Revenue-based finance explained
Revenue-based finance gives your business a lump sum that you repay as a fixed percentage of your monthly receipts, so the repayment rises and falls with trade. The difference from a merchant cash advance is what the percentage is taken from: total receipts through the bank rather than card takings alone, which is what makes it an option for a business paid by transfer or invoice. Fewer providers do it that way than the adverts suggest.
How does revenue-based finance work?
A provider advances a lump sum and takes a fixed share of what comes into the bank each month until a set total is repaid. An illustration with round numbers, not a client case: a design agency banking about £60,000 a month takes £40,000 at a 1.30 factor, so £52,000 to repay, at 8% of receipts. In a £60,000 month that is £4,800; in a £40,000 month, £3,200. The total never changes, and the term runs somewhere between eleven and sixteen months depending on how trade goes.
If your revenue is £50,000 one month and the repayment percentage is 10%, you pay £5,000 that month. If revenue drops to £30,000 the next month, you pay £3,000. The total amount you owe stays the same, but the speed at which you repay it adjusts with your business.
You receive
£30,000
Factor rate
x 1.3
You repay
£39,000
Illustrative only. The factor is set by the provider on your receipts and trading history; in 2026 the UK range runs from about 1.10 to 1.50. For a card-heavy business, most products sold as revenue-based finance are a merchant cash advance under another name, and we price both before choosing.
RBF vs MCA vs term loan
All three serve different purposes. None is universally "better." Here's how they compare:
| Revenue-Based Finance | Merchant Cash Advance | Term Loan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repayments based on | Total monthly revenue | Daily card sales | Fixed monthly amount |
| Needs card payments? | Not always | Yes | No |
| Repayments flex? | Yes, with revenue | Yes, with card sales | No, fixed |
| Speed | 24-48 hours | 24-48 hours | Days to weeks |
| Good for | B2B, mixed income | Card-heavy businesses | Steady, established |
Who suits revenue-based finance?
RBF is a good fit if:
- ✓ Your revenue fluctuates and you want repayments that flex with it
- ✓ You don't take many card payments (service businesses, B2B, consultancy)
- ✓ You need cash quickly and can't wait for a bank loan
- ✓ You've been declined by a bank and want an alternative that assesses your business differently
The revenue-based lenders, reviewed one by one
The ecommerce end of this market has changed shape since 2023: Uncapped stopped writing revenue-based finance, Clearco left the UK, and Outfund's criteria moved a long way in a year. Each review below is checked against the lender's own pages and Companies House filings on a stated date.
- Uncapped review · fixed-term funding for £100k-a-month brands, no personal guarantee, RBF withdrawn
- Outfund review · still writes revenue-based finance; criteria and ownership changed in 2025
- Wayflyer review · fixed fee typically 5% to 10%, no PG, not on our panel
- Clearco in the UK · closed to UK businesses since August 2022, and what replaced it
- YouLend review · the platform-embedded advance behind Shopify, Amazon and eBay offers
Head-to-heads: YouLend vs Uncapped, YouLend vs Outfund, YouLend vs Wayflyer, Uncapped vs Wayflyer and Outfund vs Uncapped. Alternatives: Uncapped and Outfund.
The panel behind this page
Revenue-based cases go to our unsecured panel of 55 lenders, which holds the dedicated revenue-based and merchant cash advance providers alongside term-loan lenders, part of 200+ lenders across all products. If the receipts support a cheaper term loan, it is on the same panel and the same enquiry. That range matters more than any single rate: the lender that suits a five-year-old limited company with clean accounts is rarely the one that suits a seasonal business or a director with a past blip, and a broker with a shallow panel has to force your case into whichever box it holds.
Names you may recognise on the panel
Examples from our panel as at September 2026, not an endorsement of any lender and not the full list. We check criteria first and put your case only to lenders whose requirements you fit. The full panel by product is in our lender directory, and how we choose is set out on our how we work page.
Frequently asked questions
What is revenue-based finance?▼
A lump sum, typically £5,000 to £500,000, repaid as a fixed percentage of your monthly receipts rather than in fixed instalments. The total to repay is fixed at the start as a factor on the advance (1.30 on £40,000 is £52,000); what moves is how quickly you get there, because a quiet month means a smaller payment.
How is RBF different from a merchant cash advance?▼
One thing: what the percentage comes out of. A merchant cash advance takes a share of card takings at the terminal. Revenue-based finance takes a share of everything that lands in the bank account, so a business paid by transfer or invoice can use it. The pricing, the factor rate and the personal guarantee are otherwise much the same, which is why the two are often the same product with different marketing.
Do I need to take card payments to get revenue-based finance?▼
No, and that is the point of the product, but be aware that the group of providers that will repay from bank receipts rather than card takings is small. Expect to give open banking access or six months of statements so the provider can see the receipts it is collecting from.
How much does revenue-based finance cost?▼
A factor of about 1.10 to 1.50 on the advance in 2026, set on your receipts and trading history: £40,000 at 1.30 costs £12,000. Because the fee is fixed, repaying quickly in a strong year makes the annualised cost high, and repaying slowly in a weak one makes it lower. Ask for the total repayable as one number and compare it with a term loan over the same period before signing.
How quickly can I get revenue-based finance?▼
A decision in 24 to 48 hours on a clean case, with funds within days, because the provider is reading your bank feed rather than a set of accounts. The slow part is usually gathering six months of statements or connecting open banking, so have that ready.
Real customers. Real reviews.
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“I pay it back on a daily basis and I kind of feel like I don't miss it.”
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Related funding
- Merchant cash advance
- Cash advance vs revenue-based finance
- Factor rates explained
- YouLend cash advance calculator: fee, payback and the daily sweep
- 365 Finance cash advance calculator: total repayable from the published ranges
- Liberis cash advance calculator: fixed fee and payback time
- Declined by YouLend: the other lenders on the panel
- Nucleus Commercial Finance alternatives: six lenders compared on repayment cadence
Where these figures come from
Revenue-based finance is repaid as a share of turnover rather than on a fixed schedule, so the comparisons here are on total repayable and not on a rate. Provider facts are read from each firm's own published material, and the sources below cover the regulatory position and let you verify any company named.