Credit vs cash flow
Owners with strong sales and a middling score often assume the score ends it. It usually does not. Here is how the two are weighed and where each one is a hard line.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Updated October 13, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Personal credit is your FICO score from the consumer bureaus. It reflects how you have handled personal debts, and it is what the published thresholds on this site refer to.
Business credit is a separate file kept by commercial bureaus under your business name and EIN, built from vendor accounts, business cards and trade lines. Many small businesses have a thin or empty business file, and for the products here that is not disqualifying. Building one is still worthwhile; see building business credit while you grow.
These are gates. Above the gate, cash flow does most of the work. Full detail on credit score requirements.
Once a file clears the credit gate for a product, the decision and price lean heavily on bank activity: deposits, average balance, negative days and existing payments. Two illustrative files:
| Owner A | Owner B | |
|---|---|---|
| FICO | 612 | 720 |
| Monthly deposits | $58,000, steady | $31,000, lumpy |
| Average daily balance | $7,800 | $1,100 |
| Negative days, last 3 months | 0 | 6 |
| Existing advances | None | One, daily debit |
| How it reads | Clears Tier 2 on every line; strong file for revenue-based funding | Credit clears Tier 1 but balances, negatives and an existing position weigh against it |
Owner B has the better score and the weaker file. A higher score helps, but it rarely rescues an account that is regularly overdrawn.
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
Checking what you qualify for starts with a soft pull, which does not affect your score. A hard inquiry can come later in underwriting when you move toward an offer, and the agreement or funder will tell you when. See does applying affect my credit score.
Strong sales with a lower score: read good business, weaker personal credit.
Run the qualification check with a soft pull to see which tier your score and deposits reach together, then apply if it fits.
Yes. The published thresholds use personal FICO: 500 to apply, 600 for revenue-based funding and 650 for a line of credit or term loan.
Above the minimum for a product, yes. Steady deposits and healthy balances carry much of the decision. Below the gate, revenue does not override it.
Not for the products on this site. A thin business credit file is common and is not disqualifying.
No. It starts with a soft pull.
For revenue-based funding, balances and deposit consistency usually matter more once you clear the 600 floor.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
