Body shop funding at a glance

The key facts for a collision shop owner, in one table.

Why collision repair shops need funding

Most collision work is paid by an insurance company, not by the person who drops off the car. That changes when the money shows up.

The shop pays first

Parts are ordered when the estimate is approved. Paint and materials are used as the job moves through the shop. Technicians are paid every week. The insurer pays after the repair, and often in pieces.

Supplements stretch the wait

Hidden damage appears once the car is torn down. The shop writes a supplement, waits for approval and orders more parts. Each supplement adds days. A back-ordered part can leave a nearly finished car sitting in a stall for weeks. The shop has already paid for most of the job and cannot bill it.

Checks do not always come to the shop

Some claim payments go to the vehicle owner or include a lienholder on the check. Collecting takes time and phone calls.

Cars are harder to fix

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that new vehicles carry more safety systems, and that repair work takes more time because technicians must work around a growing number of cameras and sensors. A bumper job can now end with a calibration. Shops that cannot calibrate in-house send the work out and wait. BLS counted about 185,800 automotive body and glass repairer jobs in 2025 and projects about 13,900 openings each year through 2035. Good technicians are hard to find, and keeping them costs money.

What body shop funding is used for

Shop owners typically use funding for the following.

• Parts. Paying suppliers on time while claims are open keeps accounts in good standing.
• Payroll. Body technicians, painters, estimators and detailers. See payroll funding.
• Paint booths and mixing rooms. A second booth removes the most common bottleneck in a busy shop.
• Frame and measuring equipment. Frame machines, electronic measuring systems, welders and aluminum repair stations.
• ADAS calibration. Scan tools, targets and the level floor space to use them.
• Training and certification. Manufacturer certification programs call for specific equipment and trained technicians.
• Expansion. More stalls or a second location. See business expansion loans.

Funding options and which fits which need

A claim gap is short. A paint booth lasts for years. Pick the product that matches.

Shops with large amounts owed by insurers or fleet accounts can also look at accounts receivable financing, which advances cash against unpaid invoices.

How lenders look at a body shop

Lenders in the network read a body shop through its bank statements.

• Deposits. Insurer payments arrive as a mix of electronic deposits and checks, in uneven amounts. Lenders look at monthly totals and the trend more than any single week.
• Receivables. Open claims explain a lumpy month. A list of repair orders awaiting payment helps your specialist tell the story.
• Concentration. A shop that depends on one insurer program carries more risk than one with several referral sources and some customer-pay work.
• Seasonality. Winter weather, hail and deer season move volume. Lenders expect it.
• Existing obligations. Equipment payments and any current advances are counted against deposits.

Who qualifies

Our programs are built for established businesses: most clients have 1+ year in business and $20,000+ in monthly revenue. A shop running even a few repair orders a week usually reaches that level.

The stronger body shop files have three things in common. Insurer payments arrive from more than one carrier. Cars leave close to schedule, so deposits follow completed work without long dry spells. And parts suppliers are paid without returned items in the statements. A direct repair relationship helps show steady volume, but a shop built on dealer referrals and customer-pay work can qualify as well. Lenders decide file by file, and no approval is automatic. A second location through an SBA loan is built for businesses with 2+ years in business and $250,000+ in annual revenue shown on two years of business tax returns. Details are in business loan requirements.

What to have ready

Beyond the standard items, a body shop can add a few documents from its management system.

• A short application.
• The last 3 months of business bank statements (4 months in California, New York and Virginia).
• The legal business name and EIN.
• A photo ID for the owner.
• A work-in-process report: open repair orders, stage and amount to be billed.
• A list of completed jobs awaiting insurer payment, including open supplements.
• The vendor quote for a booth, frame machine or calibration system.
• Any certification program equipment list you are working toward.

Bank statements must be from the shop’s business account. Personal bank statements do not count. Read more in business bank statements for a loan.

Example scenarios

These examples are illustrative. They are not actual RAN Funding clients.

The back-ordered parts

Picture a shop with eight cars waiting on back-ordered parts. Most of the labor is done. None of the jobs can be billed. Payroll is due Friday. The owner uses working capital to cover two payroll cycles and the parts bill, then repays as the cars are finished and the claims pay.

The second booth

Picture a shop that turns away work because every job waits for one paint booth. The owner finances a second booth with equipment financing. The payment is matched against the extra jobs the shop can now finish each week.

The calibration bay

Picture a shop that sends every calibration to a dealer and loses two days per car. A Business Term Loan pays for targets, a scan tool and floor work to bring calibrations in-house.

What it costs

You will not find pricing on this page. It changes with the product, the lender, the term and the shop’s file. Every offer is shown in writing first.

The plain truth is that faster funding usually costs more in total than bank financing. In collision repair, the other side of the scale is throughput. A stall holding a car that cannot be finished earns nothing. A painter who leaves because payroll was late takes months to replace. A parts account placed on hold stops every job at once. Weigh those against the total amount repaid and the term.

For equipment, ask a simpler question: how many more cars per week does it let you finish, and does that cover the payment with room to spare? When the project is planned well ahead, an SBA loan usually costs less in total. Our calculators help with the math.

Mistakes to avoid

• Borrowing instead of collecting. Chase unpaid supplements and short-paid claims first. That is your own money.
• Buying equipment without the work to feed it. Confirm the volume before adding a booth or a certification.
• Short-term money for long-lived equipment. Use equipment financing for the frame machine, not the fastest product.
• Depending on one insurer program. A lost referral source should not sink the payment plan.
• Adding a second advance on top of the first. Uneven claim deposits make overlapping payments hard to carry. See why applications get declined.

How RAN Funding works

RAN Funding is a business financing company, not a bank. A shop owner submits one application for our lender network and gets one dedicated specialist.

1. Send the basics. Application, business bank statements and your work-in-process report if you have one.
2. We explain the claims cycle. Your specialist shows lenders why deposits are uneven and what is still owed on open repair orders.
3. Lenders answer. Decisions come in hours on complete files.
4. You decide. We go over the total amount repaid and the term for each offer. Money arrives in as little as 24–48 hours once approved, often before the next payroll.

Phone 1-877-522-6045, Monday–Friday 9am–6pm ET.

Common questions