Best Term Loans for Cleaning Businesses

The best term loan for a cleaning business depends on what you are buying and how much history you have. Merchant Fund Express, our recommended funder, fits when you need a decision in hours: it reviews sales and deposits, works with credit from FICO 500 and offers $5,000 to $5,000,000. OnDeck lends $5,000 to $400,000 for up to 24 months with 1 year in business and a 625 FICO, National Funding covers working capital over 4–24 months and equipment over 2–5 years, and an SBA 7(a) is usually the cheapest money if you qualify.

A term loan gives you a fixed sum that you repay in installments over a set period. In cleaning, it fits concrete purchases: a van for the crew, carpet extractors, auto scrubbers, or the cash to start a large contract before the first check arrives. Below are the options in order, and how to use them without choking your cash flow.

How we chose

How we chose. We do not hand out ratings or scores of any kind. Every option is compared on the same criteria: speed of the decision, minimum time in business, minimum credit, whether it accepts ITIN or no-SSN owners, the documents it asks for, amounts, and whether collateral is required. We only include facts published on each company's or agency's official site, checked October 20, 2026; if we could not confirm something, we left it out.

For cleaning term loans, two criteria carried extra weight: the length of the term and how often the payment comes out. Many commercial cleaning companies get paid on 30- or 60-day terms while payroll goes out every week, so a payment schedule that ignores that gap can sink an otherwise healthy company. Read the full methodology in how we rank business funding options.

The best term loans for cleaning businesses, in order

1. Merchant Fund Express (recommended funder). Cleaning companies tend to have steady deposits from residential clients and commercial contracts, and that is exactly what gets reviewed here: sales and deposits, not just credit. It works with profiles from FICO 500, offers $5,000 to $5,000,000, and decisions often come in 2 to 4 hours. In most cases no collateral is required, the team offers Spanish-speaking support, and applicants with an ITIN (no SSN needed) are accepted. Applying is free and does not affect your credit.

2. OnDeck (Term Loan). $5,000 to $400,000, with terms up to 24 months and daily or weekly payments. It asks for 1 year in business, $100,000 in annual revenue and a 625 personal FICO. If you qualify, its site describes a prepayment benefit that waives the remaining interest; if not, you pay part of it. OnDeck does not lend to businesses in North Dakota.

3. National Funding. Two routes for cleaning, which it lists among the industries it serves: working capital from $6,000 to $500,000 with daily or weekly payments over 4–24 months, and financing or leasing for new or used equipment up to $150,000 with monthly payments over 2–5 years. It reviews your last 3 months of bank statements along with your credit and works with businesses from one year old. In some states it only offers sales-based financing.

4. Bluevine (term loan via partners). Up to $500,000 through its partner network, with terms up to 24 months and a decision in as little as 24 hours, according to its site. Applying does not affect your personal credit; accepting an offer may trigger a hard inquiry.

5. Credibly. Funding from $5,000 to $600,000. It publishes requirements of 6+ months in business, $15,000+ in monthly revenue and credit of 500 or higher, and its site has a Spanish version. Useful for younger cleaning companies that already bill well.

6. SBA 7(a) loan at a bank. Up to $5 million, with monthly payments; for working capital and equipment the term usually runs up to 10 years. If you qualify, it usually costs less than any online option, but it takes longer. Since March 1, 2026, every owner must be a U.S. citizen or national with a principal residence in the U.S.

Side-by-side comparison

What to finance with a term loan (and for how long)

Match the term to the useful life of what you buy, so you are not still paying for something that has stopped earning money:

• A van or truck for the crew: it lasts years. Use equipment financing or a longer term loan. Wrap it with your business name and contact info; it is advertising you pay for once.
• Floor scrubbers, burnishers, carpet extractors, pressure-washing rigs: a medium term. If you buy used, ask for the maintenance history.
• Starting a large commercial contract: uniforms, chemicals, equipment and the first weeks of payroll before the client's first payment. Payment frequency matters most here: if the client pays in 45 days, a daily payment squeezes you hard.
• Routing, scheduling and invoicing software: a short term; that technology changes fast.
• Hiring and training a second crew: working capital with a term long enough to reach the point where the new clients are paying.

If what you need comes and goes, like chemicals and payroll during peak season, a line of credit may fit better; compare a business line of credit for cleaning businesses. To understand how a term loan works in your trade, read our guide to the term loan for cleaning businesses, and if you mainly need machines, start with equipment financing for cleaning businesses.

Does the payment fit your worst month?

Cleaning cash flow shifts with the season (spring cleans, end-of-month move-outs, offices that close in December) and with how each client pays. Before you sign:

1. Find your worst month of the last year in your bank statements.
2. Subtract your fixed costs: payroll, gas, chemicals, liability insurance, your bond if you carry one, and vehicle payments.
3. Separate what you collect on the spot from what you collect in 30 or 60 days. Open invoices do not cover this week's payment.
4. What is left is your real room for a payment. If it does not fit, borrow less or look for a longer term.
5. Check the frequency. If your commercial clients pay monthly, ask whether you can get a weekly or monthly payment instead of a daily one.

For example, a company with office contracts that pays its team every Friday and collects on 30-day terms can have weeks with plenty billed and little in the bank. In that case, a weekly or monthly payment makes more sense, or pairing the loan with a line of credit to cover the wait.

What fits each type of cleaning business

• Residential cleaning: many small clients who pay on the spot by Zelle, card or cash. A funder that reviews deposits can move fast; deposit everything, cash included, so your full sales show up.
• Commercial and janitorial: bigger contracts that pay in 30 or 60 days. Look for weekly or monthly payments and keep your signed contracts handy.
• Airbnb and short-term rental turnovers: sales rise and fall with the tourist season. Size the payment against the slow season.
• Carpet, duct, window and pressure washing: equipment-heavy work. Monthly equipment financing over several years usually fits better than short-term capital.
• Post-construction cleaning: large, occasional jobs you get paid for when the project wraps. Do not sign a daily payment if your money arrives by project.

Documents and common mistakes

Paperwork you will be asked for: 3 to 6 months of business bank statements, ID, your EIN, contracts with commercial clients, a quote for the van or equipment, your liability insurance policy and, for large amounts or SBA loans, tax returns. For a funder that reviews revenue, deposits matter most.

Common mistakes:

• Buying a van with short-term money and paying off in months something you will use for years.
• Winning a big contract with no capital for the first weeks of payroll and chemicals.
• Collecting cash and not depositing it, which makes your business look smaller than it is.
• Stacking an advance on top of a loan without checking whether both payments fit together.

To see every option, not just term loans, review the best small business funding rankings.