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Cashflow Finance
Fast Cashflow Finance for Busy Trade Businesses
Short-term funding solutions to bridge gaps, manage seasonal fluctuations, and keep your trade business operating without interruption.
Rates from 0.8% monthly
Same-Day Funding
N/A Min Deposit
£250K
Max Funding
Same Day
Funding
Flexible
Repayment
Why Choose Our Cashflow Finance?
We specialise in cashflow finance for tradesmen with flexible options to suit your business
Same-Day Funding
Apply today, receive funds today for urgent cashflow needs
Short-Term Options
From 1 month to 24 months - borrow only for as long as you need
Flexible Repayment
Match repayments to your income cycle - weekly, monthly, or on invoice payments
Simple Process
Minimal paperwork - often just bank statements to apply
What We Finance
From everyday essentials to specialist equipment, we have finance options for every need
Bridging Finance
- Gap between jobs paying
- Waiting for big invoice
- Property chain breaks
- Quick opportunity funding
Merchant Cash Advance
- Advance on card payments
- Repay as you earn
- Automatic collection
- No fixed payments
Revenue-Based Finance
- Based on turnover
- Flexible repayments
- Scales with business
- Quick access
Overdraft Alternatives
- Credit lines
- Revolving facilities
- Draw as needed
- Only pay for what you use
Understanding Your Options
Different finance types suit different needs. Here's what you need to know.
Short-Term Business Loan
A fixed-term loan for 1-24 months with regular repayments. Good for known, short-term funding needs.
You own the asset at the end
Tax Benefits:
Interest is tax-deductible as a business expense.
Best For:
Specific short-term needs like a tax payment or stock purchase.
Merchant Cash Advance
Receive an advance based on your card transaction history. Repay automatically as a percentage of daily card sales.
You own the asset at the end
Tax Benefits:
Fees are tax-deductible.
Best For:
Businesses with regular card payments who want repayments that flex with income.
Revolving Credit Facility
Like an overdraft but often easier to get. Draw funds when needed up to your limit, repay, and draw again.
You own the asset at the end
Tax Benefits:
Interest on drawn amounts is tax-deductible.
Best For:
Ongoing cashflow management where needs vary month to month.
Cashflow Finance Explained
A business cash advance is a lump sum of funding repaid from future income rather than on a fixed schedule set years ahead. For tradesmen that structure matters, because you pay out for materials, plant hire, subcontractors and wages weeks before the customer settles the invoice.
We are a broker, not a lender, so our job is to read your business bank statements, your card sales and your job pipeline, then put the right business finance in front of you. That might be a cash advance, a short-term business loan, a revolving credit facility, or a mix of these business loans and advances. Traditional bank lending is one route among several. This page sets out how each option works and what it costs.
What is a business cash advance?
A business cash advance is a form of unsecured business finance that pays an upfront lump sum and takes repayment from future revenue. There is no fixed monthly instalment in the way a traditional business loan has one. Instead the funding provider takes an agreed slice of what comes in, so a strong month clears the balance faster and a quiet month costs less.
Providers price the advance on business turnover rather than on assets when you apply. Most want three to six months of business bank statements, and if you take card payments they will study the card sales history from your merchant account or card terminal. Two close relatives sit alongside it: the merchant cash advance, repaid from a percentage of card sales and covered in full on our merchant cash advance page, and revenue based finance, drawn from total sales rather than card sales alone.
Why does cash flow get tight in the trades?
Most trade businesses are profitable on paper and short of cash in practice. The order of payments is the reason. You buy materials on day one, pay the lads on Friday, invoice on completion, then wait 30 or 60 days for a main contractor to pay. Across a run of jobs that gap compounds, because each new start pulls more out of the business before the last one pays in.
Retentions make it worse. A main contractor holds back a percentage of the contract value, commonly 5 per cent, releasing half at practical completion and the rest a year later. Add CIS deductions taken at source from your labour and more income sits with HMRC while suppliers want paying on 30 day terms. Cash flow finance covers that lag, it does not fund losses.
How does a short-term business loan work?
A short-term business loan is a fixed sum over a fixed period, usually one to twenty four months, repaid in regular instalments with interest. It suits a known cost with a known date: a materials order, a tax bill, a van repair that cannot wait.
Because the term is short the interest rate looks higher than on a five year facility, though the total interest paid is usually smaller, since you hold the funding for weeks rather than years. Business loans of this type are commonly unsecured, with a director's personal guarantee above certain amounts. We compare lending from high street and challenger banks alongside specialist providers, and some business loans can be supported by the Growth Guarantee Scheme delivered through the British Business Bank. Traditional business loans take longer to arrange but often price better, so compare before you apply.
What is a revolving credit facility?
A revolving credit facility is a business credit line that lets you draw funds up to an agreed limit, repay, and draw again. It behaves like an overdraft, and since bank lending pulled back from small business overdrafts it is often the more realistic option for a growing trade business.
You pay interest only on the balance you have drawn, which makes a revolving facility the flexible choice when your funding need moves week to week. Contrast that with a lump sum advance, where you pay for the full amount from the day it lands. Business credit cards work on the same principle for fuel, consumables and trade counter spend. A business credit card smooths frequent low value payments, though credit card limits rarely stretch to a materials package and credit cards are expensive to carry a balance on.
Can cashflow funding cover a VAT or tax bill?
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons tradesmen ring us. A VAT quarter or a corporation tax payment lands on a fixed date whether or not your customers have paid you, and HMRC charges interest and penalties when it is late.
Dedicated VAT funding spreads a quarterly bill across roughly three months, so making the payment lines up with the quarter it relates to. Tax loans do the same over six to twelve months for a self assessment or corporation tax liability. Both keep working capital free for jobs and stop one payment date emptying the business account. If you are on a Time to Pay arrangement already, say so at the outset, because it changes which providers will consider you.
How do you fund a seasonal dip in trade income?
Seasonality hits some trades hard. Roofers, groundworkers and landscapers lose days to weather over the winter, while heating engineers go quiet through the summer. Cash flow drops and the van finance, insurance, yard rent and PAYE do not.
The right structure depends on how predictable the dip is. If you know December to February will be thin, a facility arranged in the autumn and repaid across the spring costs far less than panic borrowing in January. If your busy times are less predictable, a flexible facility you draw on and repay repeatedly beats a string of separate cash advances. Trade businesses also use a cash advance ahead of a busy season to buy materials at volume, then repay from the sales it helps them grow.
Which cashflow option should you choose?
Match the product to the shape of the problem. A one off cost with a clear end date suits a short-term business loan. An ongoing, moving requirement suits a flexible revolving credit facility. Income arriving through card payments suits a merchant cash advance, where repayment is a percentage of daily card sales. Money already tied up in issued invoices suits invoice finance, which releases most of an invoice value as soon as you raise it.
The benefits of an advance are speed and flexibility. The cost is the trade off. We would rather talk you out of the wrong product than sell an expensive one. If the problem is a single late payer, chase it before you borrow against your whole business turnover. If the problem is structural, more work in progress than your balance supports, then business finance of this kind is doing the job it was built for and letting you grow the order book instead of turning jobs away. Explore the alternatives and weigh the benefits against total cost first.
What does a business cash advance cost?
Cash advances are usually priced with a factor rate rather than an interest rate. A factor of 1.15 on £20,000 means you repay £23,000 in total, however long that takes. A factor rate is not an APR, and comparing the two directly will mislead you, so we set out how much is repayable in pounds before you commit.
Short-term business loans and revolving credit facilities quote interest in the usual way, often from around 0.8 per cent a month. Pricing turns on turnover, trading history, the quality of your business bank statements and your business credit report. Expect a credit check with any application: no reputable provider in the United Kingdom lends without one, and anything advertising a business cash advance with no credit check deserves a careful read. We explain fees, early repayment terms and any personal guarantee before making a decision.
Ready to Get Started?
Get a free, no-obligation quote in minutes. Our team of trade finance specialists will find the best cashflow finance deal for your business.
No impact on your credit score for initial quote
Competitive rates from our panel of lenders
Dedicated trade finance specialist assigned to you
Support throughout the entire application process
Cashflow Finance Quote
Working capital solutions
Frequently Asked Questions
Got questions about cashflow finance? We've got answers.
A business cash advance is an upfront lump sum of funding repaid from future income rather than in fixed instalments. Providers assess your business turnover and bank statements rather than your assets, so it is generally unsecured. You repay an agreed percentage of sales, so it flexes with how busy you are.
Most established UK trade businesses can borrow, whether you are a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company. Providers want at least six months of trading, a business bank account and evidence of regular income. Newer businesses have fewer options, and a director's guarantee often unlocks lending that would otherwise be declined.
Same day business funding is realistic with specialist online providers who read your statements through an open banking connection rather than paperwork. Apply in the morning with three to six months of statements and funds can land the same working day. High street banks are slower, usually a week or more.
Send us three to six months of business bank statements, your latest accounts, and a note of what the money is for. We check which funding you qualify for, come back with the total cost of each option, and you choose. There is no charge for the search.
Often yes. Providers underwrite cash advances mainly on business performance, so consistent income can outweigh a poor personal credit file, an old default or a satisfied CCJ. Bad credit usually means a higher factor rate or a smaller advance rather than a flat refusal. Unresolved insolvency is a harder barrier.
Not directly, because retention is not a debt you can invoice for until it is released. What we can do is fund the gap it creates. A short-term facility sized against your outstanding retentions keeps you working while the cash sits with the contractor, and you repay when the retention is released.
No, but they change how a lender reads your figures. Under the Construction Industry Scheme the contractor deducts 20 per cent from your labour before paying you, or 30 per cent if you are unverified, so your credits look smaller than true turnover. Gross payment status helps if you qualify for it.
We would not recommend one. Any provider regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority runs a check as part of responsible lending, and offers marketed as no credit check business funding tend to carry costs that only surface later. A soft search costs nothing and leaves no mark on your credit report.
Yes. A merchant cash advance needs card sales, because repayment comes out of your card terminal receipts. An advance based on total business turnover, sometimes called revenue based finance, works from your bank credits instead. Most tradesmen paid by transfer rather than by credit cards use the second type.
As a rule of thumb, providers advance between one month and one and a half months of average business turnover, with the facilities on this page running from £2,500 to £250,000. Your trading history, income consistency and existing borrowing all move that figure.