Manufacturing
Manufacturing Business Loans
Manufacturers finance machinery, raw materials ahead of a large order, and the working capital tied up between production and payment. Equipment financing is secured by the machine, so approvals are common even with limited credit history.
For manufacturing
What it pays for
- CNC machines, presses and production lines
- Raw materials ahead of a large order
- The gap between production and payment
- Facility expansion and reconfiguration
- Bridging a seasonal order cycle
- Won't affect your credit
- Free, no obligation
- Up to $500K
Why the bank said no
It is usually the same reason a lender says yes.
Manufacturing ties up cash in materials and work in progress long before an invoice is paid, which reads as poor liquidity on a bank's model even when the order book is strong.
Why do banks turn down manufacturers for loans? →Funding options
Funding options for manufacturing.
The right product depends on what the money is for. One application here goes to the lenders in our network that fund manufacturing businesses in your state; they decide, typically within 24 hours, and funds can land in as little as 72 hours.
| What you need it for | What usually fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CNC machines, presses and production lines | Equipment financing | The machine secures it; putting a machine on working capital is the expensive mistake. |
| Raw materials ahead of a large order | Working capital loan | Funds materials for an order already won, repaid when it is paid. |
| The gap between production and payment | Working capital loan | Underwritten on deposits and the order book, not the work-in-progress ratio. |
| Facility expansion and reconfiguration | Longer-term financing (a bank or SBA loan) | A facility pays back over years, not months. |
| Bridging a seasonal order cycle | Business line of credit | The same gap every year, drawn and repaid with the cycle. |
How does each kind of funding work for manufacturing?
Checked by Alex Makowski.
Two things decide how each product behaves in a trade: how the money comes in, and whether the need comes back. An advance repaid as a share of card sales falls in a slow week; one repaid by a fixed daily or weekly debit against deposits does not. Equipment secures its own financing, so it costs less than unsecured money. A line costs interest only on what is drawn, for the days it is drawn, and is the hardest of the four to open, usually needing a year or two of trading and clean statements. A working capital loan has fixed repayment, so size it to your slowest month.
Merchant Cash Advance for manufacturing
Manufacturers are paid on invoice by business customers, so an advance is a fixed debit against deposits that can arrive weeks after the goods ship. A debit running every day while the cash for a large order is tied up in materials and work in progress is exactly where advances go wrong. Working capital tied to the order, or equipment financing for machines, is usually the better shape.
Working Capital Loans for manufacturing
Fits a large order already won: raw materials and overtime now, repaid when the customer pays. Underwriters read your deposits and may ask about the order itself. Keep the term longer than the customer's payment terms, with room for a late payment, so the loan is repaid out of the order it funded and not out of the next one.
Equipment Financing for manufacturing
CNC machines, presses, injection molders and production lines are what equipment finance is built for: specific, valuable and resaleable. Used machinery finances routinely, sometimes after an appraisal. Rigging, installation and tooling may or may not be included, so ask whether the quote is financed in full or only the machine.
Business Line of Credit for manufacturing
Suits a seasonal order cycle, the same gap every year: draw to buy materials for the busy season, pay it down as it ships and is invoiced. An established plant with long-standing customers is a good candidate, and a line beats taking a fresh advance every year for the same recurring gap.
What your deposits support
Before you apply
What to have ready before you apply.
- Six months of business bank statements.
- Your order book or contracts in hand.
- For equipment, the specification, the vendor quote and whether existing machines are financed.
FAQ
Manufacturing: questions owners ask.
- How do manufacturers finance a large order?
- Working capital against the order, repaid when the customer pays. It funds materials and labour in the window where cash is committed but not yet earned.
- Is used machinery financeable?
- Usually. The machine secures the loan, so lenders will finance used equipment, though they may require an appraisal and shorten the term.
- Can a manufacturer with limited credit history get equipment financing?
- Often. Because the equipment is collateral, approval leans on the asset and on deposit history rather than on the credit file.
Manufacturing funding by state
Guides
Guides on this
Why do banks turn down manufacturers for loans?
Because manufacturing ties cash up in materials and work in progress long before an invoice is paid, which reads as poor liquidity even when the order book is full. A bank sees the ratio; a funder reads the deposits and the orders, and treats the machinery as separately financeable collateral.
You need a forklift and you have been in business about a year. Can you finance it, and what will it cost?
Yes. A forklift is the kind of asset equipment lenders like: easy to value, easy to resell. Typical floors are six months in business, around $15,000 a month in deposits and a personal score near 600, with terms of two to six years. Below 600, or under a year, expect a 10 to 20 percent down payment rather than a decline. Used forklifts from a dealer finance the same way.
A big purchase order needs a new CNC machine and $60,000 of raw material. Which product for which?
The machine is equipment financing — often through the dealer at the point of sale, paid in full when it ships, repaid over three to seven years with the machine as security. The raw material, the tooling and the labor between first cut and the customer's net-45 payment are working capital, funded in one to three business days on your deposits with the purchase order attached. Shops that fund both on one product pay the material's price for the machine.
One application, every lender we work with
Find out what you qualify for before you need it.
Eleven questions, about two minutes. You see offers side by side and take one, or none.
- Won't affect your credit
- Free, no obligation
- Decisions usually inside 24 hours
- Up to $500K