Thinking ahead in business is something you must do to survive. Each year you look over your business plan to see what has worked, what needs to change, and then you implement these changes. Many small to medium sized businesses will have situations where the seasons play havoc with how much they make. For example, you could earn a lot of income in the summer, but winter is making you broke. You have a few options in this instance.
One, you could close the business in the slow times and use what you get in the summer months towards living. For tourist places this works well. For less touristy areas you could go bankrupt closing your business in winter. If you have a strong local following it is also dangerous to close down. The second option is to get a merchant cash advance to help you through the rough patches.
You can contact a merchant cash advance company at any time. Even if you are not looking for the money right this minute you could go ahead and get your business qualified for a cash advance. By doing this you can prepare for any slow period where you might not have enough money in the bank to pay your expenses. If you are already qualified then the company will take even less time to send you the emergency funds you might need. In slow periods it is also possible to get a little more money in the advance to pay payroll and other expenses. Then when your business picks up again you can pay it back within a few months.
There is no limit on when you pay back the merchant cash advance. Most companies do like the advance to be returned within a year just because it makes their books easier. You might also be able to work on getting an extension for this payment time. It is in your best interest though to pay it off as soon as you possibly can.
You will want to consider how much you take out. You can do a lump sum or continue to borrow over a period of months. Most companies will have a certain amount they allow you to borrow in a lump sum or over time. As long as you never reach that point and make payments you can continue in this merchant cash advance cycle.
There are certain reasons you should not get merchant cash advances. One reason is to expand your store. In an expansion you are hoping to generate more sales and gain more inventory. However, if this plan fails you will not have the sales to make payments on the advance. Instead you need to get a merchant cash advance that will directly link to the amount of sales you will earn. If you can fit more inventory in your store to increase sales with a merchant cash advance, then using this extra income to expand is a different matter.