Knowledge center
Everything we know, written down.
Sec. 01 — Articles
Long-form, with real numbers.
Underwriting — 8 min
What lenders actually look at on a butcher shop’s bank statements
Six months of statements decide most approvals. Here is what an underwriter reads, in the order they read it.
Cash flow — 8 min
Working capital vs. line of credit when your receivables run 45 days
Both products close the same gap. One of them costs four times as much, and it is usually the one being offered.
Regulatory and buildout — 9 min
How to finance a USDA plant inspection buildout
The gap between a good commercial kitchen and an inspection-ready room is about a third of the project. Here is how to fund it without stopping halfway.
Tax and planning — 8 min
Section 179 and bonus depreciation for food-processing equipment
How processors turn a five-year equipment purchase into a first-year deduction, and the traps that reverse it.
Equipment and cold chain — 8 min
Equipment financing vs. leasing for meat processing gear
Two quotes, near-identical monthly payments, and a difference of tens of thousands of dollars at the end.
Equipment and cold chain — 7 min
What a walk-in cooler replacement actually costs to finance in 2026
The box is the cheap part. Here is where the rest of the money goes, and what the monthly payment really looks like.
Sec. 02 — Case studies
How files are actually structured.
$202,000
A failing walk-in, four local ranchers, and nine business days
A third-generation shop replaced a 1990s cooler and opened a custom-cutting line it had been turning away for years.
$400,000
Three advances, $2,900 a day, and a way out
A profitable processor was taking $60,000 a month in daily debits. An SBA refinance cut debt service by 92 percent.
$900,000 facility
Paying in seven days, collecting in forty-five
A halal distributor with strong customers and eighteen months of history funded growth it had been declining.
$1,094,000
State-inspected to federal grant, and the contingency that saved it
A $1.09M conversion consumed $104,000 of contingency in scope nobody could see until the walls were open.
Sec. 03 — Guides and references
Practical, and short.
Checklist
Funding document checklist
Exactly what to gather before you apply, broken out by product, so you are not assembling paperwork while a cooler warms.
Worksheet
Cold storage project scope worksheet
The nine line items a refrigeration quote usually leaves out, and the ones that turn a $90,000 quote into a $180,000 project.
Reference
Factor rate to APR reference
A quick reference for converting a quoted factor rate into a true annualised cost, so you can compare an advance against a loan honestly.
Guide
USDA buildout financing sequence
The order to do things in when converting a facility to federal inspection, and why plan review has to come before the loan amount.
Guide
Bank statement preparation guide
What an underwriter reads in your statements, in the order they read it, and the five things you can fix before you apply.
Reference
Equipment purchase timing reference
Why equipment purchases cluster in the fourth quarter, and the placed-in-service rule that decides whether a December purchase counts.
Sec. 04 — Questions
The full FAQ, by category.
6 questions
Getting started
What happens when you call, and what it costs you to find out.
6 questions
Qualifying
What underwriters actually look at, and what disqualifies a file.
6 questions
Products and pricing
How the money is actually priced, and which product fits what.
5 questions
Process and documents
What we need from you, and what happens after you send it.
4 questions
About MMC
Who we are and how we are paid.