The Pinch Points
Why Packaging Manufacturers Come to Us Instead of Their Bank
Packaging fronts custom dies, corrugated, and film before a single case ships — and the CPG brands you supply pay net-45 to net-60. Banks see a low balance; our lenders read the contracts. Sound familiar?
Volume Bid, Six-Week Clock
A CPG brand awarded you a $400K annual packaging contract. Your current line can’t handle the volume. A $250K flow-wrapper and case packer would add the capacity — but the contract starts in 6 weeks.
Board Jumped 15% Mid-Contract
Corrugated board prices jumped 15%. Your committed orders total $300K in packaging at old material quotes. You need $45K in extra working capital to honor pricing and keep the customer.
Press Down, $4K a Day
Your die-cutting press needs a $30K overhaul. Lead time on parts is 3 weeks. Every day of downtime costs $4K in delayed orders.
500K Units in 60 Days
A pet food brand wants blister packaging for a new product launch — 500K units in 60 days. Custom thermoforming tooling is $42K and film inventory is $28K. They pay net-45. Miss this window and they go with a larger packager.
6% Reject Rate on Cartons
Your gluing system is causing a 6% reject rate on carton assembly. A new hot-melt system is $18K. At current production volume, that reject rate costs you $3,200/week in wasted board and labor to re-run bad cartons.
The Whole Private-Label Program
A grocery chain is consolidating vendors and will award its entire private-label carton program — roughly $600K a year — to one packager with in-house printing. Adding a flexo press is $220K, and the bid is due in 30 days.
What an operator said
“A CPG brand needed 2 million units packed and shipped in 6 weeks. We had the capacity but needed $85K for die tooling and corrugated inventory upfront. Basecamp funded us in 48 hours.”
Lisa P. · Packaging Operations Director · Memphis, TN
Start Here
See Your Range in 60 Seconds
No credit check, no documents to start, and an estimated funding range on the spot. No one contacts you until you’re ready to move forward.
What Happens When You Start
Estimate Your Capital Range
Slide to your annual gross revenue. We size capital off your top line — not your credit score.
Estimated Capital Range
A conservative range based on 10-15% of annual revenue — many businesses qualify for more with strong receivables or assets behind them. Lenders return real term sheets once they see your file.
60 seconds · No obligation · Estimate only
Built for the Trade
What We Fund for Packaging Manufacturers
Converting Equipment, Financed
Folder-gluers, die-cutters, and flexo presses are the line. Equipment financing puts a new converting machine on your floor with the machine itself as collateral, and Section 179 can write off most of it the year you install it.
Board and Film, Funded Before the Run
A production line eats corrugated, film, and adhesive before a single case ships. A working-capital line covers the material buy so a big run starts on schedule instead of waiting on a deposit.
PO Financing on Awarded Runs
When a CPG brand awards a high-volume program, purchase-order financing advances against the signed order so tooling and material are covered while you produce, not after.
Net-60 Invoices, Paid Now
Blue-chip CPG customers carry the strongest receivables in manufacturing and the slowest terms. Invoice factoring converts those net-60 invoices to working cash so the next run isn’t hostage to the last one’s payment.
Match Your Situation
The Cash-Flow Gaps We Fund for Packaging Manufacturers
Match your situation to the structure. Every one of these funds on your revenue, not a perfect credit file.
| What It Looks Like | Funding Solution | Amount | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folder-gluer machine acquisition | A folder-gluer handles carton assembly at 50K+ units/hour — manual assembly caps production and costs 3x more per unit in labor. | Equipment Financing | $150K–$250K | 3–7 days |
| Die-cutting equipment upgrade | Custom rotary and flatbed die-cutters handle complex packaging shapes — worn dies cause 6%+ reject rates costing $3K/week in waste. | Equipment Financing | $80K–$200K | 3–7 days |
| Corrugator maintenance and overhaul | A corrugator overhaul prevents board delamination and customer complaints on $300K+ in committed orders — deferred maintenance shows up in every shipment. | Working Capital | $75K–$120K | 1–3 days |
| Large print order material pre-buy | A 2M-unit packaging run needs corrugated board, film, and adhesives upfront — the CPG customer pays net-60 after delivery. | PO Financing | $75K–$200K | 3–7 days |
| Finished-goods warehouse & racking | CPG clients require 30-day safety stock — storing 500K+ units needs racking, dock equipment, and lease deposits. | Equipment Financing | $75K–$2M | funds in days |
The Products
How Packaging Financing Is Structured
Most packaging files fund between $75K and $5M+, structured to the equipment, material, or contract in front of you. Larger lines available when revenue, cash flow, and story qualify.
| Amount | Term | Best For | Funding Speed | Typical Structure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working Capital | $75K–$5M+ | 6mo–10yr | Die tooling, material buys, contract launch | 1–3 days | Often unsecured, daily/weekly ACH |
| Equipment Financing | $75K–$5M+ | 2yr–10yr | Flow-wrappers, folder-gluers, die-cutters | 3–7 days | Equipment serves as collateral |
| Invoice Factoring | $75K–$5M+ | Per invoice | Net-45/60 CPG receivables | 1–2 days | Invoices secure the line, no PG typically |
| Business LOC | $75K–$5M+ | Revolving | Corrugated, film, and substrate price swings | 1–5 days | Unsecured line, no PG by default |
Tax Strategy
Section 179 on a Folder-Gluer — Worked
If last year was strong and you’re about to write a check to the IRS — stop. Acquire qualifying equipment with as little as 10% down, finance the rest, and write off the full purchase price in year one. Section 179 covers it up to the annual cap; 100% bonus depreciation — made permanent in 2025, with no cap and no income limit — carries the rest.
At the top bracket, that first-year deduction can return meaningful tax savings — and for an established business with strong cash flow, it’s the difference between writing a check to the IRS and putting the same money into your own equipment. Your CPA models the exact numbers for your bracket and structure.
Worked scenario · top bracket · illustrative
You financed the machine and put down a fraction of its price — but you deduct the full price in year one. The write-off is bigger than your down payment, and the equipment keeps working the whole time.
Scales with your numbers
Illustrative only. Actual savings depend on your tax bracket, entity type, state conformity, and CPA guidance. Section 179 and bonus depreciation are elections your CPA makes for your situation; above the Section 179 cap, 100% bonus depreciation carries the balance.
Terms reflect credit, revenue, time in business, and each lender. Every file is unique — see what the desk structures for yours in the 60-second qualifier.
Bobby’s Take
“A folder-gluer is where a packaging run lives or dies — the machine that turns a big carton order into shipped product on schedule. A $178K folder-gluer is how you take the volume instead of subbing it out. Put a fraction down, finance the balance, and §179 writes off the full $178K the year it's running cartons. The machine that wins the run and trims the tax bill in the same year.”
Bobby Friel · Founder · 20+ years in banking and finance
How It Works
From Application to Funded
One application, 70+ lenders competing, a dedicated specialist, and most files funded in days.
60-second estimate
Enter your numbers — no credit check, no documents. You see an estimated funding range on the spot.
A specialist is assigned
A real funding specialist — not an algorithm — reviews your file, usually within 24 hours.
70+ lenders compete
Your application goes to the marketplace. Competing offers typically land 24–48 hours later.
You pick the offer
Compare structures and terms with your advisor. No obligation until you choose to sign.
Funded in days
From same-day working capital to a multi-piece stack, most files fund in days — not the bank’s 60–90.
Underwriting
What Underwriting Looks At
Funding here leads with what your business actually does — your revenue and cash flow. The specialist desk reads the real picture from your statements, then matches it to the lenders most likely to fund it.
How you’re evaluated
Revenue-first
sized off your top line, not just your balance sheet.
Cash-flow driven
your bank statements show how the business really runs.
Bank-statement underwriting
even a down year is read off 4 months of statements.
Story-driven
a big new contract, a seasonal swing, a turnaround in progress: context the raw numbers miss counts too.
What to have ready
↳Had a loss year? It’s read off the bank statements — 4 months, not 6.
Start fast, finish complete
The operators who fund quickest come to the specialist review with these ready — but you don’t need all of it to start. Your signed application and bank statements are what unblock the review; the rest can follow as trailing docs. Real term sheets come once the lenders can see a true business overview, so the move is simple: get the application and statements in right away, and don’t let a missing tax return hold up your term sheets.
Credit, straight
Qualification
Who Gets Funded — and Who’s Not Ready Yet
A straight read saves everyone time — here’s the line between a packaging file that funds and one that isn’t ready yet.
↳Time in business is a factor, not a gate — newer crews with strong revenue still qualify.
Not ready yet isn’t a no — it’s a checklist. Most of it is fixable in a quarter or two, and your advisor will tell you straight which gaps to fix before a file goes in.
The Operator's Guide
Packaging Manufacturing Financing
Fronting Dies and Board Before the First Case Ships
Packaging carries a cash gap baked into the model. You front custom die tooling and a trailer of corrugated, run the job for weeks, ship, then wait net-45 to net-60 while a Fortune 500 CPG brand clears the invoice. Your account looks thin exactly when production peaks. Banks read that as risk. Our lenders read your committed contracts and recurring volume, and they fund around the cycle.
One Application, 70+ Lenders
A flow-wrapper upgrade that doubles a line, a working-capital advance that covers die tooling on a new award, PO financing against a signed CPG program, factoring that turns net-60 invoices into same-day cash — packaging has the best collateral in manufacturing and the slowest terms. We connect you with 70+ lenders who fund converters every week. $75K to $5M+. One application, soft-pull review to start.
Common Questions
Packaging Financing — Questions, Answered
Equipment financing funds the racking, dock equipment, and converting line, and a working-capital line carries the safety-stock CPG brands require — funded in days on your run revenue, $75K–$5M+.
Yes. Working capital, lines of credit, and PO financing all cover material purchases for committed orders. PO financing is ideal for large contracts — advance up to 90% of the order value to fund production.
Working capital funds custom die costs in 24 hours. Equipment financing covers the dies if they’re reusable assets. No restrictions on use for working capital.
No. Soft credit pull only — zero FICO impact.
Working capital funds custom die tooling in 24–48 hours, and PO financing advances against the signed contract to cover the corrugated and film for the run. You produce on schedule and repay as the CPG invoices clear. A soft-pull review shows your terms without touching your credit.
Recommended Funding
The Products That Fit Packaging Work
Equipment Financing →
Finance flow wrappers, case packers, and labeling machines — the equipment is the collateral.
Working Capital Loans →
Fund material inventory and die tooling for large packaging contracts.
Invoice Factoring →
Convert outstanding packaging invoices to cash when CPG clients pay net-45/60.
Business Line of Credit →
Draw for corrugated, film, and substrates as production orders fluctuate.
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