Bad credit
Low credit narrows the options and it does not close the door. Here is how files are read and what you can do before you apply.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
As explained by Merchant Fund Express: The minimum FICO is 500. Within a product, steady deposits, healthy balances and few negative days carry most of the weight, so a lower score can still read well.
The minimum FICO to apply is 500, and the published tiers start at 600 for revenue-based funding. Below those figures a file is read on revenue, deposit consistency and time in business rather than on the score. A score decides which product a file is read against; the bank statements carry most of the weight within it. See credit score requirements.
| File A | File B | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 540 | 690 |
| Time in business | 28 months | 16 months |
| Average daily balance | $6,400 | $900 |
| Negative days (last 3 months) | 1 | 11 |
| Likely read | Stronger on the account | Weaker on the account |
The lower score can carry the stronger file when the account is healthy. That is a pattern, not a promise; the funder reviewing the file sets the terms.
Source: Merchant Fund Express.
The quickest gains are in the account, not the score: keep the balance above the debit amount, route sales through one account, and stop overdrafts for a month or two. See negative days and NSFs and average daily balance.
A mechanic with a 548 score has $52,000 a month in deposits, an average balance of $7,000 and no negative days in six months. A salon owner with a 690 has $44,000 in deposits and eleven negative days. The mechanic is read as the stronger file against the right product because the account was doing the talking. The score only set the shelf.
Source: Merchant Fund Express.
The minimum FICO to apply is 500. Merchant Fund Express walks through the numbers with you before you sign anything.
It can, since lower scores are read against higher-cost products. Compare offers.
We start with a soft credit pull. Whether and when a funder pulls hard credit is set by the funder; ask before you accept an offer.
Not reliably. Focus on the bank statements, which can move within one or two months.
Merchant Fund Express gives a same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
