Educational only — not an offer to lend or a rate quote. Downloading a free guide or tool does not create a brokerage, advisory, or fiduciary relationship with Manufactor Finance.
Why there is no single number
Manufactor Finance does not quote rates — that is the funding partner's job, and pricing depends on the program, the file, and the market when the deal is placed. What we can share is the shape of pricing across programs, so a Columbus, OH shop can understand which lane a request lands in before the specialist call.
The important framing: total cost of capital is what matters, not sticker rate. A "cheaper" bank loan you cannot get approved for costs infinity. A "higher" factoring line that funds a $500K PO you would otherwise turn down is almost always the profitable trade.
Rough pricing by program
How the market generally shapes up for a automotive & transportation manufacturing and food & beverage manufacturing shop:
- Traditional bank & SBA loans — the lowest all-in cost of capital available. Priced against Prime + a spread or a fixed rate on 504. Requires a clean file and time.
- Asset-based lending (ABL) — priced as an interest rate on the drawn balance, plus modest facility fees. Materially lower cost than factoring at scale.
- Equipment financing — fixed monthly payment based on equipment value, term, and file quality. Priced competitively with bank equipment loans for strong files, higher for startup or rough-credit files.
- Invoice factoring — a discount fee per invoice (typically 1–3% for manufacturing, driven by buyer credit, aging, volume, and file cleanliness). Not an APR — priced per invoice cycle.
- PO financing — priced as a fee per transaction, usually 1.5–4% for a 30–60 day cycle depending on the deal.
- Short-term working capital / MCA — factor rates that convert to high double-digit APRs. Fastest to close, most expensive. Useful as a bridge, not as a foundation.
What actually moves the price on a file
The variables that move pricing more than any advertised rate:
- Time in business and revenue.
- Personal credit of the primary owner(s).
- Customer (or buyer) credit quality — huge for factoring and PO.
- Cleanliness of financial reporting.
- Existing debt stack and any MCA balance.
- Program fit — the wrong program almost always prices worse than the right one.
The right way to compare offers
Rate alone is not the comparison. Compare: total dollars paid over the life of the facility, speed to funding, prepayment flexibility, and what the money actually lets the business do. A Columbus shop that says "no" to a $1M order because it is chasing a 4% rate on capital it cannot get in time is making the most expensive decision in the room.
That is the honest conversation Manufactor Finance is built to have — before you sign anything.