Professional Services
Business Loans for Professional Services
Agencies, consultancies, law and accounting firms fund payroll, client acquisition, and the gap created by net-30 or net-60 invoicing. Steady recurring revenue tends to produce strong approval odds even without hard collateral.
For professional services
What it pays for
- Payroll ahead of client payment
- Net-30 and net-60 invoice gaps
- Hiring before revenue arrives
- Client acquisition and new business
- Software, tooling and office costs
- 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.
Service firms hold little collateral, which is what a bank's model looks for. A revenue-based lender looks at recurring client billings instead and sees predictable, verifiable income.
Why do banks turn down professional services firms for loans? →Funding options
Funding options for professional services.
The right product depends on what the money is for. One application here goes to the lenders in our network that fund professional services 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll ahead of client payment | Business line of credit | Drawn against the gap and repaid when the invoices clear. |
| Net-30 and net-60 invoice gaps | Business line of credit | A gap that opens and closes every month is what a line is for. |
| Hiring before revenue arrives | Working capital loan | A one-off need, such as a hire ahead of a signed engagement. |
| Client acquisition and new business | Working capital loan | Underwritten on recurring billings rather than collateral a firm does not have. |
| Software, tooling and office costs | Business line of credit | Smaller, recurring costs; equipment financing if it is hardware. |
How does each kind of funding work for professional services?
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 professional services
Clients pay on invoice by ACH or check, so an advance here is a fixed debit rather than a share of card sales. For a firm with contracted, recurring billings it is usually the costliest way to cover an invoice gap that a line or a working capital loan handles for less. If it fits anywhere, it is a short, one-off emergency.
Working Capital Loans for professional services
Covers a one-off: a hire before a signed engagement starts, a pitch for a large client, the setup of a new office. Funders underwrite the firm's recurring billings, so having no hard assets is not a problem. Repayment is fixed, so size it to billings already contracted, not to work you are still pitching.
Equipment Financing for professional services
Rarely the main need, since most firms' equipment is laptops and furniture. Where there is real hardware, such as an engineering firm's survey instruments and plotters or an IT firm's servers, it can be financed against itself. Software licences and subscriptions cannot, because there is nothing a lender could recover.
Business Line of Credit for professional services
The best fit for net-30 and net-60 terms, because the gap opens and closes every month. Draw when payroll runs ahead of collections, pay it down when the invoices clear. A firm with retainer clients and tidy books is the kind of borrower providers look for, so apply before the first slow-paying client, not after.
What your deposits support
Before you apply
What to have ready before you apply.
- Six months of business bank statements.
- Roughly what share of revenue your largest client represents. It will come up.
- Whether billings are retainer or project — recurring revenue is priced better.
FAQ
Professional Services: questions owners ask.
- Can a service business get funding without collateral?
- Yes. Revenue-based funding is not secured against assets: recurring client billings are what the lender underwrites.
- How do agencies fund payroll on net-60 terms?
- Working capital sized to the receivables gap. Borrow when payroll runs, repay when the invoices clear.
- What documents are needed?
- Typically three to six months of business bank statements. Full financial statements and tax returns are rarely required at this size.
Professional Services funding by state
Guides
Guides on this
Why do banks turn down professional services firms for loans?
Because a firm of people holds almost nothing a bank can secure against. No property, no plant, no inventory — the value is in client relationships a bank cannot lend on. A revenue-based funder looks at recurring billings instead, which are predictable and verifiable in a way collateral is not.
Your biggest customer is 45 days late on a $40,000 invoice. What are your options?
Bridge it with a short-term working capital loan or advance sized to the shortfall, funded in one to three business days on your deposit history, and repay it the week the invoice clears. Then fix the exposure: a customer who is more than a third of your revenue and pays late is the real risk, and a line of credit set up now is what stops the next late invoice becoming an emergency.
Your daycare has a waitlist. What funds a second location or more classrooms before the new enrollments pay?
A working capital loan or line of credit on the current center's tuition deposits, sized to the licensing, buildout and the staff you must hire before the state approves the new capacity — funded in one to three business days for a loan, longer for a line. Classroom furniture and playground equipment finance separately as equipment. A waitlist is the strongest document a childcare application can carry; send it.
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