Finance for retail, shaped around how you get paid.

Trade finance pays suppliers for stock with 90 to 180 days to repay from sales, a line of credit funds deposits and top-ups, and a merchant cash advance repays from daily card takings. The right mix depends on your margins and how quickly stock turns, and a broker prices all three against your season.

A merchant cash advance is a lump sum repaid as a fixed percentage of daily card takings, so repayments flex with trade and are lighter in quiet weeks. It suits retailers with strong card sales who need funds fast and can be more expensive than a term loan, so it is best for short, high-return uses such as stock for a peak season.

Consistent daily takings in the bank statements, gross margin, stock turn, the lease term and the seasonality of the business. Lenders like retailers with strong card sales and a stable location. For new stores, a deposit, retail experience and a business plan matter; established stores are often approved on bank statements alone.

Yes. Shopfitting, joinery, lighting, signage, refrigeration and POS systems can be funded under one fit-out facility with the builder and suppliers paid as the work progresses, repaid over three to five years within the lease term. Movable equipment is often financed separately at a sharper rate and combined under the same application.

Most unsecured business lenders size a loan against turnover rather than assets, commonly to a share of monthly or annual revenue. On our panel, unsecured facilities generally run from around $5,000 to roughly $500,000, with larger amounts usually requiring security or stronger financials. The actual figure depends on your trading history, cash flow, existing commitments and credit profile. We can tell you the realistic range for your business before any application is submitted, but no amount is guaranteed until a lender approves it.

A business loan advances a fixed amount that you repay over a set term. An overdraft is a limit attached to a transaction account that you draw on and repay as needed, with interest charged only on the balance used. A loan suits a defined purchase or a one-off cost; an overdraft suits timing gaps between paying suppliers and being paid. Overdrafts often carry a line fee whether or not you draw the limit, so compare the total cost of holding the facility.

It varies by lender and product. Many unsecured business lenders want at least six to twelve months of trading, while some asset finance lenders will consider a new ABN where the director has industry experience, a clean credit file and often property ownership or a deposit. Registration for GST is frequently expected once turnover reaches the threshold. A short ABN history is not an automatic decline, but it narrows the panel and usually affects the rate and structure offered.

No. Plenty of finance is written for non-property owners, especially asset finance where the equipment itself is the security, and unsecured lending assessed on cash flow. That said, property ownership widens the panel and often improves pricing, because it gives a lender an additional avenue if things go wrong. If you do not own property, expect more weight on trading history, bank conduct and the quality of the asset being financed.

Because they are pricing different levels of risk and using different funding. A bank with a long assessment process and full financials can price sharply; a fintech approving in hours from bank statements charges more for that speed and the lighter verification. Asset type, age, term, deposit, credit history and whether directors own property all move the number. That is the point of a panel — the same deal can land very differently, so it is worth comparing rather than accepting the first quote.

Most facilities can be paid out early, but the cost depends on the structure. Fixed-rate equipment finance often includes a break cost or an early termination fee that recovers part of the lender's expected interest, so paying out in year one rarely saves the full remaining interest. Some short-term unsecured loans have a fixed total repayable, meaning early repayment saves little or nothing. Ask for the payout figure in writing before you decide.