The general rule: 50% to 150% of monthly revenue
For most alternative lending products, the maximum advance is roughly 50-150% of average monthly revenue:
Quick math: A business doing $40,000/month in revenue typically qualifies for $20,000 to $60,000 from an MCA or revenue-based financing lender.
Where you land in the 50-150% range depends on:
- Time in business: 12+ months unlocks higher multiples.
- Credit score: 650+ supports the upper end of the range.
- Bank statement health: Clean statements (no NSFs, consistent deposits) lift the offer.
- Industry: Some industries (restaurants, certain retail) cap closer to the lower end; others (services, B2B) often qualify for the upper.
Borrowing limits by product
Merchant Cash Advance: $5,000 - $2,000,000. Typically 50-150% of monthly revenue. Up to $500K is routine; above $500K requires strong file.
Revenue-Based Financing: $5,000 - $2,000,000. Same multiplier as MCA. Better fit for non-card businesses.
Equipment Financing: $5,000 - $5,000,000. Tied to equipment value, not revenue. 80-100% of purchase price typical.
Business Term Loan: $10,000 - $5,000,000. Larger amounts available; underwriting is heavier and slower.
Business Line of Credit: $10,000 - $1,000,000. Revolving capital, draw and repay as needed.
SBA 7(a) Loan: Up to $5,000,000. Lowest rates but slowest (30-90 days). Best for acquisitions and expansion.
Invoice Factoring: Limited by invoice amounts — you sell what you have.
Borrowing examples by monthly revenue
$15K monthly revenue: Typical MCA offer $7,500 - $22,500. Equipment financing if equipment supports it. Limited term loan eligibility.
$30K monthly revenue: MCA offers $15K - $45K. Equipment financing up to $200K. Some term loan eligibility at $15K-$50K.
$50K monthly revenue: MCA offers $25K - $75K. Term loans $25K - $150K. LOC $20K - $100K. SBA microloan available.
$100K monthly revenue: MCA $50K - $200K. Term loan $50K - $500K. LOC $50K - $300K. SBA 7(a) loan eligibility opens.
$250K+ monthly revenue: Full product menu, all amounts. SBA 7(a) up to $5M. Multiple stacked products available.
How to qualify for more
Five things make your offers grow:
1. Time in business. 12+ months is a major threshold. 24+ months is another. The longer your operating history, the higher the multiplier.
2. Personal credit. Each 50-point FICO improvement typically raises your borrowing cap by 10-20%. Going from 580 to 680 can double your offers.
3. Revenue trend. A growing 3-month trend gets larger offers than a flat or declining one, even at the same monthly average.
4. Bank statement cleanup. Eliminating NSFs (no overdrafts in 90 days) and consolidating deposits into one account can lift offers 20-40%.
5. Use a broker. Single lender = single offer. The Broker Shop shops the right lenders, and competition typically pushes the cap higher.
The cap isn’t the goal — affordability is
Just because you can borrow $150K doesn’t mean you should. The right question is: how much funding generates more revenue than its cost?
A $50K advance at 1.30 factor costs $15K. If you can deploy that $50K into inventory, marketing, or capacity that generates more than $15K in net new revenue over the repayment period, it’s a winning trade.
Borrowing the maximum just because you qualified for it is the biggest mistake we see new owners make. Borrow what the business can productively deploy, repay it, then renew at better terms once you’ve built history with the lender.