Medical practice loans and cash advances for independent providers.
You saw the patients in March. The insurer pays in May, less whatever it decides to deny. Payroll, rent, supplies and the malpractice premium do not wait for the remittance. Funding partners in our network underwrite practices on insurance and patient-pay deposits, not just the owner’s credit score, with decisions in 24–48 hours and funds in the account in days.
At a glance
- Who
- Medical, dental, veterinary, chiropractic, physical therapy, optometry, urgent care, behavioral health and med spa practices, 6+ months operating
- Working capital
- Cash advance of $10,000 to $500,000+, sized to monthly deposits*
- Equipment
- Equipment loans and leases of $20,000 to $500,000+, 48–72 months, deferred first payments available*
- Insurance pay
- Remittances, patient payments and card settlements count as revenue.
- Credit
- Advances consider scores in the 500s. Equipment financing from the high 500s; licensed providers see the longest terms.*
- Speed
- Decision in 24–48 hours; advances fund in 24–72 hours after final approval*
Strong revenue on paper, slow cash in the account.
A healthy practice can be fully booked and still run short. Claims go out the week of the visit and come back in 30 to 90 days, some denied, some underpaid, some needing a resubmission. Patient balances trickle in. Meanwhile clinical and front-desk payroll runs every two weeks, rent and the practice management software bill on the first, consumables and pharmaceuticals are paid on delivery, and the malpractice premium lands once a year. A payer change, a credentialing delay for a new associate or one large equipment repair can push a profitable practice into overdraft, and once there are negative days on the statements the bank is no longer an option.
Swyft Advance works with funding partners who underwrite practices every day. They read your statements the way a biller reads an aging report: electronic remittances from insurers, patient card settlements, financing-company payouts for elective procedures and the rhythm of your payer mix all tell them what the practice actually collects. The owner’s credit score matters less than it would at a bank, and the decision comes in days rather than weeks.
- Insurance remittances and patient-pay deposits count as revenue
- Approval weighted toward collections and time in practice, not credit alone
- No hard credit pull to see your options*
- Four products, so an imaging purchase and a payroll gap do not get the same expensive answer
Four practice needs, four different answers
| Need | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll, supplies, premium, slow reimbursement month | Cash advance | Fastest. Remitted from the collections it helps you keep seeing. |
| Imaging, chairs, lasers, lab, practice software | Equipment financing | Secured by the unit, 48–72 months, lowest cost of the four. |
| Recurring gaps between claims and remittances | Line of credit | Draw for payroll, repay when the remittance posts, reuse. |
| Two or more advances already drawing daily | Reverse Consolidation | Cuts the weekly outflow 30–50% instead of adding to it. |
Capital for the equipment, and capital for everything between the visit and the remittance.
Working capital: merchant cash advance
A funding partner purchases a portion of your future receivables and deposits the purchase price. You remit a fixed daily or weekly amount by ACH until the purchased amount is delivered. The total cost is fixed in dollars up front. It is not a loan. For practices, amounts typically run 80–120% of average monthly deposits, and because collections are steadier than in most industries, practices often see longer terms and lower totals than retail or food service.*
Imaging, chairs and systems: equipment financing
Digital X-ray, CBCT and ultrasound, dental chairs and CAD/CAM units, lasers, autoclaves and sterilization, lab and diagnostic equipment, exam room and operatory build-outs, veterinary surgical suites, and practice management software bundled with hardware. Practices tend to see the longest terms available because the equipment holds value and collections are predictable.
What funders read on a practice bank statement.
Deposits
Insurance remittances, patient card settlements, cash and financing-company payouts. Partners total them by month and look for consistency through payer delays, not just the catch-up months.
Payroll, rent and software
Existing payroll runs, rent, equipment notes and software subscriptions tell the funder what the practice already carries. A remittance that fits around them gets approved; one that does not gets sized down.
Negative days
Overdrafts and returned payments are the most common reason a practice file declines. Three or fewer a month is the usual tolerance; a run of them after a payer or billing-system change can often be explained.
Time in practice and positions
Months under the current entity and license, and how many advances already draw from the account. One is normal. Three or more points to Reverse Consolidation.
Compare the advance to the schedule it keeps full, not to a bank loan.
A cash advance is priced for speed. It makes sense for a practice when the capital protects revenue that is already booked: the payroll that keeps a trained clinical team in place, the supplies that keep the schedule running, the associate whose credentialing delay would otherwise leave an exam room empty. It does not make sense for imaging or chairs, which is what equipment financing is for.
The cost is a fixed total, stated in dollars in your offer, along with the advance amount, the remittance and the term. Longer time in practice, steady collections, fewer negative days and no existing advances bring it down. Practices with a healthy payer mix and consistent patient volume usually see some of the better pricing in the network.
- Advance amount
- The deposit to your account
- Total to remit
- Fixed in dollars on day one
- Remittance
- Daily or weekly amount, by ACH
- Term
- Estimated weeks or months to deliver
The practice math: if an advance carries a new associate through credentialing and that provider then bills $30,000 a month, the practice earns back the full cost of the advance within the first few months of their production. Run that comparison against the total on the offer, in dollars.
Fit test: the remittance has to clear under payroll, rent and supplies in a slow reimbursement month, not an average one.
Built for practices with real collections on the statements.
Each funding partner sets its own criteria. These are the guidelines most of them share for healthcare files.
- 6+ months in practice under the current entity. Twelve months or more opens more partners and better pricing.
- $10,000+ in monthly deposits to a business bank account, including insurance remittances and patient payments.
- Three or fewer negative days a month on average. A payer-transition month can be explained with the aging report.
- An active professional license for the owner or supervising provider, and a business entity in good standing.
- Credit scores in the 500s are considered for advances. Equipment financing typically wants the high 500s or above. See our bad credit funding guide.
- A US or Canadian practice. Owner-providers and non-clinical owners of licensed practices both qualify.
What you’ll need
Have these ready and most files are decided within two business days.
- Last 3–4 months of business bank statements
- Government-issued photo ID for the owner
- Professional license for the owner or supervising provider
- Voided business check or bank letter
- A current accounts receivable aging report, if you have one handy
- For an equipment purchase: the vendor quote, and any software or service contract to be bundled
Stacked advances quietly drain a practice that looks busy.
Practices stack for a specific reason: collections are predictable enough that each new offer looks affordable on paper. A payer delay leads to a first advance, an equipment repair to a second, and by the third the daily remittances are taking the money that was supposed to cover payroll when the next remittance runs late. Adding a fourth makes the month worse, not better.
Reverse Consolidation is built for exactly that position. A funding partner sends weekly deposits that cover the remittances on your existing advances, and you remit one lower weekly amount over a longer term. Net weekly outflow typically falls 30–50%, which for a practice is often the difference between keeping the clinical team and cutting hours.
Before you sign any practice advance
- Know the total dollar cost and the remittance schedule.
- Make sure the daily or weekly remittance fits under payroll, rent and supplies in a slow reimbursement month.
- Ask how reconciliation works if a major payer delays or a provider leaves.
- Confirm the agreement does not purport to assign Medicare or Medicaid receivables directly, which federal rules restrict.
- Ask whether the agreement includes a personal guarantee or confession of judgment. Some states restrict these.
Your Swyft advisor walks through each of these on every offer. If an offer would starve the practice, we say so.
Straight answers for providers and practice managers.
Can a practice get funding while waiting on insurance reimbursements?
Yes. The gap between seeing patients and being paid by insurers is the most common reason practices apply. Funding partners look for six or more months in operation, $10,000 or more a month in deposits from insurance remittances, patient payments and card settlements, and bank statements without a pattern of negative days. A current aging report showing outstanding claims helps the file. Approval is never guaranteed.
Do insurance, Medicare and Medicaid deposits count as revenue?
Yes. Electronic remittances from commercial insurers, Medicare and Medicaid, patient card and cash payments and financing-company payouts all count as revenue when they land in the practice’s business bank account. Note that a cash advance purchases a portion of your future receivables generally; it does not assign government receivables, which federal rules restrict.
Can I use a cash advance for payroll, supplies or marketing?
Yes. Any legitimate business purpose qualifies. Payroll for clinical and front-desk staff during a slow reimbursement month, consumables and pharmaceuticals, a malpractice premium, a marketing push for a new service line, and opening costs for a second location are the most common uses. For imaging, chairs, lasers and other durable equipment, equipment financing secured by the unit is usually far cheaper than an advance.
What credit score does a practice owner need?
Cash advances for working capital consider owners with scores in the 500s because the decision rests mainly on deposits and time in practice. Equipment lenders in our network typically want a score in the high 500s or above, and practices often see the longest terms available because the equipment holds value and revenue is predictable. A licensed provider with a newer practice is financeable with select partners.
How fast can a medical or dental practice get funded?
Most complete applications receive a decision within 24–48 hours. Cash advances usually fund within 24–72 hours of final approval. Equipment deals take a few days longer because the lender verifies the vendor quote and the unit before releasing funds, and some offer deferred first payments while a new system ramps up.
Does a new practice or a second location qualify?
A brand-new practice with no deposit history generally does not qualify for a cash advance, because there are no receivables to purchase. Equipment lenders, however, finance licensed providers opening a first or second location on the strength of the owner’s profile and the equipment’s value. An existing practice adding a location can usually fund the opening against the first location’s deposits. Six months of statements is the usual minimum for an advance; twelve months or more opens more partners and better pricing.
Keep the schedule full. See your options today.
Ten-minute application, no hard credit pull to check, an advisor who knows what a 60-day payer cycle does to a bank statement.