Qualifying deposits
A funder does not read your total deposits. It reads the deposits that came from customers. Here is how each type of credit on a statement is treated, with a month read line by line.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Updated October 13, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Revenue, for funding purposes, is money that came in because a customer paid you. Card settlements, ACH payments from clients, checks for work you did and cash sales you deposited all count. Money that moved between your own accounts, money you borrowed, money you put in yourself and money that came back to you as a refund does not. A reviewer works through every credit on your statement and backs out the ones that are not sales.
This matters because the number you write on the application is compared against the number the reviewer arrives at. If you add up every deposit, your figure will be higher than theirs, and the gap reads as an error even when nobody intended one.
| Deposit type | Treatment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Card processor settlement | Counts | Net payout from your card sales. Reviewers often note the processor name and frequency. |
| ACH or wire from a customer | Counts | Payment for an invoice or a job. Large single payments are checked against the pattern of prior months. |
| Check or cash deposit for sales | Counts | Counts when it is regular. A one-time large cash deposit gets a question. |
| Transfer from your other business account | Backed out | Money already counted when it landed in the first account. |
| Loan or advance proceeds | Backed out | Borrowed money, and it also tells the reviewer a position exists. |
| Owner injection from a personal account | Backed out | Your own money, not customer money. |
| Refund, reversal or chargeback credit | Backed out | A correction, not a sale. |
| Tax refund, insurance claim, grant or one-time sale of an asset | Usually backed out | Real money, but not recurring revenue. |
Here is a synthetic month for a small catering company. Every figure is made up to show the method.
| Credit on the statement | Total deposits | Counted as revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Card settlements (19 deposits) | $38,400 | $38,400 |
| Client ACH payments (6 deposits) | $21,750 | $21,750 |
| Check deposits for events (4 deposits) | $6,200 | $6,200 |
| Transfer in from the savings account | $10,000 | $0 |
| Owner deposit from personal checking | $5,000 | $0 |
| Equipment loan proceeds | $18,000 | $0 |
| Supplier refund credit | $640 | $0 |
| Total | $99,990 | $66,350 |
The statement shows almost $100,000 coming in. The revenue a reviewer works from is about $66,000. If the owner had written $100,000 a month on the application, the file would have started with a mismatch of a third. Written as $66,000, it matches.
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
Moving money from savings to operating, or from one business account to another, is the most common reason a revenue figure gets cut. The money is real, but it was already counted as revenue in the account it left, or it was never revenue at all. If you bank in two places, send both sets of statements. Then a reviewer can see the sale land in one account and the transfer land in the other, and count it once. Our page on funding with multiple bank accounts covers how to package them.
An owner who covers a slow week from a personal account has done the right thing for the business, but the deposit is not revenue. Financing proceeds are backed out for the same reason and also flag a position, which is why every open advance or loan should be listed on the application rather than discovered in the statement. Refund and chargeback credits reverse a sale that was already counted, so they are not new money.
Card processors pay you net of fees, and some hold back a reserve. A reviewer reads the bank deposit, not the gross sales report, so your counted revenue will usually be a little lower than what your point-of-sale dashboard shows. That gap is normal. If you have both, send the processor statements with your bank statements; see processor statements for funding for how to reconcile the two.
Then check yourself against the published numbers on funding requirements, or run the free qualification check, which does not touch your credit. When the figures line up, apply.
No. Transfers between accounts you own are backed out, because the money was not a new sale. Send statements for both accounts so the original deposit can be counted once.
No. Financing proceeds are borrowed money. They also show the reviewer that a position exists, so list it on your application.
Cash you deposit regularly counts. A pattern of steady cash deposits reads well; one large unexplained cash deposit gets a question.
Report what lands in the bank from customers. That is what the reviewer counts, so your number and theirs will match.
No. A refund credit reverses money that already went out. It is not a sale.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
