$325,000 in 8 days

A specialty retail business in California had a seasonal reality: their three highest-revenue months generated roughly 45% of annual sales, and inventory needed to be purchased 90 days before those months hit. The owner's existing line of credit was maxed out from the prior holiday season, and their bank required 6 months of clean statements before considering a new request — which they didn't have.

The opportunity was real. A major supplier was offering a 6% additional discount on orders placed before a cutoff date — that was $39,000 in immediate savings on the planned $650,000 inventory buy. The question wasn't whether the opportunity existed; it was whether they could move fast enough to capture it.

Inventory financing exists at banks, but it's slow and heavily collateralized. The bank wanted a UCC filing on the inventory itself — which is exactly what it sounds like: if the business can't repay, the bank seizes the stock. On a seasonal business, that's a real risk for the lender, and they priced it accordingly.

The bigger problem was timing. The bank's standard commercial application process was 30–45 days. The supplier discount deadline was 18 days away. Even if they had applied immediately, the math didn't work — they'd be funding the invoice after the discount window closed.

Revenue-based financing was the right structure for a different reason: it tied repayments to actual revenue, which meant the business wouldn't be cash-constrained during the seasonal lulls that follow the inventory purchase cycle.

The product was revenue-based financing — specifically structured as a fixed repayment amount drawn from a percentage of monthly revenue. This is a fundamentally different structure than a loan with a fixed payment, because it flexes with the business's actual performance: slower months mean smaller payments, faster months mean faster repayment.

The RBF was structured as 8% of monthly revenue, collected daily or weekly, until the facility plus a defined repayment amount was retired. No balloon. No final payment shock. Repayment accelerates when revenue is strong and slows when it's not.

The deal closed in 8 days — 2 days before the supplier discount cutoff. The $39,000 discount captured on a $650,000 inventory purchase more than covered the cost of the financing structure. The business repaid the facility in 10 months, against a 14-month projection, because the seasonal revenue performed at the high end of the forecast.

The $39,000 supplier discount was captured. The RBF was repaid in 10 months instead of the 14-month projection — because the holiday season performed at the high end of the forecast.

• $39,000 supplier discount captured
• 8% monthly revenue deduction, flexed with actual sales
• 10 months to full repayment (vs. 14-month projection)
• Inventory turn rate improved 18% in the first year due to better stock depth heading into Q4

The business has since established a $200K revolving inventory facility using the same lender — same structure, available within 48 hours when the next seasonal window opens.