Methodology
A 4-tap quick score or 9 detailed inputs, seven scored factors and the published thresholds behind each one. No hidden rules.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
As explained by Merchant Fund Express: the score adds points for seven factors that underwriters read on every file, for a total of 100. Deposits carry the most weight (25), followed by daily balance, time in business and credit (15 each), then negative days, NSFs and open advances (10 each). Revenue trend can take points off, and industry rules are shown as flags. Every cutoff comes from our published funding requirements.
The tool has two modes so you can get a useful answer in about 30 seconds and refine it only if you want to.
Quick score (4 answers). You tap your monthly deposits, time in business, credit band and industry. Those four answers are scored exactly as described below. The five factors that come from bank statements (average daily balance, negative days, NSFs, open advances and revenue trend) are not guessed in your favour or against you: each one is scored at its middle "OK" level and shown as Assumed in the results table. That means a quick score tops out in the mid-80s even for an excellent file, and the result says "Based on 4 answers".
Detailed score (up to 9 answers). Open "Make it more accurate" and answer any of the five bank-statement questions. Each answer replaces the middle value with the real rating, so the score can move up or down. When all five are answered the result says "Based on all 9 answers" and matches the full method on this page.
Product fit in quick mode. The likely-fit list assumes clean bank statements for anything you have not answered, and says so, so you can see which products are realistic if the statements hold up. The score itself never uses that assumption.
Deposits are chosen from ranges in quick mode (for example $25,000 to $50,000). Each range is scored at a representative value inside it, and every range sits wholly on one side of the published deposit thresholds, so the range you choose gives the same rating an exact figure in that range would.
| Factor | Points | How it is rated |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly deposits | 25 | $25,000+ a month = strong (Tier 1). $10,000 to $24,999 = OK. $5,000 to $9,999 = OK, near the $60,000 a year revenue-based floor. Under $5,000 = needs work. |
| Average daily balance | 15 | $5,000 or 10%+ of monthly deposits = strong (Tier 1). $800 or more = OK (revenue-based minimum). Under $800 = needs work. |
| Time in business | 15 | 3+ years = strong (Tier 1). 2 to 3 years = OK (renewals). 6 months to 2 years = OK (revenue-based). Under 6 months = needs work. |
| Personal credit | 15 | 650+ = strong (line of credit, term loan). 600 to 649 = OK (revenue-based). 550 to 599 = OK (renewal path). 500 to 549 = OK, read on revenue and deposits. Under 500 = needs work. "Not sure" scores in the middle. |
| Negative days a month | 10 | None = strong. 1 to 3 = OK (Tier 1 limit). 4 to 5 = OK on revenue-based funding only. 6+ = needs work. |
| NSFs in 90 days | 10 | None = strong. 1 to 5 = OK (revenue-based limit). 6 to 12 = OK on Tier 1 limits only. 13+ = needs work. |
| Open advances | 10 | None = strong. One = OK. Two = OK, the published maximum. Three or more = needs work. |
| Revenue trend | 0 to minus 8 | Growing or steady = no change. Seasonal = minus 3. Declining = minus 8. |
| Industry | Flags | Non-profits are not eligible (score capped at 10). Trucking and construction show their own revenue-based rules. |
Bank activity first. Our credit score page says it plainly: the score decides which product a file is read against, and the bank statements decide the rest. That is why deposits, daily balance, negative days and NSFs together make up 60 of the 100 points.
Credit and time open doors. Credit and time in business mostly decide which tier a file qualifies for. They carry 15 points each because crossing a threshold, such as 600 for revenue-based funding or 3 years for Tier 1, changes the menu of products.
Positions narrow the menu. The published tiers allow up to two existing positions. Each one lowers the amount a new funder can offer, so the score takes points off for each.
Trend adjusts, it does not decide. A declining account supports less than a growing one, so the score subtracts points. A seasonal business is not penalized much, because seasonality is normal and can be explained.
Alongside the score, the tool suggests products using the published tier rules:
It cannot read your statements, so it does not count deposits per month (8 or more for Tier 1), large one-time deposits, bankruptcies or foreclosures (none in the last 3 years for Tier 1, no open bankruptcies or prior defaults for revenue-based funding), ownership (at least 50%) or the size of your request compared with your revenue. California and New York carry extra restrictions on the revenue-based tier. Sole proprietors are eligible; non-profits are not.
It is an estimate, not an offer, an approval or a credit decision. Merchant Fund Express is not a direct funder; offers come from the funder that reviews your file.
The tool runs in your browser. Your answers are not sent to Merchant Fund Express or anyone else, are not stored and do not touch your credit. Get your score.
From the requirements Merchant Fund Express publishes on its funding requirements and credit score pages. The score does not add any threshold that is not already published there.
Because the size and steadiness of deposits decide how much a file can support. Credit decides which product a file is read against; the bank statements decide the rest.
No. It uses only the answers you enter and the published thresholds.
If the published requirements change, the score is updated to match and this page shows the new date.
Merchant Fund Express gives a same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
