How Seasonal Businesses in Ireland Can Access Smart Finance Solutions

Running a seasonal business in Ireland—like a hotel, B&B, restaurant, or tour company—comes with unique financial challenges. In places like the West of Ireland, a bustling summer season may bring strong cash flow, but the quieter winter months can put serious strain on your finances. Traditional term loans often don’t fit this cycle, but there are flexible options available that align with your business's cash flow—like a Merchant Cash Advance (MCA).

At BusinessLoans.ie, we work with seasonal businesses across Ireland to help them access the right finance, at the right time.

The Seasonal Cash Flow Challenge

Take the example of a small hotel on the Wild Atlantic Way. During the summer, occupancy is high and cash flow is strong. But come October, business slows dramatically, and fixed loan repayments can start to feel like a heavy burden. For lenders, this uneven income can make it harder to approve traditional term loans, especially when cash flow forecasts look weak in the off-season.

Why Merchant Cash Advance Works for Seasonal Businesses

A Merchant Cash Advance is designed for businesses that generate regular card sales, making it a perfect fit for many tourism and hospitality businesses.

Here’s how it works:

• You receive a lump sum upfront (just like a loan).

• Repayment is taken as a fixed percentage of your daily card sales—so on quiet days, you pay back less.

• No fixed monthly repayments, which means no pressure during off-season slumps.

• Quick approvals, often based on past months’ sales data rather than detailed business plans.

Because repayments flex with your revenue, you only pay more when you're earning more. That makes MCA an ideal option for businesses with strong summer peaks and soft winters.

Who It’s For

• Hotels, B&Bs, and guesthouses with seasonal bookings.

• Cafés, restaurants, and bars near tourist hotspots.

• Outdoor activity providers (surf schools, boat tours, etc.)

• Retailers in high-footfall summer towns.

If your business earns at least €5,000–€10,000 per month in card sales during your busy period, an MCA could be available to you—even if you’re not currently trading at high volume.

Other Financing Options to Consider

While Merchant Cash Advance is one of the most flexible tools available, we also support seasonal businesses with:

• Working Capital Loans (for marketing, hiring, or repairs before the busy season)

• Short-Term Loans (if you just need a quick top-up to get through the winter)

• Asset Finance (to upgrade rooms, kitchens, or vehicles before reopening)

We’ll help you find the right fit based on your business cycle and repayment ability.

Talk to the Experts in Seasonal Business Finance

At BusinessLoans.ie, we specialise in helping Irish SMEs—seasonal and year-round—access smart, fast, and fair finance.

Whether you're preparing for the next tourist rush or just trying to get through a quiet spell, we can help you smooth out the highs and lows of your business’s cash flow.

Call the BusinessLoans.ie team on 01 55 636 55 for fast finance quotes or APPLY HERE.

BusinessLoans.ie latest deal - Stocking finance

BusinessLoans.ie is happy to have helped our client for the fourth time. They needed a new stock of machinery to sell on. While they enjoy some supplier terms they improve their buying power with cash and bulk deals. Along with this they need flexibility in terms they offer to some of the clients they sell machinery on to.

They had tried their bank, however they had approval issues in the past because of tight margins and profit. BusinessLoans.ie has finance partners who can sometimes help in their situation, where there is high turnover and steady cash flow. They got a flexible repayment loan approved in 24 hours; and it worked for them. They were able to renew the facility again and grow their business in the past couple of years.

Does your business need a fast finance quote? Call the BusinessLoans.ie team on 01 55 636 55 or email hello@businessloans.ie.

Recent deal: Civil engineering firm gets a working capital boost

BusinessLoans.ie is celebrating another happy client. A civil engineering firm identified a short term but immediate cash flow issue. Some of their county council clients, while reliable, were slow to pay. They needed €50,000 minimum but would prefer €100,000, if that was possible. They were able to get a fast finance quote with an easy-to-get documents request in 24 hours. They were approved for the desired upper limit of €100,000 and the director could then e-sign and the funds transfer was underway. The client was delighted with the smooth process and were able to get back to focusing on business.

Does your business want a fast finance quote? Call the BusinessLoans.ie team on 01 55 636 55 or email hello@businessloans.ie.

Recent deal: Loan success with imperfect accounts

BusinessLoans.ie helped a long-established eCommerce business who required working capital to get past a rough patch. It left their accounts showing a loss and they were finding it difficult to get support from their bank. When we reviewed the information an angle was identified because they had healthy turnover on their merchant account and they were coming in to a busier time of year. A specialist merchant cash advance lender was able to quickly give indicative figures for their desired amount and within days the funds were in their account. The client was happy and they have comfort that the lender indicated they would be willing to support them again as cash flow improves in the coming months.

Does your business need working capital, funds to expand, renovations or for anything else? Call the BusinessLoans.ie team today on 01 55 636 55 or email at hello@businessloans.ie.

10 things to know about the Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme

The Irish Government, through the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) has given lenders access to cheaper funds to pass on to Irish business borrowers. The State is taking on 80% of the risk and the lender only 20%.

1. Generally no personal guarantees need to be signed by company directors for peace of mind.

2. Unsecured loans can be from €10,000 to €250,000.

3. Secured loans can be up to €1 million.

4. Terms up to 5 and a half years are available.

5. It’s not just banks who have access to the scheme. Agile alternative lenders do too.

6. Businesses can get new or used vehicles, machines and equipment on asset finance.

7. Businesses can use existing assets as collateral for a working capital loan.

8. Key eligibility criteria is a hit of at least 15% in turnover or profit due to covid.

9. There was €2 billion allocated and it’s due to end when the funds run out or at the end of 2021, whichever comes first.

10. BusinessLoans.ie has access to pillar bank quotes and non-bank quotes so you have more choice and the best deals.

BusinessLoans.ie can get your quotes organised. It costs nothing to get your quote built and see if your business is approved and at what rate. Often we can get you multiple quotes to compare with your accountant or financial advisor. Or if you’re still planning your finance requirements the Local Enterprise Office can arrange a free mentor. For bigger companies Enterprise Ireland has a Covid 19 Business Financial Planning Grant worth €5,000. We’re here for you 7 days on 01 55 636 55.

Early-stage Business Loans In Ireland

When your business is getting started you need access to business loans more than at any other time. But it’s at this time when it’s hardest to get. The pandemic hasn’t helped matters either. You don’t have enough history for lenders to make informed decisions to give you longer terms. We often speak to business owners who have gone to the bank and are not getting support or they see the information request and they are reluctant to put in their time and expense of getting the request attended to. Here are a few ways we offer to help.

BANK LOAN APPLICATION SUPPORT

We have a contact in the bank who can help early stage businesses but he wants a business plan, financial projections for the short, medium and long term and a whole lot more. He also wants to know how much of your own funds are committed to the business. The less ‘skin in the game’ you have the more likely it’s a decline. If you can provide what they require you can get up to €120,000 at rates or around 6%. Alternative lenders for early stage businesses will generally have lower paperwork requirements but the rates are higher. If you want the best deal of a bank with the added convenience of getting the hard yards done for you, we have partners who produce business plans and financial modelling with a track record of success in approvals.

Unsecured loans from alternative lenders

We have partners who will offer early-stage businesses unsecured loans. Generally we are talking about having one years set of accounts done before they will look. Then you can expect, instead of around 6% with the bank, a double-digit percentage with the non-banks. One thing to note is you usually won’t have to worry about an early-repayment penalty. So if you can find cheaper finance elsewhere as you get more profitable trading history you can exit the more expensive loan. For unsecured loans from non-banks it’s when you get to two years accounts that rates become more reasonable. They’re graded for risk, A, B, C, D, E etc so your rate could start at 4.75% currently in that situation.

Merchant cash advance

Any business with at least 6 months history, that uses a card machine or a merchant account online such as Stripe or PayPal, can get an easy finance solution based on the volume of monthly sales. The rule of thumb is you can get a quote equivalent to one month’s sales. If you are doing, for example, €50,000 a month you might get a €50,000 offer. At the moment the is especially important for hospitality businesses finding their feet and eCommerce businesses needing advertising and stock.

INvoice Finance

If you’re building up a book of debtors and you need working capital to pay wages, buy materials or just keep the lights on then you can release cash flow trapped in your invoices as soon as they’re issued. The flexible options enable you to get around 80% now, get charged around 1.5% per 30 days and you then get a final settlement when the debtor pays and you exit the short-term arrangement. Usually your debtor is insured so you get extra comfort. If something goes wrong with their business you’ll get a pay out.

Asset Finance

A lot of early-stage business owners who come to us looking for loan quotes want cash loans. But when you drill down you can find a lot of their need is made up of buying assets such as equipment, machines & vehicles. It’s far easier for asset finance companies to approve an early stage business because they retain ownership of the asset until the final payment is made. If something goes wrong with your business they can take it back so that’s an easier lending decision than lending cash unsecured.

There are a host of other business loan quote options that might fit your situation. We’re here to help 7 days from early ‘til late. Call us on 01 55 636 55 or email hello@businessloans.ie.