INDUSTRY FUNDING
Empty shelves don't sell and dead stock doesn't pay rent. Coast structures inventory financing around your buying calendar — seasonal buys, bulk-purchase discounts, and every turn in between.
Retail's oldest problem is that the cash is on the shelves. A healthy store can show strong sell-through and still have nothing in the checking account, because everything the business earned went straight back into the next buy. Open-to-buy math doesn't care what your bank balance is — the order window is the order window.
The calendar makes it harder. Fourth-quarter inventory gets ordered in summer, paid for in fall, and sold in December. Distributors reward volume: hit the next order tier and the unit economics of the whole season improve — but only if you have the cash to commit while the discount is on the table. Meanwhile markdowns and shrink quietly eat the margin on whatever lingers.
Banks tend to see inventory as risk. We see it as the whole point: shelves that stay full, turns that stay fast, and a buying calendar you can say yes to. That's why inventory financing leads this page — it's the request we hear most from retailers.
Place fourth-quarter orders in July and August with confidence, and repay as the season sells through — instead of underbuying your best months.
Hit a distributor's next volume tier while the pricing is on the table. When the discount clears the cost of capital, the buy pays for itself.
Your best sellers should never stock out because cash was tied up elsewhere. Short-cycle inventory financing keeps the core assortment full.
Bring in a new category or brand without cannibalizing the open-to-buy budget for everything already working.
Build depth ahead of peak season so ad spend lands on in-stock products — the same buy-deep-then-sell-through cycle, online.
Fixtures, shelving, refrigeration, a planogram reset, or new POS — financed separately from inventory so the remodel never competes with the buy.
| Your situation | The fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A big seasonal buy lands months before the revenue | Working Capital | $5K–$2M with terms that let repayment overlap the selling season, not precede it |
| Recurring restocks and buys all year long | Business Line of Credit | Draw for each buying cycle and pay only on what you use — built for repeat inventory turns |
| A remodel, relocation, or second-door build-out | Business Loan | A lump sum with a fixed payment schedule over 4–36 months, sized to the project |
| Fixtures, refrigeration cases, or a delivery van | Equipment Financing | $10K–$5M over 2–5 years with the equipment itself as collateral |
| Strong online sales and you'd rather start self-serve | Swell | Coast's online revenue advance — begin the process yourself, backed by the revenue you already generate |
A Gulf Coast cigar shop with nine years in business and roughly $300–400K in annual revenue needed working capital without a drawn-out process. Coast funded about $10,500 on a 9-month working capital line one day after the application came in. What the owner valued most: the funding runs under the business EIN, with the owner's SSN used only for qualification.
A New England liquor store hit the situation every retailer dreads: shelves going bare — and as the owner put it, without inventory you can't stay open. Coast structured $10,000 on a short five-month program, funded within three days, to restock beer inventory turning 20–30% margins. Short program, fast turns, full shelves — exactly what inventory financing is for.
A Southern California e-commerce plant retailer with multi-million-dollar annual sales needed to build inventory ahead of its season. Coast funded roughly $42,000 on a 9-month working capital line for the seasonal buy. Online or brick-and-mortar, the mechanics are the same: buy deep before the season, sell through it, repeat.
Coast's minimums are a floor, not a ceiling — most funded retailers clear them comfortably.
Close on one of these? Apply anyway — your advisor reviews the whole business, not just a scorecard.
Inventory financing is working capital used specifically to buy stock — seasonal orders, replenishment, or opportunistic bulk purchases — repaid as the inventory sells through. At Coast it's typically structured as a working capital program from $5K to $2M, or as a business line of credit you draw against each buying cycle. The goal is simple: the order window never closes on you because cash was short.
Yes — that gap is exactly what inventory financing exists to bridge. Fourth-quarter stock is typically ordered in summer and paid for well before it sells, and Coast matches the term to that timeline so repayment overlaps the selling season. One funded client, an e-commerce plant retailer, used a 9-month working capital line for precisely this kind of seasonal buildup.
Coast's working capital programs are underwritten on your revenue, so funding a buy doesn't start with liens on your stock or your storefront. Equipment financing is the exception by design — the fixtures, cases, or vehicle being financed serve as their own collateral. Your advisor will walk you through exactly how any program is structured before you commit to anything.
Decisions for most retailers come back in as little as 24 hours, and several of Coast's funded retail clients went from application to money in the account within one to three days. The biggest variable is how quickly you can share basic documentation like bank statements. If a supplier deadline or a discount window is driving the timing, tell your advisor the date you need it by. Closing documents signed by 11 AM PT can fund the same business day.
No hard credit pull is required to apply or to see what you qualify for. Coast uses a soft inquiry for qualification, which doesn't affect your personal score, and funding runs under your business EIN with your SSN used only to qualify — a detail one funded shop owner specifically called out. A hard inquiry applies only to certain traditional products — larger equipment deals and SBA loans — and then only with your consent, after an approval you have chosen to move forward with.
Yes. Online retailers qualify on the same basis as brick-and-mortar stores, and Coast has funded e-commerce sellers building inventory ahead of peak season. Sellers with steady online revenue can also consider Swell, Coast's online revenue advance, which lets you start the process yourself. Either way, the underwriting looks at your revenue — not whether your shelves are physical or digital.
That's one of the best uses of inventory financing — when a volume tier meaningfully drops your unit cost, borrowing to reach it can pay for itself. The honest test is whether the discount clears the cost of capital, and your advisor will walk that math with you line by line. If the numbers don't work in your favor, we'll tell you so.
$5K–$2M for seasonal buys, bulk purchases, and restocks — with terms matched to your selling season.
$10K–$500K revolving credit for recurring inventory cycles. Draw as needed, pay only on what you use.
$10K–$1M in lump-sum capital with a fixed payment schedule for remodels, relocations, and new-location build-outs.
A dedicated Business Funding Advisor can structure capital around how your business actually operates. No hard credit pull to apply.
*Closing documents must be completed by 11 AM PT Monday through Friday to receive funds the same business day. Weekend approvals will be processed the following business day.
Client examples reflect actual funded transactions with identifying details removed; individual results vary and are subject to underwriting approval.
Certain programs may be made available or arranged pursuant to California Financing Law License No. 60DBO-146720.