--- title: "Wholesale Business Funding | FundBetter" url: "https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/wholesale/" description: "Get funding for wholesale distributors and suppliers. Stock inventory ahead of demand, cover payroll, and bridge the gap while buyers pay on net terms." --- # Wholesale Business Loans Buy the inventory now, get paid by your buyers later, and keep cash ahead of every purchase order. [Apply Now](https://www.fundbetter.com/apply/) [786-882-2705](tel:+17868822705) A few minutes to see what your distribution business qualifies for, with no obligation and no mark on your credit file. $1B+ in funding delivered to small businesses A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau 8+ years supporting entrepreneurs across the US ★4.9/5 stars from real business owners ## Business loans for wholesale distributors Get the capital to stock up and fill every order without draining the account, because wholesale runs on timing. You buy inventory in bulk, ship it to retailers and buyers, then wait 30 to 60 days to get paid while your suppliers want their money sooner. A big purchase order should feel like a win, not a cash flow scramble, and FundBetter keeps you covered on both sides. With one application, one of our funding advisors, and funds in as little as 24 hours, you can commit to volume pricing and seasonal buys with confidence. ## Why wholesale distributors need working capital ### Inventory before sales Keep the shelves as full as demand wants even though you buy stock in volume weeks before it sells and ships. Funding covers that upfront outlay so it never caps how much inventory you hold. ### Buyers on net terms Pay your suppliers on their schedule while retailers and buyers take net 30 or net 60, without financing the gap out of your own account. ### Large purchase orders Say yes to a single big order even when it costs more to fill than you have on hand, because funding covers the outlay that goes out well before any of it ships. ## How the wholesale cash cycle consumes working capital Distribution is one of the few models where the cash cycle runs backwards against you. You pay suppliers at order, on delivery, or on short terms like net 15, then sell to retailers and other buyers who expect net 30 or net 60. Between those two dates you're financing your own supply chain out of pocket. Run the arithmetic on a growing month. You place a larger purchase order, and the supplier invoice comes due in two weeks. The goods sit in the warehouse three or four weeks before they ship. Your buyer then takes another 45 days to pay. The whole cycle runs roughly 70 days from the order to the collection, and your cash goes out near the front of it. A second larger order inside that window means carrying two cycles against one cycle of collections. That's how a fast-growing distributor runs out of money while showing a profit on every line. Profit is recognized when you invoice. Cash arrives when the buyer pays. Growth widens the distance between the two. The answer isn't to slow down. It's to fund the gap with capital priced for weeks rather than years so you keep buying while you wait to collect. [Invoice factoring](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/invoice-factoring/) pulls cash forward from the receivable side. A [business line of credit](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/business-lines-of-credit/) covers the supplier side. Plenty of distributors use both, because the two ends of the squeeze are separate problems. ## Invoice factoring vs. a business line of credit Both put working capital into your distribution business, but they attach to opposite ends of the cycle. Factoring converts what buyers already owe you into cash today. A line of credit gives you spending power before an invoice exists. | | Invoice factoring | Business line of credit | | --- | --- | --- | | What it advances against | Unpaid invoices already issued to creditworthy buyers, typically 80 to 90 percent of face value up front | An approved limit based on revenue and bank activity, available before you have invoiced anything | | Speed to cash | Same or next day, but every invoice and every new buyer is verified before it funds | A draw can land in as little as 24 hours, with no new underwriting once the line is open | | What it costs | A discount fee on invoice value, charged per period it stays open, so cost tracks how slowly your buyer pays | Interest on the drawn balance only. An unused line costs nothing to keep open | | Does it scale with sales | Yes, almost automatically. More shipped volume means more invoices to factor | Only to your approved limit. Growing past it means a limit increase and updated financials | | Who it suits in distribution | Distributors selling on net 30 to net 60 to established retail or commercial accounts. A poor fit if you sell cash on delivery, since there is no receivable to advance against | Distributors buying ahead of demand, funding container deposits, or smoothing warehouse payroll. Less suited to a structural gap, where redrawing monthly gets expensive | ## What wholesale business loans pay for Put capital to work across your distribution business, from the stock itself to the building that holds it and the systems that move it out the door. ### Bulk inventory buys Capture several points of margin by stepping from a half truckload to a full one, because suppliers price on volume. The larger buy pays for itself when the rebate beats the cost of capital and the stock turns before the term is up. ### Warehouse racking, forklifts, and dock equipment Outfit the warehouse with pallet racking, mezzanines, reach and sit-down forklifts, dock levelers, and shrink wrappers without touching the cash you need for stock. Equipment financing spreads the cost across the years these assets serve. If the project includes the building itself, [SBA loans](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/sba-loans/) carry the longest terms available on owner-occupied warehouse space. ### Delivery fleet Protect your delivery windows and take freight cost off the invoice by running your own box trucks, sprinter vans, and refrigerated units for perishables. A fleet ties up capital fast, so financing keeps that cash working elsewhere. ### Warehouse management and barcode systems Cut chargebacks and stop overbuying safety stock by funding a WMS, scanners, label printers, and the work to connect them to accounting and buyer EDI portals. Software and installation together make the kind of mixed project a [long-term business loan](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/long-term-business-loans/) is built for. Accurate pick and pack keeps every count clean. ### Import container deposits and landed costs Fund overseas orders that want around 30 percent at order and the balance before sailing, with six to ten weeks of lead time. Add ocean freight, duty, brokerage, and drayage and a container is paid for well before a unit sells, so capital bridges the wait. ## When to finance wholesale inventory, and when to wait Borrowing to buy stock pays off when the stock moves, turning capital into margin. It's one of the fastest ways to lose money when it doesn't. ### Financing wholesale inventory usually works when - The SKUs turn four to six times a year, so goods convert to cash inside the repayment term. - A volume tier or rebate is worth more than the capital costs, making it a margin decision rather than a survival one. - You are covering a purchase order a buyer has already placed, so demand is committed rather than forecast. - Import lead times force you to commit months ahead of the season, and the alternative is being out of stock. - The gap is timing only. Buyers pay reliably, they just pay later than suppliers invoice you. ### Financing wholesale inventory usually backfires when - The stock is slow moving or seasonal and may still sit in the warehouse when the payments have run their course. - You are buying deep into a new SKU with no sales history, which is how dead stock is made and then discounted below cost. - One buyer accounts for most of the order. If that account delays or walks, the debt stays and the receivable does not. - The warehouse already holds excess safety stock because counts are unreliable. A system fixes that, more inventory does not. - The borrowing covers an ongoing shortfall rather than a specific buy. Financing does not repair a margin too thin to carry the freight. ## Best ways to use wholesale business loans Distributors rarely borrow for one reason. Most applications cover several of these at once. Bulk inventory purchases Fulfilling large purchase orders Warehouse and storage costs Payroll and warehouse staff Bridging buyer net terms Seasonal stock buildup ## Funding options for wholesale distributors Different parts of a distribution business need different money. Inventory is short-cycle and wants revolving credit. Racking and forklifts are long-lived and want term financing. Open invoices want factoring. [### Invoice Factoring Convert buyer net terms into cash so the next container order does not stall. Learn more](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/invoice-factoring/)[### Business Lines of Credit Revolve inventory purchases as stock turns, drawing again for the following buying cycle. Learn more](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/business-lines-of-credit/)[### Short-Term Business Loans Fund a large purchase order and repay once the goods ship and invoice. Learn more](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/short-term-business-loans/)[### Equipment Financing Racking, forklifts, and conveyors are long-lived assets that suit term financing. Learn more](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/equipment-financing/) ## Who qualifies for wholesale business loans? Underwriting for distribution leans on your deposits and your buyer mix rather than the value of the stock sitting in your warehouse. [Check if you qualify](https://www.fundbetter.com/apply/) 6+ mo Time in business $15K+ Monthly revenue 500+ Personal credit score ## Frequently Asked Questions How do wholesale distributors get funding when all their money is tied up in inventory? Most distributors qualify on revenue and bank deposits rather than on the stock in the warehouse. That matters because inventory is hard to value and slow to liquidate. A line of credit sized to your monthly volume, or factoring against invoices you have already issued, both work without pledging the stock itself. Can I get funding to cover the gap between supplier terms and buyer terms? Yes, and that gap is the most common reason wholesalers apply. If you pay suppliers on delivery or net 15 while your buyers pay on net 30 or net 60, you're financing 45 days or more out of your own account. A revolving line of credit covers the supplier side and pays down when collections land. How does invoice factoring work for a wholesale distributor? You ship the order and issue the invoice as usual, then sell that invoice rather than waiting on it. You receive most of the value within a day or two and the remainder, less the fee, once your buyer pays. It suits distributors with established commercial accounts and doesn't fit cash on delivery sales. Can I finance a container order that has not shipped yet? Yes. Import deposits, ocean freight, duty, and drayage all come due before the goods reach your dock, and lead times of six to ten weeks are normal. Short-term funding or a line of credit covers the deposit at order and the balance before sailing, then repays as the container sells through. Is it worth borrowing to hit a volume discount from my supplier? It depends on two numbers. Compare the rebate or tier discount against the cost of the capital over the period you'll hold the goods. If the SKU turns several times a year and the discount clears the financing cost, the buy pays for itself. If the stock is slow moving, the discount rarely covers the carrying cost. What if a large buyer pays late and leaves me short? Buyer concentration matters more than most distributors expect. A line of credit gives you a cushion to cover supplier payments and warehouse payroll while you chase the account. Factoring reduces the exposure in the first place by advancing against the invoice as soon as it's issued. ## Other industries we fund We know the cash-flow realities of 22 industries. If yours is not Wholesale, chances are we fund it too. [Accounting & Tax](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/accounting-tax/)[Agriculture](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/agriculture/)[Auto Repair](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/auto-repair/)[Beauty](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/beauty/)[Construction](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/construction/)[Consulting](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/consulting/)[Ecommerce](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/ecommerce/)[Gas & Oil](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/gas-oil/) [See all industries we fund](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/) ## Accelerate growth with wholesale business loans Tell us what you are buying and who pays you. Our team will size working capital around your supplier terms and your buyer terms, not a generic formula. [Apply Now](https://www.fundbetter.com/apply/) [786-882-2705](tel:+17868822705)