The Pinch Points
Why Importers and Exporters Come to Us Instead of Their Bank
International trade has the longest cash cycle in wholesale — your money ships out months before a buyer pays, and most banks won't touch goods sitting on the water. Sound familiar?
85 Days of Dead Cash
A container from overseas costs $120K. Ocean transit runs 45 days, customs another 10, and your customer pays net-30 after delivery — $120K tied up for 85 days on a single container.
Customs Bond Increase
Your customs broker requires a $50K bond increase for a new product category. The bond unlocks $300K a year in new import revenue, but the cash requirement is immediate.
Consolidate, Then Ship
A European buyer ordered $200K in product for Q4. You purchase and consolidate from three domestic suppliers, then arrange ocean freight — $160K upfront, and the buyer pays on delivery.
Tariff Hits Mid-Transit
New tariffs hit your category and duties jumped from 8% to 25%. Two containers worth $240K are on the water now, clearing them costs an extra $40K you didn't budget, and demurrage starts in five days.
Container Held at Customs
A classification error flagged your $95K container at the port. Re-filing takes two weeks, storage runs $350 a day, and you still need to load the next shipment that's already scheduled.
LC Expires Mid-Dispute
A letter of credit expires while a clearance dispute drags on, and the bank won’t extend without re-pricing the whole deal at penalty terms — $25K in fees and a renegotiation you fund or forfeit the shipment.
What an operator said
“A tariff change hit a container already on the water — $40K in surprise duties due before it cleared, with demurrage starting in five days. Funding covered both; the goods moved instead of sitting.”
Amir N. · import/export wholesaler · Long Beach, CA
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 Importers and Exporters
Working Capital for Long Cash Cycles
A container ties up cash for weeks in transit and clearance before your buyer pays net-30 — a working line lets you load the next container without waiting for the last to clear.
Trade Financing for Both Ends
Your overseas supplier wants payment before production while your buyer pays net-60 — trade financing covers the supplier and the net-terms gap so you're not floating both ends out of pocket.
Forklifts, Racking & Delivery, Section 179
Landed goods still need to move — forklifts, warehouse racking, and delivery trucks, a fraction down with the equipment as collateral, full Section 179 write-off, and terms that match the asset's life.
Fund Bonds, Duties & Clearance
A customs-bond increase or a tariff jump lands while your capital is on the water — we fund bonds, duties, and clearance in days so a container doesn't sit at the port racking up demurrage.
Match Your Situation
The Cash-Flow Gaps We Fund for Importers and Exporters
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of credit before production | Your overseas supplier requires a $120K letter of credit before production begins, tying up cash or credit for 60–90 days while goods are made and shipped. | Working Capital | $75K–$300K | 1–3 days |
| Customs clearance and duty fees | New tariffs jumped duties from 8% to 25%. Two containers on the water are worth $240K, clearing them costs an extra $40K you didn't budget, and demurrage starts in five days. | Working Capital | $75K–$300K | 1–3 days |
| Container pre-payment, goods in transit | You wire $120K to a supplier overseas, the container sits on a ship for 45 days, and your buyer pays net-30 after delivery — 85 days of dead cash per container. | Business LOC | $75K–$1M | 1–5 days |
| Tariff uncertainty on locked pricing | Trade policy shifts overnight and a category that cost 8% in duties now costs 25%. Your selling price is locked with buyers, but your landed cost just jumped $20K per container. | Invoice Factoring | $75K–$1M | 1–2 days |
| Cargo insurance shortfall | A $95K container was damaged in transit and basic coverage pays only 60%. The $38K gap comes out of pocket while you fight the claim and still fulfill the order. | Working Capital | $75K–$300K | 1–3 days |
The Products
How Import & Export Financing Is Structured
Most import and export files fund between $75K and $5M+, structured to the inventory, shipment, or net-terms gap in front of you. Larger lines available when revenue, cash flow, and story qualify.
| Amount | Term | Best For | Funding Speed | Typical Structure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade Finance / LC | $75K–$5M+ | Per shipment | Goods in transit, letters of credit | 3–7 days | LC or PO-backed, per shipment |
| Working Capital | $75K–$5M+ | 6mo–10yr | Duties, bonds, supplier prepayment | 1–3 days | Often unsecured, daily/weekly ACH |
| Business LOC | $75K–$5M+ | Revolving | Rolling container cycles, ongoing buys | 1–5 days | Unsecured line, no PG by default |
| Equipment Financing | $75K–$5M+ | 3yr–7yr | Forklifts, racking, delivery trucks | 3–7 days | Equipment serves as collateral |
| Invoice Factoring | $75K–$5M+ | Per invoice | Slow-paying buyer receivables | 1–2 days | Invoices secure the line, no PG typically |
Tax Strategy
Section 179 on Forklifts and Delivery Trucks — 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
“Import/export margin lives and dies at the bonded warehouse — every day a container sits is demurrage out of your pocket. The $170K in container racking, a yard jockey, and a dispatch van is what turns containers fast enough to keep the spread. Put a fraction down, finance the rest, and write off the full $170K the year it's running the yard. Faster throughput and a smaller tax bill, one move.”
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 an import / export 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
Import & Export Distribution Financing
The Longest Cash Cycle in Wholesale
Import and export has the longest cash cycle in wholesale. You wire $120K to a factory overseas, the container sits on a ship for 45 days, and customs takes another 10 — then your buyer pays net-30 after delivery. That's 85 days of dead cash on a single container, and you can't grow while every dollar floats on the ocean. We fund importers so the next container loads before the last one clears — the difference between running three containers a year and running twelve.
One Application, 70+ Lenders
The surprises never stop. Tariffs change, a customs broker needs a $50K bond increase, demurrage piles up when a container can't clear fast enough. Most banks won't touch goods sitting on the water — too many moving parts. Our 70+ lenders include trade-finance specialists who do this daily. A $75K customs bond or a $5M trade facility — one 60-second application, soft-pull review to start, and no hard pull.
Common Questions
Import / Export Financing — Questions, Answered
Inventory or trade financing fronts goods in transit, including against a letter of credit, sized on your revenue and repaid as the goods land and sell. Soft-pull review to start.
Yes. Working capital, lines of credit, and trade financing bridge the 45–90 day gap between purchasing overseas and receiving customer payment. A $120K container financed for 85 days keeps your cash free for other orders.
Our lending network includes trade-finance specialists who issue letters of credit and provide import bridge loans, so you can secure supplier terms without tying up your entire cash reserve.
Yes. A working line or trade financing covers the supplier payment and the net-terms gap so you're not floating both ends out of cash flow.
Working capital covers customs bonds, duty payments, tariffs, and related import costs, and it can fund in about 24 hours — critical when shipments clear customs faster than expected.
No. Soft credit pull only — zero FICO impact.
Recommended Funding
The Products That Fit Import / Export Work
Other Wholesale & Distribution Businesses