Industry guide
Physical Therapy Practice Loans: Funding for PT Clinics
A physical therapy clinic treats the patient today and is paid by the insurer weeks later. This guide explains how physical therapy practice loans bridge that lag and how clinic owners fund equipment, new therapists and a second location.
How do physical therapy practice loans work?
A physical therapy practice loan gives a clinic cash to cover payroll during insurance reimbursement lag, buy rehab equipment, hire a therapist or open a second location. It is repaid over a set term from insurer remittances and copays. RAN Funding is a business financing company, not a lender. Clinic owners use one application for our lender network and one dedicated specialist. Clinics typically receive $20,000–$500,000+, with decisions in hours on complete files and funds in as little as 24–48 hours once approved.
PT practice funding at a glance
The key facts for a clinic owner, in one table.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Who we are | RAN Funding, a business financing company based in Pembroke Pines, Florida. We arrange funding through a network of lenders. We do not lend ourselves. |
| Amounts | $20,000–$500,000+. Larger files: up to $2 million. |
| Speed | Decisions in hours on complete files. Funded in as little as 24–48 hours once approved. |
| Built for | Established businesses: most clients have 1+ year in business and $20,000+ in monthly revenue. |
| To apply | A short application and the last 3 months of business bank statements (4 months in California, New York and Virginia). |
| Common uses | Therapist and front desk payroll during claim lag, treatment tables and rehab equipment, salary for a new hire during payer enrollment, records and billing software, a second clinic |
| Typical cash-flow gap | Visits happen several times a week. Insurers pay each claim weeks later, and denials or expired authorizations restart the wait. |
| What we look at first | Monthly insurer remittances and copay deposits, the payer aging report and the mix of payers. |
| Contact | 1-877-522-6045, Monday–Friday 9am–6pm ET |
Why physical therapy practices need funding
Physical therapy is a labor business paid by third parties. Nearly all of the cost is people, and nearly all of the revenue arrives late.
Reimbursement lags the visit
A patient comes two or three times a week. Each visit becomes a claim. The claim is submitted, reviewed and paid weeks later. If the documentation is questioned or an authorization has run out, the claim is denied and the clock starts again. Meanwhile the therapist who provided the care was paid on the next payroll.
Authorizations and visit limits interrupt revenue
Many plans approve a set number of visits. Treatment pauses or goes unpaid while the clinic waits for more. Workers’ compensation and auto injury cases can take months to pay.
A new therapist costs money before earning it
A new hire must be enrolled with each insurer before the clinic can bill that payer for the therapist’s visits. During that wait the clinic pays a full salary while the therapist’s schedule is still filling.
Demand is growing, and so is competition for staff
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of physical therapists to grow 12 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average, with about 13,400 openings each year. BLS ties demand to an aging population, chronic conditions and non-opioid approaches to pain. Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists employ 36 percent of physical therapists. Patients are there. The limit is usually therapists and cash to hire them.
What PT practice funding is used for
Clinic owners typically use funding for the following.
- Payroll. Therapists, assistants and front desk staff while claims are in process. See payroll funding.
- Treatment equipment. Adjustable treatment tables, parallel bars, treadmills, bikes, cable systems and balance equipment.
- Modalities and technology. Electrical stimulation, ultrasound, laser and traction units, plus gait and motion analysis tools.
- Hiring. Recruiting, sign-on costs and the months of salary before a new therapist carries a full schedule.
- Software and billing. Electronic records, scheduling and billing services that reduce denials.
- Marketing. Physician outreach and direct-to-patient advertising.
- A second clinic. Build-out, equipment and operating cash until the new schedule fills. See business expansion loans.
Funding options and which fits which need
A reimbursement gap is short. A second clinic takes years to pay back. Choose accordingly.
| Need | Best-fit product | Amounts and speed |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll and rent while claims are pending or a payer is slow | Working capital | Decisions in hours on complete files; funded in as little as 24–48 hours once approved |
| Reimbursement swings that repeat; draw when claims stall, repay when they pay | Business line of credit | $20,000–$2,000,000; open in 48–72 hours once approved |
| Hiring several therapists or building out a second clinic | Business Term Loans | Larger amounts: up to $2 million funded in as little as 72 hours once approved |
| Treatment tables, rehab equipment and modalities | Equipment financing | Depends on the equipment and the lender; your specialist confirms timing |
| A second location or buying another practice when time allows | SBA loans | Up to $10 million; typically 30–60 days |
Buying an existing clinic? Read our guide to business acquisition loans. An SBA loan is often the lowest total cost for a purchase if the 30–60 day timeline works.
How lenders look at a physical therapy practice
Lenders in the network read a therapy practice through its bank statements.
- Deposits. Insurer payments arrive as frequent electronic deposits of varying size, mixed with patient copays by card. Lenders look at monthly totals and consistency.
- Receivables. An aging report shows what insurers owe and how old it is. A large balance past 90 days suggests a billing problem.
- Payer mix. A spread of commercial plans, Medicare and cash-pay is steadier than dependence on one slow payer.
- Seasonality. Volume often softens around holidays and early in the year, when deductibles reset and patients owe more out of pocket.
- 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 clinic with one or two full therapist schedules usually reaches that.
Therapy deposits are many small insurer remittances plus copays. A strong file shows them arriving every week from several payers, with monthly totals that track the number of visits. Clean billing matters as much as volume: receivables that are mostly current tell a lender the claims get paid. A stable referral base, such as several physician groups plus direct-access patients, supports the picture. Lenders decide individually, and no approval is automatic. If you plan a clinic purchase with an SBA loan, that program is built for businesses with 2+ years in business and $250,000+ in annual revenue shown on two years of business tax returns. More in business loan requirements.
What to have ready
The standard file plus two or three reports from your billing system is usually enough.
- 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 payer aging report showing insurance receivables by age.
- A monthly visit count for the past year.
- For hiring: the offer details and expected enrollment timeline for the new therapist.
- For equipment or a second clinic: vendor quotes, lease terms and the build-out estimate.
Statements must come from the practice’s business account. Personal bank statements do not count. Our guide to business bank statements has more.
Example scenarios
These examples are illustrative. They are not actual RAN Funding clients.
The payer that stopped paying
Picture a two-therapist clinic. One large insurer changes its claim system and payments stall for six weeks. Visits continue and payroll is due. The owner uses working capital to cover two payrolls and repays when the held claims are released.
The third therapist
Picture a clinic with a three-week wait for new patients. The owner hires a third therapist but cannot bill several plans until enrollment is complete. A business line of credit covers the salary during that wait and is paid down as the schedule fills.
The second location
Picture an established practice opening a clinic near an orthopedic group. A Business Term Loan covers the build-out and equipment financing covers the tables and rehab equipment.
What it costs
No pricing appears on this page. The cost depends on the product, the lender, the term and the clinic’s file, and it is disclosed in writing before you agree.
Faster funding usually costs more in total than bank financing, and a clinic should say so out loud when it runs the numbers. The other side is capacity. A therapist who leaves over a missed payroll takes a full schedule of visits along. A waitlist of new patients that cannot be seen goes to the clinic down the road, and the referring physician notices. Compare those losses with the total amount repaid and the term.
Be careful with one case. If cash is short because claims are being denied, funding only delays the problem. Fix the billing first. For a planned second clinic, an SBA loan usually costs less in total if you can wait. Test payments in our business funding calculators.
Mistakes to avoid
- Funding a billing problem. If claims are denied for documentation, fix the process. Funding should bridge timing, not replace collections.
- Hiring without the referrals. Confirm demand before adding salary.
- Opening a second clinic on short-term money. A new location takes time to fill. Use a longer product.
- Ignoring the deductible season. Plan payments around the slow weeks early in the year.
- Overlapping advances. When one payer slows, two payments are far harder to cover than one. See why applications get declined.
How RAN Funding works
RAN Funding is a business financing company, not a bank. A clinic owner completes one application for our lender network and is assigned one dedicated specialist.
- Send the file. Application, business bank statements and a payer aging report.
- We translate the remittances. Your specialist shows lenders how visits turn into deposits and why a slow payer is a timing issue.
- Lenders decide. Decisions come in hours on complete files.
- You review. We lay out the total amount repaid and the term, and check the payment against your weekly remittances. Funds arrive in as little as 24–48 hours once approved.
Questions go to 1-877-522-6045, Monday–Friday 9am–6pm ET.
Common questions
Can a physical therapy practice get funding while waiting on insurance payments?
Yes. Covering payroll and rent during reimbursement lag is the most common reason clinics apply. Working capital or a business line of credit is the usual fit.
Can I use funding to hire a physical therapist?
Yes. Many owners use funding to cover salary during payer enrollment and while a new therapist builds a schedule. A business line of credit works well because the need shrinks as the schedule fills.
Can I finance physical therapy equipment?
Yes. Treatment tables, rehab equipment and modalities can be financed with equipment financing. Bring the vendor quote. Timing depends on the equipment and the lender.
Do occupational and speech therapy practices qualify too?
Yes. The same products serve outpatient therapy practices of all kinds. Related guides: medical practice loans and chiropractic practice loans.
Does a heavy Medicare caseload hurt my application?
Not by itself. Lenders look at how regularly deposits arrive and what is left after expenses. Medicare tends to pay on a predictable schedule, which can help the pattern in your statements.
Can a cash-based or out-of-network PT clinic apply?
Yes. Cash-based clinics collect at the visit, so deposits are immediate and easy to read. Lenders look at business bank deposits, not at whether an insurer or a patient paid.
How much funding can a PT clinic get?
Most funding runs $20,000–$500,000+, with larger files up to $2 million. For a clinic the amount follows monthly remittances and copays, how consistent they are and current obligations such as equipment payments. No amount is set until a lender reviews the file.
Is RAN Funding a direct lender?
No. RAN Funding is a business financing company that works with a network of lenders, including lenders that fund health care practices paid by insurers. One application, one dedicated specialist. The approving lender provides the funds.
Sources
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Physical Therapists — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Keep treating patients while the claims catch up
One application for our lender network and one dedicated specialist. Decisions in hours on complete files.
More funding guides for health care practices