Term loans for the build, the buyout, and the way out of stacked advances.
Prepline Capital places restaurant term loans from $50,000 to $5,000,000 over 6 to 60 months, with a 650 minimum FICO, 24 months in business, and $40,000 a month in deposits. Files up to $500,000 are underwritten in-house; above that we package the file and place it with our bank lending partners. Decision in 3 to 7 business days.
What are the criteria?
Term loan — criteria
- Amount
- $50,000 – $5,000,000
- Term
- 6 – 60 months
- Minimum credit score
- 650
- Minimum time in business
- 24 months
- Minimum monthly deposits
- $40,000
- Documents
- Application, 6 months of business bank statements, 2 years of business tax returns, YTD P&L and balance sheet, debt schedule
- Repayment
- Fixed monthly or bi-weekly ACH, fully amortizing
- Collateral
- UCC-1 blanket lien. Personal guarantee required.
- Prepayment
- No prepayment penalty on in-house files up to $500,000. Partner-placed files vary — disclosed in the term sheet.
- Decision
- 3 – 7 business days
- Path
- In-house to $500,000; placed with bank lending partners above
What jobs does a term loan do for a restaurant group?
A second location
Build-out, equipment, pre-opening payroll and the first three months of rent before it carries itself.
Typical: $250,000 to $1,500,000 · 36 to 60 monthsA full remodel
A dining room that hasn’t been touched in twelve years is a revenue problem. Match the term to the life of the asset — 48 to 60 months, not 9.
Typical: $100,000 to $750,000A partner buyout
Common at the 5-to-10-year mark when one partner wants out and the operating partner doesn’t have the cash. SBA 7(a) explicitly allows this use too, and costs less if you can wait.
Typical: $100,000 to $2,000,000Consolidating stacked advances
This is the one we get called about most. Three or four daily positions with overlapping debits will take a profitable restaurant down. A 36-month term loan at a single monthly payment is almost always the fix, and the earlier you call, the more room we have.
Typical: $150,000 to $1,000,000Advance or term loan — which one?
Same money, two very different shapes. The advance buys speed. The term loan buys a payment you can live with.
| Working capital advance | Term loan | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | $10K – $2M | $50K – $5M |
| Speed | 24 hours | 3–7 business days |
| Minimum FICO | None | 650 |
| Time in business | 6 months | 24 months |
| Payment frequency | Daily or weekly | Monthly or bi-weekly |
| Cost | Highest of the six products | Mid-range |
| Paperwork | 3 bank statements | Statements, returns, P&L, debt schedule |
| Best when | You need it now | You can wait a week and want the lower payment |
Who underwrites a restaurant term loan?
Up to $500,000 — in-house
Prepline Capital underwrites and funds these directly. You deal with the desk that makes the decision, and there is no prepayment penalty.
Decision in 3 to 7 business days on a complete file.
Above $500,000 — bank partners
We package the file — statements, returns, P&L, balance sheet, debt schedule — and place it with our bank lending partners. The partner is identified to you in writing before you sign.
Prepayment terms on partner-placed files vary and are disclosed in the term sheet.
What a restaurant needs to qualify.
Every number below is a real criterion. If you clear these, apply. If you don’t, call us and we’ll tell you what would change it.
| Minimum monthly revenue | $15,000 in business bank deposits |
|---|---|
| Minimum time in business | 6 months |
| Minimum credit score | None for working capital, equipment financing, or factoring. 600+ for a line of credit. 650+ for a term loan. 680+ for SBA. |
| Funding range | $10,000 to $2,000,000 for working capital and equipment. Up to $5,000,000 for term loans, SBA, and factoring facilities. |
| Time to a real offer | About 4 business hours on a complete file. |
| Time to funding | 24 hours. Same day if a clean file is signed before 11:00 AM ET. |
| Documents required | Application plus your 3 most recent months of business bank statements. 4 months if your business is seasonal. |
| Contract length | 2 pages. |
| Repayment | Fixed daily or weekly ACH from your operating account. No POS split funding. No holdback percentage. No lockbox. |
| Prepayment discount | Up to 30% off the remaining balance when a working capital advance is paid off within the first 30, 60, or 90 days. |
| Cash sales | Counted. We underwrite bank deposits, not card volume alone. |
| POS requirement | None. Toast, Square, Clover, Aloha, Micros, Lightspeed, SpotOn, or a cash drawer — it makes no difference to underwriting. |
| Hospitality types approved | Full-service and quick-service restaurants, pizzerias, bars, taverns, nightclubs, breweries and taprooms, coffee shops, bakeries, caterers, event and banquet venues, food trucks and mobile vendors, ghost kitchens, hotels, motels, B&Bs, hookah lounges, and franchise restaurant groups. |
| Not required | Collateral for working capital. A business plan. Tax returns under $500,000. A specific POS. A minimum number of locations. A liquor license — but we fund venues that hold one. |
| Open to | U.S. businesses with a U.S. business bank account. All 50 states. |
Four minutes. Three bank statements. No credit impact to apply.
Term loan questions, answered.
Can I use a term loan to pay off merchant cash advances?
Yes. Consolidating stacked advances into a single amortizing term loan is one of the most common uses of this product. Three or four daily positions with overlapping debits will take a profitable restaurant down; a 36-month term loan replaces them with one monthly payment. Call before you take a fourth position — the earlier you call, the more room there is to work with.
What does the bank partner need that Prepline doesn’t?
On in-house files up to $500,000 we work from six months of bank statements, two years of business tax returns, a YTD P&L and balance sheet, and a debt schedule. Above $500,000 a bank partner will typically also want personal tax returns, a personal financial statement, entity documents, a lease or mortgage, and interim financials.
Is there a prepayment penalty on a restaurant term loan?
Not on in-house Prepline Capital term loans up to $500,000. Partner-placed term loans and SBA loans follow the partner’s and the SBA’s prepayment terms, which are disclosed in the term sheet before you sign.
Do you lend against the restaurant’s real estate?
Not as a term loan. Owner-occupied restaurant real estate is an SBA 504 or a commercial mortgage — see SBA loans, where real-estate-secured financing runs up to 25 years.
Can a restaurant with 18 months in business get a term loan?
Not at the 650 FICO and 24-month minimum this product carries. Working capital is your path until you cross 24 months — no minimum credit score, 6 months in business, $15,000 a month in deposits.
A single monthly payment beats four daily debits.
$50,000 to $5,000,000 over 6 to 60 months. Decision in 3 to 7 business days. If you are carrying stacked advances, call before you take another position.