be considered for a merchant cash advance. This will allow the lender to see the trend of the business credit sales before offering it this finance.
The business must accept Visa or Master card
As earlier indicated this finance is pegged to a percentage of credit card sales. It is for this reason that any business that needs to be considered for a merchant cash advance must have Visa/MasterCard as a form of payment. The lump sum extended to the business will be based on the percentage of credit payments settled via the visa or master cards.
The business must be making enough credit card sales
The lower threshold of sales in credit card sales per month must be met to ensure that the lender will get certain agreed upon percentage of the credit card sales each month. Since merchant cash advance is a non-collateral form of financing, it is paramount that the sales will cover the cost of the finance, both the principle and the interest plus processing cost.
The business owner must understand the financing plan
The business owner needs to comprehend all the terms of the financing plan before signing up for they finance. He or she need to understand the total amount to be paid by the completion of the financing plan, and what percentage of credit sales will be taken each month by the lender. It is also crucial to factor in any risks to the business that may come with the advance if it varies from month to month.