Merchant Cash Advance for Landscaping

22-April-2026

22-April-2026 14:00

in Private clients

by Tom Bradbury

A focused male electrician in a white hard hat and overalls works on a complex set of pipes with a wrench, representing a skilled tradesperson.

Project-oriented, seasonally affected work can easily suffer from cash flow issues. Having the right funding support can make the difference between a smooth year and one where the peaks and troughs can introduce unwanted difficulties and management anxiety.

For landscaping businesses with a proven card transaction income, merchant cash advances (MCAs) offer a way to mitigate seasonal instabilities and payment delays, giving you rapid access to cash exactly when you need it.

At Clifton Private Finance, we work with our clients to meet financial challenges, using a range of funding tools to fit the situation.

Explore how a merchant cash advance can help your landscaping business in this guide.

What is Merchant Cash Advance?

Rather than a traditional business loan, MCAs work as an advance on future card transaction takings. There is no accruing interest or set monthly repayments, but a factor rate that defines the balance to be repaid, and a holdback percentage that calculates repayments on a month-by-month basis as a percentage of card transactions.

Merchant cash advances have several differences from traditional loans, forming a group of advantages and disadvantages that should be considered when evaluating funding options.

Factor Rate vs. Interest

Instead of a set interest rate that increases or decreases the final amount repaid based on the length of the term, MCAs utilise a set factor rate.

This is typically between 1.1x and 1.5x and acts as a multiplier to the sum advanced:

MCA Factor Rate

Advance	Factor Rate	Balance to Repay
£10,000		£13,000
£20,000		£24,000
£30,000		£34,200

This simple multiplier makes the cost of an MCA easy to evaluate and balance against other considerations. The final adjusted balance is set at the time of the advance and does not change, irrespective of the time taken to repay.

Advantages: Factor rate means an easier calculation, flexibility over repayment length, and a clear understanding.
Disadvantages: When balanced against interest-based loans, a factor rate may be more expensive. Securing a competitive factor rate is important to avoid costly MCAs.

Holdback Percentage vs. Set Monthly Repayment and Term

An MCA is repaid in line with your monthly card transactions. The holdback percentage represents the amount of your gross card transaction turnover that is used to pay down the advance, replacing a traditional set monthly repayment structure.

The auto-adjusting repayment means there is also no fixed term length to an MCA - it takes as long as it takes. Lenders are also comfortable with occasional ‘zero months’, where there is no card income and thus no repayment.

However, multiple zero months may trigger an investigation and a request for the advance to be repaid through other means. Nonetheless, lender understanding and flexibility are built into the system.

Holdback percentages are commonly between 10% and 25%. While it is natural to prefer smaller percentages, which impact the business cash flow less, strategically considered higher holdback percentages ensure the advance is repaid sooner, releasing the obligation and shortening the financial drag that may occur.

Advantages: Holdback percentage allows for repayment flexibility, lowering monthly cash flow stress.
Disadvantages: An undefined term means MCA can drain resources for longer than planned.

Card Transactions vs. Total Turnover and Credit History

An MCA is directly tied to debit and credit card transactions, both for application evaluation and repayment structure. It is not a loan, but an advance on those transactions.

Businesses that apply for MCAs must have substantial regular card transactions, with a provable history of card-based income that is used to generate a reliable forecast.

This makes an MCA more applicable to businesses that deal directly with customers (B2C) than those that obtain payment through business-to-business invoicing norms (B2B). Revenue that comes from direct bank transfer, direct debits, or other payment methods will not be considered when evaluating MCA eligibility.

Similarly, most MCA providers consider standard creditworthiness checks, such as business credit rating, as secondary and less relevant than when assessing a standard loan. This means that businesses struggling to get traditional finance may find more options through MCA.

Merchant cash advances are also repaid through gross card transaction revenue only, leaving other business income untouched. Holdback percentages, therefore, are a percentage draw on that card transaction revenue, not the full monthly business takings.

Advantages: Businesses with comfortable card transactions can get larger advances than a credit rating may suggest; other income can be considered ‘ring fenced’ and unaffected by MCA repayments.
Disadvantages: B2B businesses or those with smaller levels of card transactions may struggle to obtain an MCA.

Using Merchant Cash Advance in Landscaping Businesses

A merchant cash advance is a fast, short-term funding tool that can be used by landscapers looking to improve their business finances. As with other funding, such as traditional bank loans, MCAs should be properly evaluated against your business’s needs to make sure it’s the right solution.

At Clifton Private Finance, our funding team will discuss your specific circumstances to help you explore MCAs among other options.

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Merchant Cash Advance for Seasonality

Businesses that are affected by seasonal fluctuations can often struggle with cash flow. For landscaping businesses, ‘seasonality’ isn’t simply a catchphrase associated with high-volume periods, but can also be a true representation of the natural annual cycle.

Winter months can amplify challenges, especially if residual income clients only form a minor part of the business.

This advance is then repaid during the more profitable months when cash flow is more stable.

Merchant Cash Advance for Materials

Many landscaping projects require an upfront investment to source materials and hire equipment prior to the commencement of works, but when payment is potentially many months away, the liquid capital needed to put everything in place can put a strain on cash flow.

Merchant cash advances offer a means to obtain the capital required to obtain these materials without the complicated application processes, high interest rates, or lengthy delays that can be associated with other forms of finance.

The factor rate nature of MCAs means it is also very simple to balance the cost of its use against the profitability of the job. A factor rate of 1.2x, for example, adds a clear 20% to the effective price of funded materials (1.2x is equivalent to 120% of cost, an increase of 20%). When the markup for materials exceeds the factor rate adjustment, the MCA is viable; if it is close to or lower than the factor rate, MCAs should not be used.

This understandable approach, coupled with MCA’s fast application process, makes it a strong solution to materials-based cash flow problems.

MCAs can also be used to effectively stretch existing supplier account terms, with 30-day or 60-day terms providing an initial period of payment breathing space, and MCAs extending that if required.

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MCA to Secure Large Projects

Expanding to win one large contract can provide a significant boost to any small-to-medium landscaping firm. However, without the support of liquid capital, it can be difficult to provide the necessary financial confidence a larger client expects.

Often, the need to look stable occurs before the truth of that stability. A merchant cash advance can bridge that gap.

Moving from smaller, individual B2C customers who pay through card transactions to bigger B2B clients who use an invoicing model can mean sizeable delays between the work done and the payment cleared.

While established B2B firms may have access to dedicated funding solutions, such as invoice finance or purchase order finance, B2C firms need funding that’s aligned with their existing model.

Fast and cost-appropriate, MCAs gives you the confidence to say ‘yes’ to prospective new clients, knowing the funding exists to support the move.

MCA to Weather Disruption

Landscaping work cannot fully protect itself from changeable weather. When rain, frost, or ground conditions can suddenly change the outlook for a job, the subsequent delays can destabilise liquidity.

MCAs can be used to shore up cash flow when sudden weather changes threaten project completion, preventing both a short-term cash crisis and long-term capital pressure.

Here, an MCA’s rapid nature helps, with many applications providing cleared funds within 48 hours. Additional resources can be obtained, funding issues are resolved, and the business remains stable.

MCA for Reactive Repair

Equipment breakdowns can be costly. While preventative maintenance and insurance are preferable, sometimes key machinery can break without warning - and the loss of revenue from downtime makes repair essential.

While MCAs used in this manner may seem expensive, when the alternative is to delay or reject jobs, even larger factor rates are justified.

As with all short-term finance, using an MCA for repairs is a balance between cost and need, providing a flexible solution when called upon.

An Example of Merchant Cash Advance for Landscaping

Heather runs a medium-sized landscaping business that employs six full-time employees and holds a further four people as regular subcontractors. Over three years, she has been building up the customer base and has been looking to move towards more commercial clients.

One of her regular domestic customers presents an opportunity to provide landscaping services for a build-to-rent corporation in London, where he’s part of the management team.

He explains to her that she needs to make a solid proposal that shows readiness to begin work at extremely short notice, as their previous landscaping firm has proven too costly and they’re looking for alternatives.

Due to the circumstances, she has four working days to make her bid, with the potential of starting work the following week.

Though Heather’s business creditworthiness is strong, she has an existing unsecured startup loan that’s still two years from being paid off, and credit cards in constant use. Without any real tangible assets, traditional unsecured and secured loans are unavailable to her.

However, she’s able to get pre-approval of an arrangement for £30,000 with an MCA, providing enough to start the work immediately should she get the contract. She prepares her proposal and goes forward confidently.

Heather wins the contract. She confirms the MCA at a factor rate of 1.17x and holdback percentage of 15%.

From a total balance of £35,100, her repayments are as follows:

Heather’s MCA Repayments

Month	Card Transaction Turnover	Repayment @ 15%	MCA Balance
May	£49,500	£7,425	£27,675
June	£53,000	£7,950	£19,725
July	£56,100	£8,415	£11,310
August	£57,200	£8,580	£2,730

With a non-card transaction invoice paid from the new client in August, Heather decides to pay off the £2,730 balance of the MCAs early, moving into September with her card transaction cash flow unburdened. As an MCA has no early repayment fee, this is accepted without question.

Alternatives to Merchant Cash Advance

Merchant cash advances provide a short-term funding solution for use in landscaping businesses that have strong, sustained card transactions.

Alongside other finance products, it forms part of a suite of solutions for businesses looking to smooth cash flow and stabilise seasonal fluctuations.

Other options for funding include:

Traditional Business Loans

Both secured (asset-based) and unsecured loans offer landscaping businesses liquid capital that can help with both short-term needs and long-term expansion.

Advantages over MCA:

A good credit rating can mean interest rates are cheaper than MCA factor rates
Set term allows for clear future budgeting
Larger sums may be possible, especially for secured loans