How a Restaurant Group Funded $260K of Peak-Season Prep in 2 Days
A seasonal business earns most of its year in a handful of months. The capital to be ready has to arrive before any of that revenue does.
Representative structure
Peak season does not wait for underwriting. Two days was not fast service — it was the entire window
The Structure
How a $260K Restaurant Working Capital Facility Is Structured
One product, one payment, no percentage of the register. That last part is the whole design decision. A seasonal operator's revenue is not a flat line — it is a mountain with a long flat stretch on either side — and the repayment structure either respects that shape or fights it. A fixed obligation sized against annual revenue can be carried through the off-season. A daily percentage of card sales cannot, because it takes the most when volume is highest and the operator is already spending everything on inventory and labor to serve it.
Peak season does not wait for underwriting. Two days was not fast service — it was the entire window
Representative structure
Larger facilities scale with annual revenue, deposit history, and season length.
The Transaction
What the Group Was Preparing For
Bobby Friel
Founder, Basecamp Funding
Anyone who runs a seasonal business knows the calendar math, and knows exactly how little room it leaves.
A restaurant group needed to stock inventory and hire seasonal staff ahead of peak tourism season — the kind of timing where waiting two weeks means missing the window. Working capital funded the prep in 2 days, on a fixed payment, no cut of daily sales.
Underwriting
How Restaurant Working Capital Actually Works in a Seasonal Business
The capital has to arrive before the revenue it is meant to capture. That inversion is what makes seasonal financing its own problem — and it is the reason the structure of the repayment matters more here than in almost any other business.
The Bank
What a bank sees.
Trailing twelve months with deep troughs, thin retained earnings after an off-season, and a request for money in the quarter that historically shows the weakest numbers. It reads as distress. It is actually preparation.
This Structure
What this structure saw.
An operator with a documented seasonal pattern, consistent peak-season deposits year over year, and a specific, dated use of funds. The trough is not a warning sign in a seasonal business — it is the business.
Why Seasonal Revenue Reads as Risk to the Wrong Lender
A lender that averages twelve months of deposits and stops there will misprice a seasonal operator every time. The average obscures the pattern: what matters is whether the peaks are consistent, whether they are growing, and whether the operator has carried the trough before without incident. An underwriter who reads the pattern instead of the average sees a business that has proven it can do exactly what it is proposing to do again. That distinction is why the same file gets declined in one place and approved in another.
Fixed Payment vs. a Percentage of Daily Sales
This is the decision that shapes a seasonal operator's whole year. A structure that takes a percentage of card sales feels accommodating — small payments in slow months, larger in busy ones. But it takes the most money in exactly the weeks the operator needs it most, when inventory is turning fastest and payroll is highest, and it takes it from the top line rather than from profit. A fixed payment sized against annual revenue does the opposite: it is known in advance, it can be planned against, and peak-season upside stays with the business that earned it.
Why the Application Comes Before the Season, Not During It
The strongest seasonal file is submitted in the shoulder period, when the prior peak is documented and the next one is close enough to be specific. Applying mid-season means the operator is asking during the weeks they are most distracted and least likely to have documents assembled. Applying in the trough with no plan looks like a cash-flow problem. The window in between is where a seasonal business looks exactly like what it is: a proven operation getting ready.
Two Days Is Not a Convenience Here
Seasonal prep has a hard date attached to something outside the operator's control — a tourism season, a holiday, a harvest, a school calendar. Inventory ordered late arrives after the demand. Staff hired late are trained during the rush instead of before it. A funding decision that lands two weeks after the request has not solved a slower version of the problem; it has arrived after the season started, which is a different outcome entirely.
What the Capital Actually Buys
Being fully stocked and fully staffed before the first rush is not a comfort — it is the difference between capturing a season and surviving it. An understaffed peak turns away covers that never come back, and thin inventory caps revenue in the exact weeks that fund the entire year. A seasonal operator does not get twelve chances to fix it; they get one window, and the preparation happens before it opens.
Run the arithmetic your own way: what is a full peak season worth against an understaffed one, and how many covers did you turn away last year because you were not ready when the season started?
For most seasonal operators the cost of being ready is settled inside the first weeks of the peak, and everything after that is a season captured instead of one endured. That is a different question than whether the payment fits a February budget.
The Products
The Products That Funded This Transaction
| Product | Role here |
|---|---|
| Working Capital → | Inventory, seasonal payroll, and prep before the season opens |
| Business Line of Credit → | Revolving headroom across multiple seasons |
Financing this whole sector: Restaurant Financing →
The Result
What Changed After Close
Start Here
See What Your Season Supports
Sixty seconds, no documents, and a soft-pull review. If your next peak needs inventory and staff in place before it opens, this is where you find out what the structure looks like.
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Related
Similar Structures
Representative scenarios — illustrative, anonymized figures, not specific client transactions.
FAQ
Restaurant & Seasonal Working Capital — Questions, Answered
How does a restaurant get working capital before its busy season?
By applying in the shoulder period, when the prior peak is documented and the next one is close enough to be specific. Working capital for a seasonal operator is underwritten against annual revenue and deposit history rather than the current month, which is what allows funding to arrive before the revenue it is meant to capture. A prepared file with clean statements can fund in days.
What is the difference between working capital and a merchant cash advance?
The repayment structure, and for a seasonal business that difference is significant. A merchant cash advance takes a percentage of daily card sales, which means it collects the most in the weeks volume is highest — precisely when inventory is turning fastest and payroll is at its peak. A working capital facility carries a fixed payment sized against annual revenue: known in advance, plannable, and it leaves peak-season upside with the business that earned it.
Can a seasonal business qualify for a loan during its slow months?
Yes, and the slow months are often the right time to apply. What matters is the pattern rather than the current month's balance — consistent peaks year over year, a documented ability to carry the trough, and a specific use of funds tied to a dated season. A lender that averages twelve months of deposits and stops there will misread a seasonal file; one that reads the pattern sees a proven operation preparing to repeat itself.
How much working capital does a restaurant need for seasonal prep?
It depends on season length, inventory depth, and how much of the staffing ramp happens before the first revenue arrives. The practical way to size it is to work backward from the season: what has to be bought and staffed before opening week, and how many weeks of payroll run before receipts cover them. This facility was $260K for a multi-unit group; the structure scales with annual revenue and deposit history.
How fast can a restaurant get funded for inventory and staffing?
Days rather than weeks when the file is ready; this one funded in two. Speed matters more in a seasonal business than almost anywhere else, because the deadline belongs to a calendar the operator does not control. Inventory ordered late arrives after the demand, and staff hired late are trained during the rush instead of before it.
Should a seasonal business use a line of credit instead?
For an operator running the same cycle every year, a revolving line can be the better long-term tool — the same facility funds season after season without a new application each time. A single working capital facility is often the faster path for a specific, dated prep this year. Many operators end up with both: the facility that funds this season, and a line established for the ones after it.
