How much can a body shop borrow? (sizing off monthly deposits)
The honest answer is a range tied to one number you already know: what lands in your business bank account in a month. Here is how the sizing works, why insurer checks matter, and a worked example.
The number that drives everything: one month of deposits
Working capital is sized off deposits because it is repaid out of deposits. The underwriter adds up what landed in your business operating account in each of the last three months — card settlements, cash, carrier and DRP checks, fleet remittances, warranty reimbursements — and asks what fixed daily or weekly debit the account can carry without going under its historical floor. Approvals generally fall between 75% and 150% of one month’s deposits. Where in that band you land depends on the shape of the statements, not on your credit score, because there is no minimum FICO on the product.
Why body shops are often under-sized elsewhere
A collision shop’s money arrives in the wrong order. Parts and paint go on the account the day the estimate is approved; the tech is paid Friday; the insurer check for the whole job arrives weeks later, and a supplement can push it further out. A lender that reads only a card-processing feed sees the customer deductibles and misses the carrier checks entirely — and sizes you on a fraction of your revenue.
Liftbay Capital underwrites the bank statement. A DRP direct deposit is a deposit. So a shop collecting most of its revenue from insurers is sized on its whole revenue. Make sure the statements you send are for the account the carrier checks actually land in.
Worked example: a shop depositing $100,000 a month
| Line | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Average monthly deposits | $100,000 | Card, cash, insurer and fleet checks combined |
| Typical approval band | $75,000 – $150,000 | 75% to 150% of one month |
| Representative advance | $150,000 over 12 months | Top of the band for a clean file |
| Total payback | $190,500 | Cost of funding $40,500 |
| Daily payment | $756 | 21 business days a month |
| Weekly payment | $3,664 | If you want the debit to land with payroll |
| Paid off in the first 30 days | Keep up to $12,150 | Up to 30% of the remaining cost |
Every figure above is an illustration, not an offer. Your real numbers depend on underwriting your statements. See disclosures.
What moves you up or down inside the band
- Average daily balance. A shop that holds a floor between insurer checks is sized toward the top. One that lives at zero is sized toward the bottom, or smaller.
- Your slowest month. The payment is sized against the weakest month in the window, not the average. If one of your three months is light, send four.
- NSFs. Three or fewer in 90 days is normal. Eight is not.
- Open positions. An existing advance reduces what the account can carry. Disclose it; the structure is often a consolidation or a re-term rather than a stack.
- Term. A longer term lowers the payment and can support a larger amount, at a higher total cost. Working capital runs 3 to 18 months.
When you need more than deposits will support
If the number you need is bigger than 150% of a month’s deposits — a second location, a paint booth and frame machine, buying the building — working capital is the wrong tool. A term loan runs $50,000 to $5,000,000 over 6 to 60 months at 650+ FICO and 24 months in business, sized on returns and a P&L rather than three statements. SBA 7(a) runs to $5,000,000 over 10 to 25 years at 680+ with 10% down. If the money you are waiting on is invoiced to a fleet, a dealer or a warranty administrator, factoring advances up to 90% of the invoice and is sized on your customers, not on you.
Related: Working capital · Collision & body shops · Funding with bad credit
Questions that usually follow.
How much can a body shop borrow with $50,000 a month in deposits?
Working capital approvals generally land between 75% and 150% of one month’s business bank deposits, so a shop depositing $50,000 a month typically sees offers between $37,500 and $75,000. The exact figure depends on average daily balance, NSFs and the slowest month in the statement window. Nothing here is an offer.
Do insurance checks count toward how much I can borrow?
Yes. Carrier and DRP payments that land in your business operating account are deposits, and deposits are what the approval is sized on. A collision shop collecting most of its revenue from insurers is sized on its whole revenue, not just customer deductibles.
Is there a maximum?
$2,000,000 on a working capital advance. Term loans, SBA 7(a) and factoring facilities run up to $5,000,000 at Liftbay Capital.
Why was I offered less than 75% of my deposits?
Usually one of three things: a low average daily balance between insurer checks, more than a few NSFs in the window, or a slow month that pulls the floor down. Four months of statements instead of three often helps a seasonal shop.
Can I get more by combining products?
Sometimes. A factoring facility on fleet or dealer invoices can run alongside a working capital advance, because factoring is sized on your customers’ invoices rather than your deposits. A second working capital position is not something we add on top of a first.
Done reading? Get a real number.
Four minutes and three bank statements. Offer in about four business hours, funded in 24.