Laundromat Merchant Cash Advance & Business Funding
Laundromats can get a merchant cash advance, but funders need to see the money. A lot of revenue still comes in coins and cash, so it only counts if it's deposited regularly into the business account. Card readers and app payments make sales easier to read. Replacing machines is the most common use, and it's worth comparing with equipment financing.
How do funders read laundromats?
Funders look for regular deposits, low overdrafts and a lease with enough time left. A store with commercial accounts has a second, steadier income stream that reads well.
How does money come in for laundromats?
Revenue comes from coins and cash, card readers on the machines, app payments, and wash-and-fold or commercial accounts invoiced to hotels, gyms or salons. Coins that sit in a safe don't show on a bank statement. Depositing on a set schedule gives a funder something to count.
Which months are slowest for laundromats?
This table shows how many people private coin-operated laundries and drycleaners (NAICS 812310) businesses employed each month, as an index where the year's average is 100. It comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, the most recent full year available. Staffing is a stand-in for how busy a business is. Deposits can move more or less than headcount, so read it as the shape of the year, not your numbers.
| Month | Staffing index (average = 100) | |
|---|---|---|
| January | 98 | lowest |
| February | 98 | |
| March | 99 | |
| April | 99 | |
| May | 100 | |
| June | 100 | |
| July | 101 | |
| August | 101 | |
| September | 100 | |
| October | 101 | |
| November | 101 | |
| December | 101 | highest |
The low point is January at 98.2 and the high point is December at 101, a swing of 2.8 points. Laundromat staffing drifts up a little through the year, but it's small.
| Quarter | Total payroll index (average = 100) |
|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 93 |
| Quarter 2 | 98 |
| Quarter 3 | 104 |
| Quarter 4 | 106 |
Payroll by quarter can rise at year end for reasons like bonuses and overtime, not only more work.
What do laundromats use merchant cash advances for?
- Replacing old washers and dryers.
- Converting machines to card or app payment.
- Water heater, boiler or venting repairs.
- Utility deposits for a second location.
- Wash-and-fold equipment and staff.
What does an advance payment look like in a slow month?
Staffing barely moves through the year here, so the slow month to plan for isn't seasonal. Say a boiler fails and half the machines sit idle for a few weeks, and deposits come in 20% under average. Say a business like yours deposits $30,000 in an average month and carries a fixed payment of $3,000 a month, 10% of that average:
| Deposits | Fixed payment | Share of deposits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average month | $30,000 | $3,000 | 10.0% |
| A month 20% below average | $24,000 | $3,000 | 12.5% |
A fifth less in deposits turns a 10% payment into 12.5%. Keep a cushion for it, or ask how reconciliation works before you need it.
Which funding options fit laundromats?
Each page runs one option against this industry's slow months.
Same-day merchant cash advance for laundromats
Money the same business day for an urgent cost, with the fixed daily debit measured against a slow month.
Business line of credit for laundromats
A draw sized for a slow month, repaid in thirds, with the interest on the balance worked out.
Revenue-based financing for laundromats
A remittance that moves with revenue, so a slow month sends less, and the months to reach the repayment cap.
MCA consolidation for laundromats
One payment in place of two, with the share of deposits before and after in a slow month.
Second position MCA for laundromats
What a second advance adds on top of the first, and what both payments take from deposits in a slow month.
Run a business like this?
Tell us your slow months up front and we'll look for funders that size for them. Call 877-FUND-654 with any question. We call you back, usually the same business day, and we always talk with you before we shop your file.