Can a roofing business get financing with bad credit (under 620)?

Yes, a roofing business with bad credit (a personal FICO score under 620) can still get financing, but you should expect asset-backed or revenue-based options rather than unsecured bank term loans. The most realistic paths are equipment-secured loans, invoice factoring, and SBA microloans through nonprofit intermediaries. The product to approach with the most caution is the merchant cash advance, which can carry an effective annual cost in the triple digits.

When your personal credit is weak, lenders shift their focus from your score to your collateral and cash flow. A roofing company that owns boom trucks, conveyors, and nailers, or that has a steady book of net-30 and net-60 receivables, has real assets a lender can underwrite against. That changes the question from "what's your score?" to "what can secure this?"

What "bad credit" actually means here

Under the standard FICO model, a poor score is 300–579 and a fair score is 580–669. The 620 line many lenders draw sits inside the fair band, so a roofer in the high-500s to low-600s is on the edge, not out of options. If your score is already at 620 or above, the terms and lender pool widen considerably — see financing with fair credit (620–699), or financing with excellent credit (700+) for the best-rate tier.

Realistic options for sub-620 roofers

Asset-based / secured financing. Because the gear itself acts as collateral, equipment lenders weigh the machine's value more heavily than your score. If your bad-credit need is specifically to buy roofing machinery, start with the equipment financing with bad credit path, where the asset secures the deal.

Invoice factoring. Factoring is one of the most credit-forgiving options because the factor underwrites your customers, not you. The factoring company "will look at your clients' creditworthiness instead of your business's," and typically advances 70% to 90% of unpaid invoices upfront. For a roofer waiting on slow project draws, this turns receivables into payroll cash without a hard credit hurdle.

SBA microloans. The SBA microloan program lends up to $50,000 with a maximum repayment term of seven years, delivered through nonprofit community intermediaries. These intermediaries set their own credit rules and are explicitly designed for borrowers who "may have a limited credit history or lower scores than typical commercial loan applicants." NerdWallet notes the microloan is likely your only realistic SBA option with bad credit, since 7(a) and other programs generally want higher scores — and offering solid collateral strengthens your case.

The merchant cash advance warning

A merchant cash advance (MCA) is the easiest sub-620 money to get and often the most expensive. Crucially, an MCA is not a loan: the FTC describes it as a purchase of a business's future receipts at a discount, priced with a "factor" rather than an interest rate. Because it is structured as a sale, it falls outside most lending laws and carries no required APR disclosure — yet the FTC notes MCAs "can have estimated APRs in the triple digits." Treat daily or weekly fixed-withdrawal financing as a last resort, and read the factor and total payback before signing.

Realistic cost

There is no single rate for bad-credit roofing capital — it depends on the structure. SBA microloan rates are tied to the intermediary's cost plus a fixed spread and compare favorably to alternatives, while factoring is priced as a fee on each invoice, and MCAs are the costliest tier with triple-digit effective annual costs possible. Bad credit does not block funding; it pushes you toward secured and revenue-based products and away from the cheapest unsecured bank loans. Improving your score over time, then revisiting fair- and good-credit terms, is the path to lower-cost capital.

Sources

• SBA Microloan program — U.S. Small Business Administration
• SBA Microloans guide — Nav
• Can You Get an SBA Loan With Bad Credit? — NerdWallet
• FICO credit score ranges — Experian
• How invoice factoring works — Bankrate
• Small business financing: Staff Perspective — Federal Trade Commission