Some revenue-based funding is available from around six months in business, though the options narrow and the pricing is higher than at a year. What carries a young file is deposit strength: consistent business bank activity matters more at six months than at any other stage.
Why a year is the common threshold
Twelve months of trading gives an underwriter a full seasonal cycle and enough history to judge whether deposits are a trend or a run of luck. Below that, the same deposits carry less predictive weight, so the funding offered is smaller and priced for the uncertainty.
What helps a six-month file
Consistent deposits across every month available, not one strong month carrying the rest.
A clean account — overdrafts weigh disproportionately on a short history.
A business bank account opened at the start, so the full trading period is visible.
A specific, sized use of funds. Vague requests read as speculative; a named cost with a number attached reads as a plan.
Whether to wait
If the need can wait and the business is approaching twelve months, waiting usually improves both the amount and the price. If it cannot — a piece of equipment has failed, an order needs stock — then the cost of waiting is the real comparison, not the cost of the funding in isolation.
What to build in the meantime
If you are three or four months in and funding is not urgent yet, a few things materially improve the file by the time you do apply.
Run everything through the business account. Revenue that touches a personal account is generally invisible to underwriting, and at six months you cannot afford invisible revenue.
Protect the balance. Avoid overdrafts entirely if you can — on a short history, a single cluster of negative days carries far more weight than it would at three years.
Build deposit rhythm. Several smaller deposits across a month read as recurring demand; one large deposit reads as a single customer you might lose. Where you have a choice about invoicing cadence, the former helps you.
None of this is busywork — it is the same file, read months later, in a considerably better light.
Read next: Revenue requirements · Merchant cash advance · Funding by industry
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