When you have a small business, finding the money you need on an ongoing basis can be difficult. Even in the best economic times, being a small business owner can be an enormous challenge. When you add in the fact that today’s economy is offering people some of the worst news in decades, there is no wonder that many small businesses face great hardships when trying to find capital for small businesses.

Then the merchant cash advance was born. This is a very different approach that the owners of small businesses can take advantage of to get the money they need to ensure the success of their business. It has a number of distinct advantages over other avenues of obtaining the funds needed by businesses.

Applying is Easy

Many companies that offer this type of cash advance also offer small business owners the opportunity to apply online. This reduces the amount of time that you as the applicant must devote to being away from your business. In most cases, as well, the application itself is a short and rather simple document that asks very basic information from you.

 Approval is Easy

The approval process is based on two items: the length of time that a business has been in existence and the credit card sales that the business has managed over the period of several months. Many applications state that a person must be in business for at least six months before the application will be approved. In addition, the business must accept and process credit cards on a monthly basis. The money that is advanced to the business is based on these sales figures.

Approval is Fast

If you apply for a traditional loan application with a credit union or a bank, you can count on waiting at least a week or two before you hear back about a decision. With a cash advance, it could be a matter of just a few days before you hear back from the provider of the funds. In addition, it is often possible to have the money deposited into your account within days of approval.

Repayment is Easy

With this type of provider, when they loan money to small businesses, it is repaid from the monthly credit card sales. A certain percentage of each month’s credit card sales are funneled back to the provider in order to repay the loan. This process is automated so you do not need to worry about remembering the due date and making sure that a check arrives in time.

Repayment is Fair

While the percentage that is used each month does not change, the amount of money will likely be. This can be a boon for those businesses that are seasonal in nature since you will pay back a greater amount of the loan when business is good and a smaller amount when business is slow. There is no penalty for not paying the money back within a year like some other options for small business funding.