Restaurant funding, for the night the walk-in quits.

What restaurant deposits look like on a bank statement

A restaurant's statement is one of the easiest for an underwriter to read, because the money arrives almost every day:

• Card batches. Each night's card sales settle and deposit a business day or two later, with Friday through Sunday often landing together on Monday or Tuesday.
• Delivery platform payouts. Third-party delivery apps usually pay out weekly, net of their commissions, so those deposits are smaller than the orders behind them.
• Catering and events. Larger, irregular payments by check or ACH, sometimes with a deposit up front.
• Cash. Counted only if it's deposited into the business account.

One thing that inflates restaurant deposits: card tips. They flow into your account with the sale and then go straight out to staff, so your true revenue is lower than your gross deposits suggest. Plan your payment around the money you actually keep.

When restaurants are slow, and when they're slammed

Most restaurants have a predictable calendar. January and February are slow in many markets after the holidays. Patios and tourist areas peak in summer; ski towns peak in winter. Sports bars live on football season, college-town spots go quiet when students leave, and Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and graduation weekends can be the biggest days of the year. An advance taken just before a slow stretch needs a payment you can carry through it.

Why restaurants need money fast

• Equipment failures. A walk-in compressor, ice machine, fryer or dish machine that dies mid-service. Every day it's down costs sales.
• Required repairs. Hood and fire suppression work, grease trap service or fixes flagged in an inspection.
• A refresh or renovation. New seating, a bar rebuild, a patio or a dining-room update to keep up with competitors.
• Slow-season payroll. Keeping your best cooks and servers through January instead of rehiring in March. See seasonal cash flow.
• A second location. Deposits, build-out and opening inventory, though a full build-out often needs longer-term capital too.

Do daily payments make sense for a restaurant?

Usually, yes. You take in sales every day and the payment comes out every business day, so the advance moves with your revenue rather than landing as one large monthly bill. But food and labor together eat most of every dollar in a typical restaurant, so the money left after costs is thin. Three habits keep an advance healthy:

• Size the payment against what you keep, not your gross deposits.
• Avoid stacking several advances; total daily payments add up quickly. See positions and stacking.
• If sales fall for reasons outside your control, ask for a reconciliation early instead of letting your balance go negative.

What an underwriter reviews for a restaurant

Your last three months of business bank statements plus month-to-date, and before funding, your most recent card processing statement, which shows monthly volume and average ticket. The underwriter will look at how consistent daily deposits are, whether delivery revenue is growing or replacing dine-in, how many negative-balance days you have (we look for an average of 5 or fewer a month) and what you already pay toward existing advances. If you operate more than one location or entity, include every account.

When a restaurant should skip the advance

• Opening a new concept from scratch. A full kitchen build-out takes longer to pay back than an advance's term of up to 10 months. Look at an SBA loan for that.
• Covering ongoing losses. If the restaurant loses money most months, an advance adds a daily payment to the problem.
• A big, long-life equipment package. A full cook line can be cheaper through equipment financing.

An advance is at its best when it fixes something urgent or funds something that brings in more covers within weeks.

Frequently asked questions