Hiring comes before revenue
A new technician costs wages, tools and training for weeks before they bill enough hours to pay for themselves.
An IT services company has two common models. Project firms bill by the hour or by milestone, and managed service providers (MSPs) bill a recurring monthly fee per user or device. Both models reward scale, and both make you spend before you earn.
Consider the MSP that signs a new 80-seat client. Onboarding means audits, agent deployment, documentation and a stretch of heavy support, all in the first month, while the first recurring invoice has not yet gone out. A project firm that wins a large migration has to staff engineers on day one and may not hit its first milestone for six weeks.
Hardware makes it tighter. If you resell laptops, networking gear or servers, you may pay the distributor in 30 days while the customer pays in 45. Software licenses are often billed to you annually even when you invoice the client monthly.
These gaps are predictable, which is why they can be financed sensibly. The recurring revenue behind an MSP is also something funders understand well.
What IT firms typically fund
Technician hiring, hardware inventory for resale, internal tooling, a better office or lab, and sales and marketing to add accounts.
- New technicians. Wages and training until utilization rises.
- Hardware for client projects. Laptops, firewalls, switches, servers and storage purchased ahead of billing.
- Tools and licenses. Remote monitoring, ticketing, backup and security platforms, often prepaid annually.
- Security and compliance work. Certifications, audit prep and pen-testing tools.
- Marketing and sales. A salesperson or campaign that fills the pipeline.
- Lab or office build-out. A secure workspace or a client-facing space.
The strongest cases tie directly to contracts: hardware for a signed project, or a hire for a signed MSP client. The weakest are open-ended, such as a vague expansion without booked demand.
Payback example: adding a technician for a new client (illustrative)
Estimate the monthly recurring revenue, the technician's loaded cost, and how many months until the new client covers both the hire and the funding.
This example is illustrative. An MSP signs an 80-seat client at $110 per seat per month, so $8,800 monthly. The firm hires one technician at a loaded cost of $6,500 a month, including benefits, and buys $8,000 of tooling and onboarding hardware. Funding of $30,000 covers four months of runway while the account stabilizes.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly recurring revenue from client | $8,800 |
| Technician cost per month | $6,500 |
| Other direct costs (licenses, tools) per month | $1,200 |
| Net per month | $1,100 |
| Example funding cost on $30,000 | $4,500 |
On this one client, margin is thin. It improves when the technician supports several clients, which is how MSPs actually run. If the new hire serves three accounts of similar size, monthly revenue is over $26,000 against the same salary. The right question is utilization: how many accounts can this person carry? See the guide on how much funding your business can afford.
Which ROI Funder products fit IT services
A line of credit covers uneven billing, working capital covers a hiring push, and equipment financing covers servers and lab hardware.
Business line of credit. Draw for payroll and hardware purchases, repay when invoices clear. Usually funded in 24 to 72 hours. See business line of credit.
Working capital. A lump sum for hiring or an onboarding wave, with funds possible the same business day on approved, complete files.
Equipment financing. Servers, networking and lab equipment, typically in 2 to 7 days. See equipment financing.
Term loan. Fixed payments for a larger planned investment, such as a data room or an acquisition-sized upgrade, funded in 1 to 5 days.
SBA loans. Lowest cost but slowest. They suit a firm planning a large, well-documented expansion with time to spare.
ROI Funder does not place acquisition loans. If you are buying another IT firm, a term loan or SBA loan for working capital is related but not the same thing, and the purchase itself would need a different lender.
How funders view IT firms
Recurring revenue and diversified clients help most. ROI Funder considers 500+ FICO, 6+ months in business and $20,000+ in monthly revenue.
Funders reading an IT company's bank statements like to see recurring monthly deposits that repeat month to month, because that signals stability. Deposits from many clients are better than a few large ones.
- 3 months of business bank statements
- 6 or more months in business
- $20,000 or more in monthly revenue
- FICO of 500 or higher considered
Keep software, payroll and hardware payments organized. Funders will see large vendor debits, so be ready to explain them if asked. If part of your income is hardware resale, which has thinner margins, the review may weigh it differently than service revenue.
Pre-revenue or very young tech companies are not a fit for ROI Funder's products. We work with businesses with at least six months of history and $20,000 monthly revenue. ROI Funder cannot promise funding for any file.
Next steps
Apply online in minutes with a soft credit pull, add three months of statements, and compare offers at no obligation.
Fill out the application. Applying does not affect your credit score. ROI Funder then checks your file against our 100+ funder network and shows true cost, payback period and monthly-equivalent payment for each offer.
Use your own utilization numbers when you compare. The how it works page explains each stage.
Frequently asked questions
Can an MSP use recurring revenue to qualify?
Recurring deposits on your bank statements are a strength. Funders look at their regularity and how many clients they come from.
Can I finance hardware I resell to clients?
Working capital or a line of credit can cover hardware purchased for signed client projects. Match the draw to the invoice date so you repay on time.
Do you fund IT startups with no revenue?
No. ROI Funder works with businesses that have 6 or more months in business and $20,000 or more in monthly revenue.
How fast is funding?
Same business day on approved, complete files for working capital. Lines of credit usually take 24 to 72 hours.