Inventory turns and shrink
How fast product moves by department, and how much is lost to spoilage, damage and theft. Fast turns with controlled shrink is the strongest signal a grocer can show.
Lines in 3 daysEquipment to $2M10-year options to $5M
Supermarket and grocery store financing built for a two-percent margin.
Independent supermarkets, bodegas, ethnic grocers, produce markets and specialty food retailers run on volume, turns and a margin measured in low single digits. Qualified Commercial finances grocers on the real operation: inventory turns, vendor terms, refrigeration and equipment value, and the daily deposits already landing in the account. Working capital lines, equipment financing, acquisition and remodel capital, and ten-year government-backed options for food retail, processed by our own underwriters.
Screen before applying: 1+ year in business, $50K+ annual revenue and 640+ owner credit. Store acquisitions are reviewed on the seller's statements and the lease. Equipment requests need a vendor quote.
Four things a credit desk looks at in a grocery file.
A grocery store turns its inventory dozens of times a year on a thin margin. The review follows the turn, because that is where a store either makes money or quietly loses it.
Vendor terms and the cash cycle
Distributor terms, DSD vendors paid on delivery and the days between buying and selling set how much working capital the store really needs.
Daily deposits and card mix
Cash, card and EBT deposits by day of week and by month. Consistency matters more than peaks. The card share also tells us what processing fees are costing the store.
Occupancy and equipment condition
Rent as a share of sales, the lease term remaining, and the age of refrigeration and racking. Aging cases are a capital need before they are an emergency.
The six requests we see most from store owners.
Each one maps to a different structure. Picking the structure before the amount is what keeps the payment inside the margin.
Inventory for a holiday or seasonal build
Buying deep ahead of the weeks that make the year. A revolving line to $250K drawn for the build and repaid out of the sell-through.
Refrigeration, cases, racking and POS
Walk-ins, display cases, freezers, shelving and point-of-sale systems financed on the asset from $25K to $2M over 24 to 84 months, with installation as a soft cost.
Buying a store or a second location
Acquisition capital reviewed on the seller's statements, the lease and the plan for the first year. Ten-year government-backed terms to $5M for food retail.
Remodel and reset
A reset that adds departments, prepared foods or self-checkout. Structured with the working capital to survive the construction weeks.
Refinancing short-term advances
Daily-draw money taken to cover a vendor or a tax bill, replaced with a term payment the margin can actually carry.
Lowering card processing fees
Not a loan, but often the largest controllable cost in a store that runs on cards. A free statement review that shows the estimated annual savings in writing.
The grocery programs, side by side.
Typical amount, term and time to close on a complete file. The file is matched to the program that fits; you do not have to pick first.
Main Street
7 programs| Program | Amount | Term | Typical close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lines of Credit | to $250K | Revolving | 3 days |
| Equipment FinancingAll industries | $25K–$2M | 24–84 mo | File review |
| EZ Term Loan | $25K – $500K | 3–5 yr | 5 days |
| SBA Grocery | to $5M | 10 yr | 30 days |
| Hybrid Term / LOC | to $25M | Varies | 1 day |
| Jumbo Term Loan | to $25M | Varies | 1 day |
| SBA 7(a)All industries | to $5M | 10–25 yr | 30 days |
Amounts, terms and timelines are typical ranges for complete files and are subject to underwriting, collateral review, documentation, third-party reports and lender approval. Nothing here is a commitment to lend. SBA programs are additionally subject to SBA eligibility and approval.
Days to close, by program.
Conventional pathQualified Commercial
Hybrid Term / LOC
1 day
Conventional
21 days
Jumbo Term Loan
1 day
Conventional
21 days
Lines of Credit
3 days
Conventional
14 days
EZ Term Loan
5 days
Conventional
30 days
SBA Grocery
30 days
Conventional
75 days
SBA 7(a)
30 days
Conventional
75 days
See which review should happen first.
Four non-personal questions. The result is a routing recommendation, not an approval, and nothing is stored.
Step 1 of 425%
This check collects no personal details and does not make a credit decision.
Capital that turns with the inventory.
The strongest grocery files tie the money to the turn: product that sells before the payment is due, equipment that keeps product saleable, a store whose deposits already prove the volume.
Strong cases
- A seasonal build in a store with three years of the same seasonal pattern
- Replacing failing refrigeration before it becomes lost inventory
- An acquisition where the seller's deposits and vendor statements reconcile
- A remodel that adds a department with a proven margin
Weak cases
- Borrowing to cover shrink that has not been diagnosed
- Inventory for a department the neighborhood has not asked for
- A store with months left on its lease and no renewal in writing
- Adding a third short-term position behind two advances
What a grocery file needs.
The business documents every commercial lender asks for, plus the three things that make a store legible to a credit desk.
The business
- Business tax returns, most recent 2 years
- Business bank statements, last 6 months
- Year-to-date P&L and balance sheet
- Business debt schedule
The store
- Sales by department, trailing 12 months
- Inventory summary and turns, or a recent count
- Top vendor statements and terms
- Lease with remaining term and options
When buying or remodeling
- Purchase agreement or letter of intent
- Seller's tax returns and bank statements
- Equipment quotes and contractor bids
- Opening or transition budget
From a vendor deadline to a funded store in four steps.
Direct underwriting removes the packaging, shopping and re-requesting that cost a brokered file a month.
- 01
Start the file
Pick grocery and commodities, answer a short set of questions and upload what you already have. A preliminary read comes back in minutes.
- 02
Underwriter review
The person who decides reads deposits, turns and the lease together, and asks for gaps once.
- 03
Written terms
Amount, term, payment, collateral and conditions on one sheet. Compare it against the turn the money is meant to fund.
- 04
Close and fund
Vendor paid directly on equipment; working capital lands in the operating account. Lines are ready to draw before the next truck.
The food retail library.
Inventory cash cycles, seasonal planning against a line, the sector programs for grocers and why cards are the expensive answer to a cash gap.
- SBA Financing
SBA Sector Programs: Grocery and Domestic Manufacturing
Why food retail and domestic production get treated differently inside the SBA programs, and what a sector-focused file has to prove.
- Retail, E-commerce & Franchise
The Inventory Cash Cycle, and Why Cards Are the Expensive Answer
Inventory-heavy businesses fail on timing, not margin. How to compute your cash conversion cycle, what a card really costs per turn, and what fits the gap better.
- Working Capital & Lines of Credit
The Working Capital Cycle, and How to Shorten It
Every day between paying for inventory and collecting on the sale is a day you finance. How to compute your cycle, price a single day, and take days out of it.
- Retail, E-commerce & Franchise
Seasonal Inventory Planning Against a Credit Line
A seasonal buy is a financing decision made months before the revenue. How to size a line to the peak, plan the drawdown, and stay inside the covenants that matter.
Grocery financing questions.
Can I finance used refrigeration and display cases?
Yes. Used cases and walk-ins are financed on make, age, condition and resale value, with the term set to remaining useful life. A dealer invoice with a clear description and an installation quote is enough to start.
How fast can a grocery store get working capital?
On a complete file, lines of credit typically close in about three days and the EZ Term loan in about five. Acquisitions and government-backed programs take about a month. Timelines are typical, not guaranteed.
Does a low net margin hurt my file?
Grocery margins are low by nature and the desk reads them that way. What matters is consistent gross margin by department, controlled shrink and deposits that cover existing payments with room to spare.
Is there a government-backed program for grocery stores?
Yes. SBA Grocery provides ten-year government-backed terms to $5M for grocery retail, food distribution and agriculture businesses. It takes longer and carries SBA forms, so it fits acquisitions and remodels better than an urgent inventory buy.
Can I finance buying the store I currently rent or manage?
A store acquisition is reviewed on the seller's tax returns, bank statements and vendor terms, plus the lease and your own operating history in the store. Experience running the location is a strength.
What do card processing fees have to do with a loan?
In a store running on a two-percent net margin, a three-percent card fee is the margin. A free statement review shows the estimated annual savings in writing, and that saving carries a loan payment better than any new revenue.
Bring six statements, sales by department and the lease.
That is enough to start. The underwriter sizes the structure to the turn and tells you what, if anything, is missing.
Amounts, terms, timelines and pricing are typical ranges for complete files, are determined file by file, and are superseded by executed documents. Screening is a preliminary review, not a commitment to lend. Final terms depend on underwriting, collateral review, documentation, third-party reports and lender approval. SBA programs are additionally subject to SBA eligibility and approval. Qualified Commercial does not provide financial, accounting or legal advice.