Commercial Lending · Glossary

Revenue-Based Financing

Also known as: RBF, revenue-based loan, revenue share financing

Revenue-based financing (RBF) is a form of funding in which a business receives capital up front and repays it as a fixed percentage of its monthly revenue until a predetermined total is reached. Because payments flex with sales — smaller in slow months, larger in strong ones — RBF aligns repayment with cash flow rather than imposing a fixed monthly payment. It is popular with recurring-revenue and e-commerce businesses that want growth capital without giving up equity or committing to rigid loan payments.

How revenue-based financing works

A funder advances capital and sets a repayment cap (the advance times a multiple, often around 1.2-1.5) plus a revenue share percentage. The business then remits that percentage of monthly revenue until it has paid the cap in full. There is no fixed term — strong months retire the balance faster, weak months slow it down. This makes RBF gentler on cash flow than a fixed loan payment, while still being non-dilutive (no equity given up).

RBF vs. an MCA and a loan

RBF resembles a merchant cash advance — both repay from revenue against a capped total — but RBF typically uses monthly revenue and is geared toward recurring-revenue and online businesses, often with more transparent terms than a daily-remittance MCA. Against a term loan, the key difference is flexibility: a loan demands the same payment regardless of how the month went, while RBF rises and falls with the business. The trade-off is cost, which sits above bank financing.

Revenue-based financing has become a major growth-funding option for subscription, SaaS, and e-commerce businesses precisely because it scales with revenue and avoids dilution — making it an increasingly common product for brokers and funders to understand alongside MCAs and term loans.

Revenue-Based Financing: FAQ

What is revenue-based financing?

It's funding a business repays as a fixed percentage of monthly revenue until it reaches a capped total. Payments flex with sales — smaller in slow months, larger in strong ones — so repayment tracks cash flow, and it's non-dilutive (no equity given up).

How is revenue-based financing different from an MCA?

Both repay from revenue against a capped total, but RBF typically uses monthly revenue, targets recurring-revenue and online businesses, and often has more transparent terms, whereas an MCA usually takes a daily or weekly share of sales and funds a broader range of businesses.

See Revenue-Based Financing in action

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