Working capital for medical, dental and healthcare practices

A practice earns its revenue the day the patient is seen and collects it when the payer decides. Payroll, rent, supplies and the lease on the imaging unit do not wait for the remittance. A working-capital program moves cash to where the schedule needs it — typically up to 2X monthly revenue, depending on how the file looks — and the desk reads the business, never the patients. Two minutes and no documents shows you your options, and qualifying files typically hear back within one business day.

Why a full schedule can still mean a thin account

Because healthcare revenue arrives on the payer’s calendar, not yours. Medicare is the clearest example: by rule, a Medicare contractor cannot pay a clean electronic claim until 14 days after it is received, or 29 days for a paper claim, and it has 30 days to pay a clean claim at all. Commercial payers run on their own schedules, a denial resets the clock, and patient balances trickle in after that. Meanwhile the practice pays its people every two weeks, its landlord on the first, and its suppliers on delivery.

It is the small-business problem with a clinical shape. The Federal Reserve’s 2024 Small Business Credit Survey found that among employer firms that sought financing, 56% did so to meet operating expenses, and 51% named uneven cash flow as a financial challenge. In a practice the unevenness has a few recurring causes:

• A new provider. An associate dentist, a nurse practitioner or a therapist is paid from day one; their schedule fills over months.
• Equipment and buildout. A chair, a panoramic unit, an ultrasound, or the second treatment room, each a lump the month’s remittances were not built for.
• Payer lag and denials. A billing change, a credentialing gap, or a payer audit can push a month of revenue out two.
• Home health and staffing. Caregivers are paid weekly while the agency bills on terms.

The practices the desk sees most are dental, chiropractic, physical therapy, home health, medical billing companies, med spas and urgent care, though fit depends more on the file than the specialty. Programs are for business purposes only.

Which structure fits a practice

Match the structure to the job the money is doing. For a new provider, equipment, or a buildout, a working capital or term program advances general-purpose capital repaid on a schedule spelled out before you sign; terms run out to 48 months at the ceiling — most files land 12–24. For the recurring gap between payroll and the remittance, a business line of credit fits, with limits that typically scale with monthly revenue and cost tied to what is drawn; the guide on a line of credit vs. a term program has a decision table. Revenue-based financing repays as a share of what the practice actually brings in, which suits a practice whose deposits swing. Invoice factoring is built for ordinary business-to-business invoices on 30–90 day terms, such as a staffing agency’s invoices to a facility; insurance claims are a different animal, so ask the desk rather than assume. Rates can start around 1% a month for the strongest files, depending on the file, and every figure on this site is an illustrative range, not an offer.

What the review desk reads on a practice’s file

Payer deposits, patient collections, and what comes out between them. A practice is usually a steady file: remittances from a handful of payers landing on a known lag, payroll every two weeks, supplier debits in between. Underwriters weigh how consistent the deposits are, whether the balance holds through payroll, bounced payments, and existing debits, including any equipment lease or daily payment already on the account. A denial backlog shows up as thinner months, and the desk reads it with the rest of the file rather than on its own; say what caused it. The guide on what underwriters look for in bank statements covers what helps and what you cannot fix in a week.

What the desk never needs: patient records, claims detail, or anything covered by a privacy rule. The two-minute form asks for the basics of the business. Business bank statements and ownership details come later, on the secure application or by phone, never by text or email.

When a bank or an equipment lender is the better tool

Take the cheaper money when it fits and can land in time. Banks tend to like healthcare files, and a bank line or practice loan, if the bank will open one and the need can wait for it, costs less than anything on this site. An equipment lender who takes the unit as collateral usually prices below general-purpose capital. Working-capital programs are for the file the bank turned down, the provider who starts before the bank finishes underwriting, or the month the payer lag and payroll land on the same Friday.

Where the desk fits

We’re not the cheapest desk. Files that fit usually leave with a longer term and one payment instead of three — and you’ll know exactly what it costs before you sign anything. Speed and flexibility typically price above a bank line; if your bank can fund the file in time, take it. Aglet Funding is a DBA of Lendera Capital LLC, based in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and programs are available to businesses across the United States; availability can vary by state and by file. We also work with contractors, trucking companies, restaurants and auto repair shops. How it works walks through the three steps; the quick assessment shows what files of your shape typically reach.

Sources

1. Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2024 Small Business Credit Survey — the share of firms seeking financing to meet operating expenses, and the share citing uneven cash flow
2. First Coast Service Options (Medicare Administrative Contractor), New provider roadmap: Claims submission — the Medicare payment floor of 14 days for electronic claims and 29 days for paper claims, and the 30-day clean-claim window
3. CGS Medicare, Payment floor status — the same 14-day and 29-day payment floors, stated by a second Medicare contractor