Short answer
Merchant Fund Express funds existing education and childcare franchise owners (tutoring and learning centers, test prep, coding and STEM, enrollment-based childcare, kids' fitness and enrichment) with business loans, merchant cash advances, revenue-based financing, lines of credit, equipment financing and working capital from $5,000 to $5,000,000. Typical uses are classroom furniture and technology, curriculum materials, transport vans, teacher payroll and enrollment marketing. Send three months of business bank statements and ID; a complete file usually gets a decision in 2–4 hours.
What education and childcare owners fund
These businesses live on a school-year calendar. Summer is when rooms get refreshed and staff get hired, and it is often when tuition is lightest. That timing gap is where funding earns its keep.
Classrooms and play spaces
Furniture, flooring, playground equipment and the safety upgrades a center needs.
Technology
Laptops, tablets, robotics kits and learning software for STEM and tutoring programs.
Transport
Vans for school pickup and field trips. See vehicle funding.
Teachers and enrollment
Hiring and training before the fall, and the marketing that fills seats.
Match the need to the funding
| If you need to… | Fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buy laptops, tablets or kits | Equipment financing | The equipment anchors the deal |
| Refresh classrooms over the summer | Franchise business loans | Lump sum for a fixed project |
| Cover payroll through the summer dip | Business line of credit | Draw in July, repay as fall tuition lands |
| Fund an enrollment campaign | Marketing funding | Spend before the term, repay during it |
| Add a pickup van | Equipment financing | See the vehicles page for what to send |
| Fast cash for an urgent repair | Merchant cash advance | Repaid as a share of deposits |
| Even out a school-year cycle | Revenue-based financing | Payments track revenue |
How education and childcare deposits read
Tuition usually arrives as recurring monthly drafts or card payments, with spikes at registration and dips in summer or school breaks. A reviewer reads three months against that calendar, checks payroll, rent and royalties, and looks at any existing funding. If your statements cover the summer, give your fall enrollment in the description so the payment is sized to the full year.
Merchant Fund Express funds the operating business on its own deposits. If part of your tuition arrives from a third-party payer, say so in the description; the review is built on what actually lands in the business account.
Hypothetical example, not a past deal: a learning center franchise owner wants to add a coding program in the fall, needs fifteen laptops and robotics kits and wants to run an enrollment campaign in August. A reviewer could put the technology on equipment financing and fund the campaign with working capital repaid from fall tuition.
Education and childcare brands we fund
Running a brand that is not named here? Put the brand on the application. Merchant Fund Express funds the location on its own deposits, whatever the logo over the door.
Tutoring, test prep, STEM, art and music, kids' sports and enrollment-based childcare franchises all apply the same way: an open location with tuition flowing into a business account. Planning around the summer dip? See seasonal cash flow.
Three fast calls center owners make
Waitlist for the fall term? Add a classroom's worth of furniture and technology on equipment financing over the summer, so the seats are ready when enrollment opens.
Summer tuition light, payroll not? Draw on a line of credit in July and repay as fall tuition lands.
New program launching? Fund the materials and the enrollment push with working capital. Several centers in separate entities? Apply per entity; see separate LLCs.
What to send
- Apply in about 4 minutesName your education or childcare brand, the location and what the money is for.
- Upload statements and IDThree months of business bank statements per location entity, plus photo ID for each owner.
- Decision in 2–4 hoursOn a complete file. Same-day funding is available, and funding often lands the next business day.
No tax returns to apply. 500+ FICO accepted. Sole proprietors are eligible, Spanish-speaking support is available and ITIN applicants are accepted.
Owner questions, answered
Can a tutoring or learning center franchise get funding?
Yes. An open location with tuition deposits in a business account is exactly what Merchant Fund Express funds.
Can I cover payroll over the summer?
Yes. A line of credit or working capital bridges the summer dip, repaid as fall tuition arrives.
Can I finance laptops and classroom technology?
Yes. Technology and furniture at an operating location can go on equipment financing.
My statements show a slow summer. Does that hurt?
No. Add your fall enrollment to the description so the reviewer sees the full year.
Are you affiliated with any education or childcare franchise?
No. Merchant Fund Express is independent and has no franchisor ties.
Keep going
Merchant Fund Express is a separate company with no franchisor ties. Terms depend on the business's revenue and history.