It’s a challenging time for the retail sector, with energy bills rising, skills shortages, and of course online shopping to contend with. That’s why it’s more important than ever to ensure that you have the best possible business funding solutions in place. And it’s also important to take advantage of the busiest sales period of the year- the run up to Christmas.
Now is the time to make the most of every sale that you put through your till, and a merchant cash advance is a great way to do this.
Here we’ll talk about what merchant cash advance is, and how it can benefit your retail business at any time of year, but why it can be especially profitable during the festive period.
What is a merchant cash advance for the retail sector?
Finding the right funding solutions for your business can sometimes mean the difference between sinking or swimming in this competitive sector, especially in the current economic climate.
Merchant cash advance provides the ideal funding solution for the retail industry as it is tailored for businesses who put sales through PDQ machines. It’s no surprise that merchant cash advance is becoming an increasingly popular option for retail businesses.
How does a merchant cash advance work?
Merchant cash advance is a type of business financing. Merchant cash advances are ideal for businesses such as shops which accept debit and credit card payments/use a PDQ machine.
The lender will provide your business with a cash advance which is then repaid as a percentage of its customers’ card payments using your card terminal (PDQ). As soon as the lender approves your application for a cash advance you can access the cash. This amount is then repaid with a percentage of your debit and credit card sales, via your card terminal. The merchant cash advance provider will deduct a daily or weekly percentage of debit and credit card sales until the amount is repaid in full; this amount tends to be around 10% – 15% of the sale.
The beauty of this is that the advance is repaid in line with sales: your business only pays back the advance when it receives customer card payments, which helps to manage cash flow.
Why is merchant cash advance ideal for the retail industry?
A major benefit of a merchant cash advance is that your repayments are all based on revenue, and repayment is only made in line with sales. As well as being great for cash flow, this means that there is less risk of you defaulting on your advance.
Merchant cash advances are ideally suited to shops and stores as a high proportion of retail customers pay using debit and credit cards. The more sales you put through your card terminal the faster you will repay your merchant cash advance. You’ll repay your cash advance even more quickly if you put through sales of a higher value.
And this brings us onto why you should consider a merchant cash advance this Christmas…
Your lender will deduct a daily or weekly percentage of debit and credit card sales until the amount is repaid in full; this amount tends to be around 10% – 15% of the sale. If you want to get your merchant cash advance paid off as quickly as possible, there’s no better time to start repaying it than in the run up to Christmas- the busiest time of the year for the retail sector, with customers spending more frequently (and likely spending more money per transaction) than any other time of the year.
Every time a sale goes through your PDQ machine you’ll be paying off your merchant cash advance in a way that doesn’t impact your cash flow. It makes sense to get your merchant cash in place before the busy festive period, as that’s when you will have more transactions being put through your PDQ machine. Which means your cash advance will be paid off more quickly.
Make the most of this busy period to pay off a merchant cash advance that you can use to grow your business.
How can a business finance broker help your retail business?
If you think a merchant cash advance could benefit your retail business but are unsure of how to apply, a business finance broker can help. Business finance brokers such as PMD are experienced in securing this type of funding for retail businesses just like yours, and are always on hand to help and advise on the best funding options for you.
A business finance broker will take the hard work out of searching and applying for your merchant cash advance, leaving you free to focus on running your retail business in the run up to Christmas.
If you are the owner of a retail business and are interested in securing a merchant cash advance this festive period, get in touch today to see how PMD can help.