A merchant cash advance for a new business is possible once the business has a few months of sales deposits in a business bank account, because funders size every advance on that deposit history. Some funders will look at a business with three to six months of statements, more open up around the one-year mark, and the amount offered depends on how much the business deposits each month and how steady those deposits are. A business with no deposits yet usually starts with other funding, such as equipment financing, and comes back to an advance once the statements exist. Below we explain why the number of months matters, what a business at 3, 6 and 12 months usually sees, how minimum revenue works, and the routes that suit a business under a year old.
Newer businesses do borrow, and they get turned down more often. In the Federal Reserve Banks' 2024 Report on Startup Firms, 47% of employer firms in business for two years or less applied for financing in the prior 12 months, against 34% of older employer firms. Of those young applicants, 43% were fully approved for what they asked for, compared with 54% of older ones.
Why funders count your months of bank statements
A merchant cash advance is a purchase of part of your future sales. The funder sends you a lump sum now and collects a larger set amount through a fixed daily or weekly payment, so before it buys anything it needs a reliable picture of what a usual week of sales looks like. That picture comes from your business bank statements, and the number of months behind it changes how much the funder can trust it, for three reasons.
The first is sizing. The underwriter averages your monthly sales deposits and works backward to a payment that a usual week can carry. With three months of statements, one unusually strong month moves the average by a third of its size. With twelve, the same month moves it by about a twelfth. New York's disclosure rule for sales-based financing reflects the same window. Under 23 NYCRR 600.8, a provider estimating a business's monthly sales fixes a historical period of no less than four and no more than twelve months, and when a business has not been operating for twelve months, the provider may average the months it has been open.
The second is steadiness. A business in its first months is often still ramping up, with a soft opening month, a busy second month as word spreads, and a third month that shows where things settle. Funders want to see that the deposits have found a level, because the payment does not change from week to week. A year of statements also shows a full season, so a funder can see the slow months as well as the busy ones.
The third is how many young businesses are still finding their footing. The same Fed report found that 25% of employer startups operated at a profit in 2022, against 52% of older employer firms, and that 72% of employer startups used the owners' personal funds to deal with financial challenges. Each extra month of steady deposits shows a funder that the business is past that stage. Our guide on how to qualify for a merchant cash advance covers what underwriters read on the statements themselves.
What a business with 3, 6 or 12 months usually sees
The table below shows general patterns we see across funders. It is not a promise or a cutoff, because every funder sets its own rules, and a strong file at six months can do better than a weak one at two years.
| Months of deposits | What a funder can see | What an offer usually looks like | Other routes worth asking about |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 3 months | A short average that one good or bad month can swing, and no seasons yet | Only a few funders look this early; an offer, if one comes, is usually small, short and often paid daily | Equipment financing secured by the equipment, and building deposits for a few more months |
| About 6 months | A level of deposits that has had time to settle, and the start of a payment record | More funders will review the file; a first advance is often a modest share of a month's deposits over a shorter term | A smaller first advance with a renewal in mind, and equipment financing |
| About 12 months | A full year, including the slow season, and a year-end tax return on the way | Most funders will review the file; larger amounts, longer terms and weekly payments become more common | Lines of credit, and later longer-term loans once tax returns are filed |
Our application asks for the last four months of business bank statements as PDFs, which you can upload or email to us. If you have fewer than four months, send what you have. Our checklist of merchant cash advance documents covers what else a funder may ask for later in the process.
Partial offers are common at any age. In the Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 48% of merchant cash advance applicants were fully approved, 40% were approved for part of what they asked for and 12% were denied. For a newer business, a partial offer is often the first step toward a larger one.
Merchant cash advance minimum revenue and how the threshold works
Most funders set a minimum for monthly deposits, and the number is read in a specific way. It applies to sales deposits, so transfers from savings, loan proceeds and money the owner puts in are taken out first. It applies to the average across the months you send, so one strong month does not lift a file over the line on its own. And it applies to the business account, so sales that land in a personal account or a payment app do not count until they reach the business account.
The minimum exists because the payment has to stay small next to a usual week of sales, and a very small business can only carry a very small advance. Here is an illustration with example figures. A business depositing $10,000 a month has a usual week of about $2,300. If a funder keeps the payment near 12% of that week, the payment is about $277, and 24 weeks of it comes to about $6,650 in total payback. At an example factor rate of 1.40, that supports an advance of roughly $4,750, below the $5,000 where revenue-based financing through our network starts. At $20,000 a month, the same arithmetic supports roughly $9,500. Our guide to how much you can get with a merchant cash advance runs the same math at larger deposit levels.
Revenue and time also work together. The funders we work with generally look for about a year in business and about $20,000 a month in deposits. If you're not there yet, apply anyway. Some funders work with newer or smaller businesses, and we'll tell you what's realistic. A business at eight months with steady deposits well above that level is often a stronger file than one at two years with deposits that swing from month to month.
Credit plays a smaller part than either one. A lower score usually changes the size and price of an offer rather than whether there is one, and our guide to the credit score for a merchant cash advance goes through each score band.
Options for a business under a year old
If your business is younger than most funders prefer, there are still several ways forward, and more than one can run at the same time. Our guide to startup business loans covers SBA programs, credit cards and other funding for a business that is just opening. The routes below are the ones that matter most once you are open and depositing sales.
A smaller first advance, then renewals
A funder that is unsure about a young business may still buy a small amount of its future sales over a short term. As an example, a business depositing $15,000 a month might be offered $8,000 at a factor rate of 1.45, repaid as $11,600 in 24 weekly payments of about $483, so the cost is $3,600. Once a good share of that advance is paid on time, the same funder often has a reason to offer a renewal for more, because it now has its own payment record with the business on top of the bank statements. Our guide to a second merchant cash advance shows how a renewal pays off the balance and sends the difference.
Equipment financing secured by the equipment
If the money is for an oven, a truck, a lift or a machine, equipment financing can be an option even with a short history, because the equipment secures the deal and gives the lender something of value besides the deposits, though many lenders still ask for time in business or a larger down payment. We arrange equipment financing up to $500,000, and with a vendor's quote in hand, offers typically come back in one to two business days. Our guide to how equipment financing works covers down payments and terms.
Building deposits and business credit
The months before you apply decide what the file shows. The SBA's guide to launching a business says to open a business bank account as soon as you start accepting or spending money as a business, and for an advance that account is the only record a funder reads. Run every sale through it, deposit card settlements and cash on a regular schedule, and keep the balance above zero so no overdraft or returned item shows up. Open a business credit card or supplier accounts in the business's name and pay them on time, so the business starts building a credit record of its own instead of leaning only on your personal score.
A business you bought
If you bought a business that was already running, the business may be older than your ownership of it. The SBA's same guide notes that an existing business can come with an established customer base and defined operating expenses, and a funder can see that in the deposits. Some funders will read the seller's statements from before the purchase alongside yours, especially when the name, location, account and customers stayed the same, while others count time from the day you took over. Send the purchase agreement and the months of statements from both periods, and we'll take the file to the funders that give credit for the earlier history.
A new location of a business you already run
A second location is usually not a new business to a funder. If the new site runs through the same company and bank account, the funder reads the deposits of the business you already operate, and its history counts in full. If the new site is set up as its own company with its own account, tell us when you apply, because the established business can often be the one that applies and its deposits can support the advance that pays for the new site.
Getting a merchant cash advance for a new business through us
Today Capital Group is a funding broker, so one application goes to the funders in our network whose rules fit your file, and the funder makes the decision. You fill out one short application and add your business bank statements as PDFs, uploaded or emailed. Getting matched does not need a hard credit pull, because most funders prequalify from bank statements and a soft pull, and a funder that runs a hard pull in final underwriting tells you first. There is nothing to pay to apply or to see offers.
When offers come back, we set them side by side and go through the amount, the factor rate, the total payback and the payment with you before anything is signed. Most applicants are funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer. If your business is too new for the funders we work with, we'll say so plainly and tell you what would change the answer, whether that is two more months of statements, an equipment quote or a different applicant such as the company behind your first location.
If you have been open a few months, gather your business bank statements and any equipment quotes, then apply or call us at (818) 351-0225, and we'll tell you which option fits now and what to build toward.
Frequently asked questions
Can a new business get a merchant cash advance?
Yes, once it has a few months of sales deposits in a business bank account, since funders size the advance on those deposits; some funders review businesses with three to six months of statements, more open up around a year, and a first advance for a young business is usually smaller and shorter than what the same business could get later.
Who qualifies for a merchant cash advance?
A business with regular sales deposits into a business bank account, enough monthly revenue that a set payment stays small next to a usual week, and an account that rarely runs below zero; every funder sets its own minimums for time in business, revenue and credit, and a lower credit score usually narrows the offers rather than ending them.
What is the minimum revenue for a merchant cash advance?
There is no single number, because each funder sets its own, but the minimum is read as the average of monthly sales deposits into the business account after transfers, loan proceeds and owner deposits are taken out, and it exists because a very small deposit base can only support a very small advance.
How long do you need to be in business to get a merchant cash advance?
Some funders look at businesses with about three to six months of deposits, many prefer about a year, and the longer the record, the more funders review the file and the larger and longer the offers tend to be, though steady deposits at six months can beat uneven ones at two years.
Can I get a merchant cash advance with no revenue?
No, because a merchant cash advance buys part of your future sales and is sized on the sales you already deposit, so a business with no revenue yet usually looks at the startup options in our startup loan guide, then applies for an advance once a few months of statements exist.
Does buying an existing business count as time in business?
It often helps, because some funders will read the seller's bank statements from before the sale alongside yours when the name, location and customers stayed the same, while others count time from the date you took over, so send statements from both periods with the purchase agreement.
