The ten ways a restaurant raises money, and which one we'd place for yours.
Every instrument we work with, on one page: how it works, what it costs, who it fits, and whether the partner pays us. Terms as of November 2026; verify before you sign anything.
| Option | How it works | Typical size | Cost structure | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dining-credit purchase We may be paid for referrals | inKind buys food and beverage credit from you up front, about $2 of credit per $1 of funding, then sells that credit to diners in its app, who get 20% back. | Low five figures to several hundred thousand; up to $10M listed by third parties | The cost of serving redeemed credit (food, labor) plus any full-price sales it displaces. No interest, no equity, no daily holdback. | Quality full-service restaurants with empty seats funding a specific growth project |
| Rewards Network | Dining Credits: buys future dining sales; members of airline and hotel loyalty programs dine and pay full price while earning points, and the balance 'dines down.' Premier Funding: a larger advance repaid as a percentage of card sales. | Varies; approvals reported in as little as 48 hours | Credits bought at a discount to face value; you pay only when members dine. Premier Funding uses a merchant-cash-advance style holdback. | Restaurants that want new guests without a visible discount; strong in travel-heavy markets |
| Toast Capital | A loan offered inside Toast, repaid by a fixed percentage of your daily Toast card sales until a fixed fee plus principal is paid. | $1,000 to $300,000; 90 to 360 day repayment targets | One fixed fee, no interest; a UCC lien on receivables | Toast restaurants needing fast, modest capital |
| Square Loans | A loan offered inside Square, repaid by a fixed percentage of daily Square card sales. Clover offers a similar product. | $100 to $350,000; 18-month maximum | Fixed fee; reported factor of about 1.10 to 1.16 | Square sellers; smaller or quick-service concepts |
| DoorDash Capital | A cash advance from Parafin, offered inside DoorDash, repaid as a percentage of your DoorDash sales. | Typically $5,000 to $15,000+ | One-time fee | Delivery-heavy restaurants; rarely fits fine dining |
| SBA and bank loans We may be paid for referrals | A term loan from a bank or SBA-approved lender, partly guaranteed by the SBA for 7(a) loans. | Up to $5M for SBA 7(a) | Interest, capped around prime plus 3% on 7(a) loans above $350K; fees; a personal guarantee from every 20%+ owner; collateral | Owners with time, strong financials and the willingness to guarantee |
| Lending marketplaces We may be paid for referrals | One application matched to many lenders, from SBA to short-term and cash advance products. | $1,000 to $1M+ | Depends entirely on the lender you match with; ranges from SBA rates to cash-advance factors | Owners who want to compare several offers at once |
| Honeycomb Credit We may be paid for referrals | A loan funded by your own customers and neighbors through a regulated crowdfunding platform, at a fixed rate. | $25,000 to $500,000 | Fixed rate, reported 6–12%, plus an origination fee | Beloved neighborhood restaurants with loyal regulars |
| Equipment financing We may be paid for referrals | A loan or lease secured by the equipment itself: ovens, hoods, refrigeration, POS hardware. | The cost of the equipment | Interest or a lease rate; the asset is the collateral | Ovens, hoods, refrigeration, POS hardware |
| Merchant cash advances | A company buys your future card sales at a discount and takes a daily or weekly debit until a fixed total is repaid. | Varies | Factor rates; often the most expensive option available | Last resort. Most owners are trying to get out of one. |
Who should look at what first
The same routing our questionnaire uses, whether or not the partner it lands on pays us.
| Your situation | Look first | Also |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent full-service room, empty seats, a project to fund | inKind | Rewards Network |
| Worried about looking discounted; travel-heavy market | Rewards Network | inKind |
| Strong financials, time to wait, a large buildout | SBA or bank, via a marketplace | inKind for speed |
| Already full most nights | SBA, bank or equipment financing | A marketplace |
| Need cash for payroll or ongoing losses | A frank conversation; new debt may not help | A marketplace, to see the price |
| Small amount, fast, on Toast or Square | Your POS capital offer | A marketplace |
| Loyal neighborhood following | Honeycomb | inKind |
How the dining-credit purchase compares, in a sentence each
Against Rewards Network. The closest rival. Its members pay full price and earn airline or hotel points; inKind's see 20% back in the app. Rewards Network's discount is invisible at the table; inKind's audience is bigger and younger. Fine-dining owners should see both.
Against Toast, Square and DoorDash capital. They take a slice of every card sale until repaid, regulars included. inKind takes nothing from regular sales; its cost lands only on app diners. A 1.10 factor looks cheaper than 2:1 on paper, which is why the calculator compares them on real food cost and new-guest share instead.
Against SBA and bank loans. The bank is almost always cheaper and almost always slower, and it wants a personal guarantee and collateral. inKind wins on speed, simplicity and no guarantee. It loses on cost. We say so.
Against Honeycomb. Honeycomb turns your regulars into lenders at a fixed rate, in public. Good for a neighborhood favorite; wrong for a restaurant that wants to stay discreet about financing.
Against merchant cash advances. An MCA debits your account daily regardless of sales and is usually the most expensive money a restaurant can take. inKind is sometimes confused with one. It is not one; its cost is food and labor on redeemed credit, never a debit.
Tell us about the room and we'll tell you which instrument we'd place.
Covers Advisory is an independent capital advisory, not a lender. We do not make funding decisions, and we are compensated by funding partners when a placement we arrange closes. Our recommendation is the same whether or not a partner pays us. How we're paid.