Guide · Preparing a request
What your bank statements say before you do.
Funding based on revenue, such as a merchant cash advance or working capital review, is usually judged on the money moving through your business account more than on a credit score alone. Knowing what a reviewer commonly reads in a statement lets you prepare accurately.
1. Deposits compared with stated revenue
A review typically compares the monthly revenue you state with the deposits that reached the account. They do not have to match perfectly. Card processors pay out net of fees, and some deposits are transfers between your own accounts or owner contributions rather than sales. Know which deposits are which and be ready to explain them.
2. Consistency month to month
Seasonal businesses swing, and that is fine. What helps is being able to describe the pattern: a landscaper expects a slow January, a restaurant expects a busy December. Large one-off deposits, such as a tax refund or a loan proceeds deposit, are generally read separately from recurring revenue.
3. Daily balances and overdrafts
Reviewers commonly look at how low the balance gets and how often. Repeated negative balances, returned items and overdraft fees (often called NSFs) suggest cash is tight before any new payment is added. The request form on this site asks about overdraft activity in the last three months for this reason.
4. Existing debits
Recurring daily or weekly withdrawals to other financing providers are visible on the statement. List every current loan or advance and its approximate balance in your request. An incomplete list tends to surface later and slows the review.
5. Business and personal money kept apart
A dedicated business account makes revenue easy to read. Mixing personal spending into it makes deposits and withdrawals harder to interpret.
A short checklist before you apply
- Pull the most recent statements for each business account and add up deposits by month.
- Mark transfers, refunds and owner contributions so they are not counted as sales.
- Note any months with overdrafts, and the reason.
- List existing financing, the payment and the remaining balance.
- Decide the amount you need and what it is for.
None of this guarantees an outcome. Approval, amount, terms and timing depend on the business and the provider. A request on this site is a request for review and commits you to nothing.