Types of Financing Available for South Dakota Pharmacies

By Brad MacLiver
Authorship and profile at Google


There are a number of different options available for funding SD pharmacy franchises, specialty pharmacies, and traditional community drug stores.

SBA Financing for Pharmacy Business Loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) partially guarantees loans for South Dakota pharmacy franchise lenders reducing the risk exposure for the lender. A loan program called 7(a) is a standard for funding pharmacy franchises. These loans can provide funds for pharmacy franchise entry fees, real estate where the pharmacy will be located, property improvements, working capital, and pharmacy related equipment.

Borrowers for the pharmacy franchise in South Dakota must be creditworthy, without any bankruptcies, have ample down payment, but there are variations here, and the business must be able to repay the loan from the cash flow of the pharmacy.

Terms can range from 5 to 20 years. Within SBA standards interest rates may be adjustable or fixed and will be negotiated by the lender dependent on the financial strength of the South Dakota pharmacy transaction.

There are SBA fees for guaranteeing pharmacy business loans. These fees, which are paid to the government and not kept by the bank, can be rolled into the pharmacy financing.

Patriot Express Business Loan Program

Another SBA loan program that can be utilized for South Dakota pharmacy franchise business loans is the Patriot Express Business Loan Program.  This is reserved for military veterans, their spouses, active service members, and survivors.  The pharmacy loan process will then involve the Department of Veterans Affairs.

South Dakota pharmacy funding from the Patriot Express program can furnish relatively fast approval times, may accept a smaller down payment from the borrower than traditional business loans, and lower credit scores may also be accepted. Patriot Express business loans provide opportunities for lower interest rate pharmacy business loans.

Funding for Pharmacists Who Are Veterans in SD

Specific franchise loan programs are also available for veterans that have been honorably discharged.  These programs can be considered for pharmacy franchise loans.

Pharmacy Financing From the Franchisor in South Dakota

Financing a pharmacy franchisee with a pharmacy franchisor is a usual topic of discussion. Potential drug store franchises should be directed by Franchisors toward funding programs that have previously been successful for their other pharmacy franchisees. Preferred lenders will be familiar already with the pharmacy franchisor and their methods.

Pharmacy franchisors can also provide some initial funding. Lower collateral will be offset by higher interest rates. This may help with qualifying for a pharmacy acquisition of a franchise, but may hurt the franchisee’s long term cash flow. Due diligence of pharmacy franchisor funding should be completed before any final decisions are made.

Personal Assets Used in SD Pharmacy Finance

Not all prospective pharmacy franchise owners have enough cash on hand. Part of the drug store business financing may require the borrower to liquidate personal stocks, provide personal assets as collateral, refinance their home, or use their 401k to assist the lenders security for making the South Dakota pharmacy business loan.

If the borrower still does not have enough personal assets then a family member or a friend may be required as a partner in the South Dakota pharmacy. Since the SD pharmacy partner’s cash and assets will also be at risk of loss, these partners may require some controlling interest in the drug store.

Retirement Accounts Used in Pharmacy Finance

Retirement Plans can be self-directed and used to invest into a pharmacy franchise. The retirement plan can purchase stock in the pharmacy franchise. This is similar to how the retirement plan currently may be investing in publicly traded stocks and mutual funds. Lower debt service and higher profit potential may result when incorporating this option that uses less external financing in funding the franchise.

The downside is, if the pharmacy in South Dakota crashes, so does the retirement fund. The method of providing less expensive financing for the South Dakota pharmacy needs to be weighed against the risk of failure.

Because of the factors involved such as deferred taxes, early or improper distributions, and IRS involvement, funding a pharmacy transaction with a retirement account should be handled by a company who has expertise in this arena. Pharmacists and investors in South Dakota interested in using this financing structure should research the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Pharmacy Franchise Agreement Buyout Funding

Understand that pharmacy situations are changing, economic factors are a concern, mail order pharmacy is growing, and market shares are shifting. All of these can have a negative impact on the cash flow of a pharmacy franchise. Drug store owners paying franchise royalty payments may not survive the tightening profit ratios. Due to this, these pharmacy franchises may only have the options of bankruptcy, or buying out the franchise agreement when allowable.

Buying out the franchisor allows the pharmacy in South Dakota to remove the franchisor from the equation. This in turn allows the pharmacy owner more flexibility in their business decisions. The pharmacy franchisor sold the drug store franchise with expectations of earning income from the cash flow their pharmacy franchisees. Due to their long term plan, Franchisors may not be willing to allow the pharmacy franchisee to remove itself from the franchisor. However if a Franchise Agreement Buyout can be negotiated, the buy-out transaction can also be financed.

Unfortunately many banks don’t understand the dynamics of the SD pharmacy industry. This lack of pharmacy knowledge results in the banks looking at the funding request and all they see is a business that has very little collateral compared to amount of financing the pharmacy is requesting. To assist the successful funding process a South Dakota pharmacy owner is advised to use a pharmacy industry specialist to capitalize on the funding opportunities that are available.

 

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