Merchant Funding Payback Estimator for Moving Companies
Moving companies often need cash before peak season, for trucks, crews, and marketing, and repay it from card sales that swing hard between summer and winter. Enter your numbers to estimate what an advance could look like, how much of each delivery-day payment would go to repayment, and how long payback could take.
Your estimate
Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
A payments specialist can walk through your funding options and what an actual application would look at. This estimate is not an offer of credit or an approval decision.
How a moving company's card sales feed the estimator
For most movers, card revenue comes in two pieces: a deposit taken by phone or online when the job is booked, and a balance charged on move day or after delivery. Deposits are card-not-present, and balances may be card-present on a mobile reader or keyed into a virtual terminal. Both count toward the 'Average monthly card sales' figure. Cash, checks, and ACH payments from corporate relocation accounts do not, so leave them out.
Use a 12-month average, not your best summer month. If you refund deposits often for cancellations or reschedules, enter net card sales after refunds, because a funder looking at your statements will see the net number too.
Set 'Days open per week' to the days you actually run jobs. Many movers work 6 or 7 days in summer and fewer in winter. The estimator divides your monthly volume by open days to get daily card sales, so this setting changes the daily holdback figure. It does not change the monthly repayment total.
Choose 'High-risk specialists' as the business type. Many processors and funders put moving companies in a higher-risk category because customers pay before the service is finished and damage or delay claims can turn into chargebacks. In this tool, that choice reduces the estimated funding range by 25%. That 25% is an assumption built into the calculator, not a TouchSuite underwriting rule.
Timing a moving company advance around peak season
The estimator assumes flat sales, but moving volume isn't flat. If the holdback is a fixed percentage of card sales, you repay faster in June and July and slower in January, so a busy summer can shorten payback. If repayment is a fixed daily ACH debit, the same amount leaves your account on slow days and busy days alike. In winter, that can squeeze cash you need for payroll, fuel, and truck payments.
The gated slow-sales scenario models card sales 20% below your average. For many movers, the off-season drop is bigger than that. To stress-test your offer, rerun the estimator with your slowest month's card volume entered as the average. Check that the daily holdback in that run still leaves enough to cover your fixed costs.
A good result for a mover usually has three parts. Most of the payback lands during busy months. The holdback percentage leaves room for crew wages and fuel on a typical job day. The total cost in dollars makes sense next to what the money will earn, such as an extra truck you can keep booked through the summer.
Worked example: a hypothetical local moving company
These numbers are hypothetical and are not an offer. A local mover averages $60,000 a month in card sales, has been operating for 30 months, runs jobs 6 days a week, and wants $40,000 to add a truck before summer. The offer being tested has a 12% holdback and a 1.35 factor rate. Open days come to 26.00 per month, so daily card sales are about $2,308. With 24+ months in business, the base range is 1.00x to 1.50x monthly volume. The high-risk adjustment lowers it to an estimated $45,000 to $67,500. The $40,000 request falls under the top of that range, so the math uses the full $40,000.
Out of every $100 in card sales, $12 goes to repayment, which is about $277 per open day or $7,200 per month at average sales. Total payback is $54,000, so the cost of capital is $14,000. At steady sales, payback takes 195 open days, about 7.5 months or 32.5 working weeks. If card sales run 20% below average, payback stretches to 244 open days, about 9.4 months. The $14,000 cost stays the same in dollars either way.
For comparison, a hypothetical 12% APR term loan over 8 months would cost about $5,228 per month, or roughly $201 per open day, with about $1,821 in total interest. That is about $12,179 less than the advance. The loan payment is fixed, though, while the holdback goes down when a slow week brings in fewer card payments. Weigh both points against how lumpy your bookings are.
Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
What moving companies should check before signing
Ask whether the holdback applies to gross card deposits. If customers add crew tips on the card at delivery, a percentage holdback may take a share of those tips before you pass them through payroll. Ask how the funder handles that, and ask whether deposit refunds and chargebacks from damage claims reduce the sales the holdback is based on.
Look for fees that come out of the funded amount, such as origination or underwriting fees, and ask whether there is an early payoff discount. Ask whether you have to move card processing to the funder's processor. If you do, review that processor's statement for reserve holds, PCI non-compliance fees, per-chargeback fees, and early termination fees. These are common line items on higher-risk accounts, and they add to your real cost.
Fee practices on deposits, surcharges, and cash discounts vary by state and card brand. Confirm the rules with the card brands and your state before you change how you bill customers. To review an offer or your current processing setup, talk to a payments specialist at touchsuite.com/contact.
Frequently asked questions
Do customer deposits count toward my monthly card sales?
Yes, if they are paid by card. Deposits taken over the phone or online and balances charged on move day both count. Subtract refunded deposits from cancelled or rescheduled moves, because funders typically look at net card volume on your statements.
Will the holdback take a cut of tips my crews receive on card?
It can. Many percentage holdbacks apply to total card deposits, and tips added on card are part of that total. Ask the funder directly, and plan for the holdback to apply to the tipped amount when you budget crew payouts.
Why does my estimated range drop when I select high-risk?
Moving companies are often classed as higher-risk because customers pay before the move is finished and disputes over damage, delays, or final pricing can lead to chargebacks. The tool applies a 25% reduction for this category. That figure is an assumption for estimating, not a prediction of any funder's decision.
What happens to my payments in January when bookings slow down?
With a fixed-percentage holdback, your payments shrink along with card sales, so payback takes longer but the daily cash pull is lighter. With a fixed daily ACH debit, the amount stays the same unless the funder agrees to adjust it. Ask how reconciliation works when sales drop, and test your slowest month in the estimator.
I'm buying a truck before peak season. Should I compare an advance to a term loan?
Yes. Use the term loan APR field to compare. A term loan often costs less in total, but it has a fixed monthly payment due in slow months too. An advance usually costs more, but repayment follows your card sales. Run both and compare total cost against how predictable your bookings are.