The specs
CrediblyToast Capital
Product typeMulti-productMCA
Amount range$5K – $600K$5K – $300K
Cost (factor / APR)Factor 1.11+ (MCA); APR varies (term)Factor 1.13 – 1.36 (single fixed fee, no compounding)
Speed to fundAs fast as 4 hours1 – 3 business days after approval
Min time in business6 months6 months
Min monthly revenue$15,000Toast POS volume drives offers — typically $10,000+/mo processed
Min credit score550+No FICO floor — underwrites against Toast POS history
Products
- MCA
- Working capital LOC
- Short-term term loan
- Embedded restaurant working capital (Toast POS only)
Verdicts by use case
- Toast-native restaurant with strong POS processing history — Winner: Toast Capital. Toast Capital's algorithmic underwriting against Toast POS history typically prices A-paper offers at factor 1.13 – 1.25 — competitive with Credibly's A-paper band (1.11 – 1.25) and with zero application friction (offers appear in the Toast dashboard). For Toast-native restaurants with 6+ months of processing the embedded product is faster, requires no documentation, and repays as a fixed % of daily Toast deposits — cash flow stays proportional to revenue. Credibly's fixed ACH debits don't have the same revenue-alignment advantage.
- Non-Toast restaurant or restaurant with significant cash / non-Toast revenue — Winner: Credibly. Toast Capital requires Toast POS and only counts Toast-processed sales toward the cap. Restaurants on Square for Restaurants, Clover, Aloha, or hybrid Toast-plus-cash operations where significant revenue is off-Toast get under-sized or no offers. Credibly's bank-statement underwriting captures total revenue across all sources. For non-Toast restaurants Credibly is in the cascade where Toast Capital isn't.
- Restaurant needing capital on its own timeline (renovation, equipment, opening) — Winner: Credibly. Credibly's API V2 + Cloudsquare lets merchants apply and fund in as fast as 4 hours on their schedule. Toast Capital offers appear when Toast's algorithm decides — you can't trigger an offer review on a renovation timeline or equipment-purchase deadline. For predictable pull-based capital access on the merchant's timeline Credibly is the right tool.
- Larger deal size ($300K+) — Winner: Credibly. Toast Capital caps at $300K. Credibly underwrites up to $600K on a single contract. For Toast-native restaurants who need $300K+ (multi-location buildout, major equipment refresh, real-estate down payment) Credibly is in the cascade beyond Toast Capital's ceiling.
- POS-portability and platform-lock-in risk — Winner: Credibly. Toast Capital requires Toast POS remain active through the payback period — switching to another POS (Square for Restaurants, Clover, Aloha) triggers immediate balloon repayment of the remaining balance. For restaurants who are evaluating POS alternatives, planning a multi-location rollout with a different POS, or simply value POS optionality, Credibly's POS-agnostic structure is materially safer.
The honest takeaway
Credibly and Toast Capital solve overlapping but distinct problems. The right choice depends on three things you already know about your business: how fast you need the money, how long you've been operating, and whether the capital need is one-time or recurring.
Frequently asked questions
- I'm a Toast-native restaurant with a $75K Toast Capital offer at factor 1.20 — should I take it or shop Credibly?
- Take the Toast Capital offer in most cases. $75K Toast Capital at 1.20 = $15K fixed fee on typical 9 – 12 month payback (35 – 50% APR-equivalent). Credibly on $75K A-paper typically quotes factor 1.22 – 1.28 = $16.5K – $21K on a 9 month payback (52 – 70% APR-equivalent). Toast Capital is also faster (no application) and structurally aligned to restaurant cash flow (fixed % of daily Toast deposits). The reasons to shop Credibly instead: (1) you're planning to switch off Toast in the next 12 months — Credibly has no POS lock-in; (2) you need more than the Toast Capital offer covers — Credibly goes to $600K; (3) you want a documented contract for cross-product underwriting later (SBA originators sometimes prefer the documentation a traditional MCA provides). For restaurants staying on Toast with a need that matches the offer size, Toast Capital is structurally the right product.
- Can Credibly fund my off-Toast revenue alongside an active Toast Capital advance?
- Yes — Credibly underwrites against total bank-deposit revenue from all sources, not Toast-specific revenue. Credibly will pull business credit, see the Toast Capital advance balance, and price the new MCA with that debt service factored in. Disclose the Toast Capital balance on the Credibly application — hidden balances discovered mid-underwriting trigger decline or factor markup. The combined cash-flow math is the merchant's risk: if Toast Capital deducts 8 – 12% of daily Toast deposits and Credibly's ACH adds another 8 – 12% of total revenue, total debt service may approach 18 – 22% and squeeze restaurant operating margin (which typically runs 6 – 10%).
- What happens to my Toast Capital balance if I switch to Square for Restaurants or another POS?
- Toast Capital's contract requires Toast POS remain active through payback. Switching POS triggers immediate balloon repayment of the remaining balance — typically 14 – 30 day notice. For a $75K Toast Capital advance with $50K remaining, a POS migration decision creates a $50K immediate capital need. Plan financing accordingly: many restaurants take a Credibly MCA or bank LOC to retire the Toast Capital balance as part of the POS-migration budget, so the migration itself doesn't trigger a balloon payment. POS migration is a meaningful capital event regardless of whether Toast Capital is involved; building the financing into the migration plan is standard practice.