At a Glance
Rating Breakdown
Performance Overview
Scores out of 5, based on our editorial analysis
About Clara Capital
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in New York City, Clara Capital is a newer entrant in the merchant cash advance space that has quickly distinguished itself by funding large-scale advances up to $5 million. Despite being a relatively young company, Clara Capital was founded by veterans of the alternative lending industry with decades of combined experience in business financing, underwriting, and capital markets. This institutional pedigree allows them to evaluate and fund deals at a scale that most MCA companies cannot touch. Clara Capital's primary differentiator is their advance ceiling. While most MCA providers cap at $250K to $500K and even well-known names like OnDeck top out around $250K, Clara Capital can fund up to $5 million for qualified businesses. This positions them as a bridge between traditional MCA providers and commercial lending institutions: faster than a bank, larger than a typical MCA. Their underwriting team specializes in evaluating complex deals that require deeper financial analysis, including multi-location businesses with consolidated financials, franchise operations with unit-level economics, real estate-adjacent businesses with seasonal cash flow patterns, and companies undertaking large expansion projects where the capital requirement exceeds what a typical MCA funder can accommodate. Some real limitations. Clara Capital is a post-2020 company with limited operating history, which means less verifiable track record through full economic cycles compared to veterans like CAN Capital (1998) or BFS Capital (2002). Their A- BBB rating is respectable but below the A+ held by OnDeck and Kapitus. The minimum advance of $10K means they are not suited for micro-businesses needing $3K to $5K. And factor rates of 1.12 to 1.45, while competitive, reflect the higher complexity and risk of the larger deals they fund. For businesses needing $500K to $5 million in rapid capital without the 3 to 6 month timeline of commercial bank lending, Clara Capital fills a genuine gap in the market that very few other MCA providers can address.
Key Features
\$5 Million Advance Ceiling
Clara Capital funds advances up to \$5 million, placing them among only 3-4 MCA providers nationwide capable of seven-figure deals. For context, OnDeck caps at \$250K, Credibly at \$600K, and BFS Capital at \$400K. The ability to get \$1M to \$5M from a single MCA funder in days eliminates the need for stacking multiple smaller advances from different providers, which introduces compounding costs, conflicting UCC liens, and significantly higher total repayment. Clara Capital's large-deal capability is particularly valuable for franchise expansions, multi-location buildouts, and major equipment purchases.
Experienced Leadership Team
Despite being founded in 2020, Clara Capital's leadership team includes veterans with 15 to 25 years of individual experience in alternative lending, commercial banking, and capital markets. This is not a startup learning the industry; it is experienced operators who launched a new entity to focus on the large-deal niche they identified as underserved. Their underwriting team has personally evaluated thousands of deals across previous roles at established funders, which translates to faster credit decisions and better deal structuring than you would expect from a company with only 5 years of corporate history.
Complex Deal Structuring
Clara Capital's underwriting team handles deals that simpler funders cannot evaluate: multi-location businesses where revenue must be consolidated across 5 or 10 separate bank accounts, franchise operations where unit-level economics vary by location, seasonal businesses where revenue swings 300-400% between peak and off-season, and businesses undertaking expansion projects where current revenue does not yet reflect post-expansion capacity. For advances above \$1M, Clara typically requires 6 months of bank statements, a current P&L statement, a balance sheet, and sometimes a phone interview with the owner.
Rapid Deployment for Large Advances
Clara Capital can fund seven-figure advances within 48 to 72 hours of underwriting completion, which is extraordinary compared to commercial bank timelines of 3 to 6 months for equivalent amounts. This speed is possible because MCAs do not require the collateral appraisals, environmental reviews, SBA approval processes, and committee sign-offs that slow bank lending. You pay for it: a \$3M advance at a 1.20 factor rate costs \$600,000 in fees, while a bank term loan at 8% over 5 years on the same amount would cost roughly \$480,000 in interest. You pay a premium for speed and certainty.
Customized Repayment Structures
For large advances, Clara Capital offers daily, weekly, or semi-monthly ACH repayment schedules matched to the business's cash flow cycle. A hotel with strong weekend revenue might prefer weekly Monday debits. A franchise group with bi-monthly royalty payments might prefer semi-monthly debits timed around their royalty cycle. Clara also structures repayment as a percentage of revenue for some deals, providing natural flex during slower periods. This customization is standard for deals above \$500K and can be negotiated for smaller deals as well.
How It Works
Initial Inquiry
Contact Clara Capital by phone or online to discuss your funding needs. For larger deals, an initial consultation helps scope the advance.
Application & Documentation
Submit your application with 4-6 months of business bank statements. For advances over $1M, additional financial documentation may be required.
Underwriting & Structuring
Clara Capital's senior underwriting team evaluates your business and structures an advance based on your actual revenue and repayment capacity.
Approval & Funding
Review and sign your agreement. Funds are typically deployed within 48-72 hours, even for large-scale advances.
What They Do
- Merchant Cash Advance
- Large-Scale Business Advances
- Revenue-Based Financing
- Working Capital
- Franchise Funding
Debt Types They Take On
- Merchant Cash Advance
- Revenue-Based Financing
- Large-Scale Working Capital
- Franchise Financing
Fee & Cost Structure
Regulatory & Trust
Review Summary
Notable Case Studies
Multi-Location Franchise Expansion
A franchise owner operating 8 quick-service restaurant locations generating \$1.4M/month needed \$3.2M to open four new locations simultaneously. SBA loans would take 3 to 6 months per location.
Boutique Hotel Full Renovation
A 36-room boutique hotel in Manhattan generating \$380K/month in peak season needed \$1.8M for room upgrades, lobby redesign, and rooftop bar construction during the January-March slow season.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Advance amounts up to \$5 million, filling the gap between typical MCAs and commercial bank loans
- Capable of underwriting complex multi-location and franchise deals that most MCA providers cannot handle
- Founding team with decades of combined alternative lending experience provides institutional-grade analysis
- Rapid funding even for seven-figure advances within 48 to 72 hours versus months at commercial banks
- Customizable daily, weekly, and semi-monthly repayment structures for larger businesses
Cons
- Founded in 2020 with no track record through a full economic cycle
- Fewer total reviews (~950) make long-term customer satisfaction patterns harder to assess
- Minimum advance of \$10K excludes micro-businesses needing smaller amounts
- A- BBB rating is respectable but below the A+ held by OnDeck and Kapitus
User Reviews (24)
won't use again
Nah. Clara Capital is overpriced. Got $100K at 1.11 and it's been a grind. Better options out there.
not great
Took $60K from Clara Capital for insurance and I regret it. Factor rate 1.17 and the daily payments are destroying me.
ok overall
good
perfect timing
Honestly my best MCA experience. $120K at 1.14. Omar handled everything and I had money in 2 days.
thumbs up
good
waste of money
STAY AWAY from Clara Capital. Factor rate 1.14 on $35K works out to like what, 80% APR? 100%?? Somebody regulate these people. My cleaning company is barely surviving BECAUSE of this advance.
expected more
Factor rate 1.11 could've been lower for my revenue but whatever. Got the money I needed.
solid but not perfect
They delivered on what they promised. $100K for my laundromat. Only complaint is the UCC lien took forever to remove after payoff.
my go-to now
They were straight with me from day 1. No bait and switch, no hidden fees. $30K at 1.24.
good people
$10,000 funded next day. No issues.
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Related Companies
Important Merchant Cash Advance Disclaimers
- A merchant cash advance is not a loan. It is a purchase of future receivables at a discount. Factor rates, not APRs, are used to express the cost of capital. Effective APRs on merchant cash advances can range from 40% to over 350% depending on the term and factor rate.
- Repayment is typically collected daily or weekly via automatic ACH debits or a percentage of credit card sales. This means your repayment amount fluctuates with revenue but withdrawals occur every business day, which can strain cash flow during slow periods.
- Most MCA agreements require a personal guarantee from the business owner. In the event of default, the MCA provider may pursue the owner's personal assets, including bank accounts and property.
- MCA providers commonly file UCC-1 liens against your business assets. This lien may prevent you from obtaining additional financing until the advance is fully repaid and the lien is released.
- Merchant cash advances are not regulated by federal lending laws such as the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). State regulations vary widely, and some states have limited consumer protections for MCA products.
- Stacking multiple merchant cash advances (taking a second advance before the first is repaid) significantly increases the risk of default and can lead to aggressive collection actions including confessions of judgment in some jurisdictions.
- Zogby does not provide merchant cash advances or business financing. We are an independent comparison service. We do not fund advances, process applications, or guarantee approval on your behalf.
This page is informational, not financial or legal advice. Talk to a qualified professional before making any big money decisions.
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We make money from some companies on this page. That doesn't change our rankings -- the editorial team scores every product independently, and the business side has no say in what we recommend.