FAQs
27 questions, answered properly.
Including the ones about how we get paid, which most brokerage sites leave off.
Sec. 01 — Getting started
Getting started
What happens when you call, and what it costs you to find out.
Are you a lender?
No. Massive Meat Capital is a commercial finance brokerage. We do not lend our own money. We take your file to a network of 40+ funding partners, argue it, and bring you the offers. Rates, terms and approval are set by the funding partner, not by us.
Does applying affect my credit score?
Not at the start. The initial review uses a soft pull, which is invisible to other lenders and does not affect your score. A hard pull happens only when you decide to move forward with a specific offer, and we will tell you before it happens rather than after.
What does it cost to work with you?
Nothing up front. We are compensated by the funding partner when a deal closes. If you are ever asked for an application fee, a processing fee, or a payment to "release" funds by anyone in this industry, that is the point to stop and call someone else.
How long does the whole process take?
It depends entirely on the product. Short-term working capital can fund the same day. Equipment financing runs one to five business days. A line of credit takes two to seven. SBA runs 30 to 90 days, and commercial real estate 45 to 120. We will tell you the honest timeline on the first call, including when it is too slow for your situation.
What is the minimum I can borrow?
Around $10,000 for short-term working capital and equipment financing. Most of what we place sits between $50,000 and $1,500,000. Below about $25,000 the fees start to dominate the economics and we will often tell you a card or a small bank loan is the better answer.
Do you work with startups?
Rarely, and we will say so quickly rather than string you along. Most of our funding partners want at least six months of operating history and many want two years. If you are pre-revenue, the honest routes are equipment financing against a specific machine, a HELOC, or an SBA loan with a strong personal financial statement — and each of those is harder than it sounds.
Sec. 02 — Qualifying
Qualifying
What underwriters actually look at, and what disqualifies a file.
What credit score do I need?
It varies by product more than most people expect. Short-term working capital can work from around 550. Equipment financing generally wants 600 or better. Lines of credit and term loans want 650 and up for good pricing. SBA effectively wants 680 or better. Time in business and deposit consistency frequently matter more than the score itself.
What do you actually read on my bank statements?
Average daily balance, the number of days the account ended negative, deposit consistency and count, and any existing daily or weekly ACH debits that indicate an outstanding advance. Six months of statements tell an underwriter more than a year-old tax return does, which is why they carry so much weight.
I already have a merchant cash advance. Can I still get funding?
One advance, being repaid on schedule, is manageable. Two or three simultaneously will fail nearly every underwriting standard we work with, and the right conversation at that point is consolidation rather than more money. We will have that conversation with you, and we will not write a third advance on top of two.
Do I need to be USDA-inspected?
No. We fund custom-exempt shops, state-inspected plants, federally inspected plants, retail counters, distributors and restaurants. An active grant of inspection does help an application, because it evidences that your facility has already passed a defined standard.
Will I have to sign a personal guarantee?
Almost certainly. Personal guarantees are standard across virtually every commercial finance product for businesses of this size, including SBA. The meaningful question is usually not whether there is a guarantee but whether there is also a lien on your home, and that varies by product.
Can I get funding with a tax lien?
Sometimes. An open federal tax lien is a hard stop for SBA unless you have an accepted payment plan in place. Several of our short-term and equipment partners will look at a file with a lien if there is a documented payment arrangement being honoured. Disclose it at the start — it will be found, and finding it late costs you more than the lien does.
Sec. 03 — Products and pricing
Products and pricing
How the money is actually priced, and which product fits what.
What is a factor rate, and why does it not match the APR?
A factor rate is a multiplier on the amount advanced. At 1.30 on $100,000 you repay $130,000 no matter how quickly you pay. That is not an annual rate — repaid over seven months it is roughly 90% APR. We convert every offer to an APR before you sign, because a factor rate quoted next to an interest rate is not a comparison.
Which product is cheapest?
SBA, essentially always, followed by commercial real estate, then equipment financing, then term loans and lines of credit, with short-term working capital advances far and away the most expensive. The cheapest product you qualify for and can wait for is almost always the right one.
Why would I ever take the expensive product?
Because the alternative is worse. A failed compressor with $96,000 of product at risk justifies expensive money for a short period. So does bridging six weeks to a cheaper approval. What does not justify it is financing a recurring, predictable gap — that is paying an emergency premium for a scheduled event.
Can I pay off early and save money?
On a term loan or equipment note with a real interest rate, yes — interest stops accruing. On a true factor-rate advance, usually not; the total payback is fixed. Ask for the early payoff terms in writing before you sign, not after.
Do you finance used equipment?
Yes. Used equipment from an established dealer with a serial number finances routinely, generally at a slightly higher rate and shorter term than new. Auction and private-party purchases are harder because valuation and title are harder, and some lenders will require an inspection before funding.
Can you finance a project that includes construction?
Yes, through buildout financing or SBA. This matters more than it sounds: on most cold storage and USDA projects, the construction share — floors, drains, panel, electrical — is large enough that equipment financing alone would fund the machines and decline the rest, leaving you half-funded.
Sec. 04 — Process and documents
Process and documents
What we need from you, and what happens after you send it.
What documents will I need?
For most short-term and equipment products: three to six months of business bank statements, a one-page application, a driver’s licence and a voided cheque. For lines of credit and term loans, add a tax return and a year-to-date profit and loss. For SBA and real estate, expect three years of business and personal returns, current financials, a debt schedule and a personal financial statement.
Who will I be dealing with?
One advisor, from the first call to funding. The person who takes your call reads your statements, argues your file with the funding partners, and calls you when it funds. There is no handoff to a closing team that has never seen your business.
Will you shop my file to forty lenders at once?
No. Blasting a file across a market generates a wave of hard pulls and calls, and it damages your position rather than improving it. We select the two or three partners whose credit box actually fits your file and take it to them properly.
What happens if I am declined?
You get told why, specifically, and what would have to change. Usually it is negative days, time in business, an existing advance, or missing financials — all of which are addressable on a known timeline. A decline with no explanation is useless to you and we do not consider it an acceptable outcome.
Can I talk to someone who understands my business?
That is the entire proposition. Our underwriting team includes people who have worked a kill floor, run a retail counter and managed a distribution yard. You should not have to explain what a blast chiller is, why your receivables run 45 days, or what happens during deer season.
Sec. 05 — About MMC
About MMC
Who we are and how we are paid.
Why only the protein industry?
Because the specificity is the product. A generalist lender files a USDA-inspected plant under "manufacturer" and underwrites it against benchmarks drawn from businesses with nothing in common with it. We only look at one supply chain, which means we know what the equipment costs, what the seasons do, and which failures are ordinary rather than alarming.
How are you paid?
By the funding partner, on closing. Commission varies by product, and it is highest on the products we recommend least — short-term advances pay a broker considerably more than a term loan or an SBA loan does. We think you should know that when we recommend something.
Where are you located?
Omaha is headquarters and where all underwriting happens. Fort Worth covers livestock, plant buildout and equipment. Melville covers Northeast distribution and restaurant groups. We fund businesses nationwide regardless of which desk you speak to.
Do you fund outside the protein supply chain?
Occasionally, for adjacent food businesses such as produce distributors or bakeries where the cash cycle and equipment profile are similar. If your business has nothing to do with food, another brokerage will serve you better and we will say so.
Still not answered?
Call and ask. You will get a person who reads files rather than a script, and you will not be put through a qualification funnel first.