If you want to know how to apply for a merchant cash advance and how long it takes, the whole process is eight steps, and you control the speed of most of them. You fill out a short application, send four months of business bank statements, wait while funders review them, compare the offers that come back, pick one, sign, take a short verification call and receive the money. Through us, the first step takes about two minutes, offers on a complete file often come back the same day, and most applicants are funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer, some the same day. Below is what each step asks of you, how long it usually takes, and what holds an application up.
A merchant cash advance, also called revenue-based financing, is a funder paying now for part of your future sales, sized on your usual revenue and repaid with a set daily or weekly payment. Our guide to what a merchant cash advance is and how it works covers the product, and this post covers the application.
How long each step of a merchant cash advance takes
The table lists the merchant cash advance application process in order. The times assume a complete file and an owner who answers the phone, which is where most of the speed comes from.
| Step | What you do | How long it usually takes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Check eligibility | Answer four questions about the business and leave your contact details | About two minutes |
| 2. Complete the application | Give the business details, the owners and your identity, then sign electronically | One sitting, if you have your EIN and start date at hand |
| 3. Send bank statements | Upload the last four months as PDFs | A few minutes once they are downloaded |
| 4. Funder review | Answer any questions your rep brings back | Offers on a complete file often come back the same day |
| 5. Compare offers | Go through the total payback, the payment and the term with us | As long as you need, and often under an hour if you know what payment you can carry |
| 6. Choose and sign | Send a photo ID and a voided check, then sign the contract electronically | Minutes, once you have read the contract |
| 7. Verification call | Take a short call from the funder | A few minutes |
| 8. Funding | Watch for the deposit in your business account | Most within one to two business days of choosing an offer, some the same day |
What to have ready before you apply
The documents for a merchant cash advance are short. You need four months of statements from the business checking account your sales go into, then a photo ID and a voided check once you pick an offer. Have your EIN, the date the business started, its state of incorporation and your home address nearby as well, because the application asks for all four.
Whether you qualify is a separate question, and our guide on how to qualify for a merchant cash advance covers what funders read on your statements and how much credit matters. The funders we work with generally look for about a year in business and about $20,000 a month in deposits. If you're not there yet, apply anyway. Some funders work with newer or smaller businesses, and we'll tell you what's realistic.
How to apply for a merchant cash advance through us
Our merchant cash advance application runs in three stages, and the progress bar at the top of the page shows which one you are on. Nothing is sent to a funder until all three are done.
Step 1: Check eligibility
The first stage asks four things: how much you are looking for (anywhere from $5,000 to $2,000,000), how long you have been in business, your gross monthly revenue before expenses, and roughly where your personal credit score sits. The credit question is your best guess, and nothing is pulled. Then you leave the business name, your name, an email address and a mobile number. It takes about two minutes, and you can do it on a phone.
Step 2: Complete the application
The second stage opens on a secure page and fills in what you already told us. It starts by asking whether you have had an offer from another lender, and if you have, you can upload it so we can take it to our funders and try to beat it. After that it covers the legal business name and any DBA, the business email and website, the start date and state of incorporation, the EIN, whether the business takes card payments, the industry and the business address.
Then it moves to the funding and the owners. You confirm the amount and list any advances you already have, with the balance and the funder for each. You give your ownership percentage, and if someone else owns part of the business, their name, email and phone, so they can review and sign through a link sent to their own inbox. The identity step asks for your Social Security number, date of birth and an estimated credit score. On the last screen you check every answer, confirm the application is true and sign it electronically.
Step 3: Send four months of bank statements
The third stage asks for the last four months of statements from the business checking account as PDFs downloaded from your online banking. Once the fourth month is in, the application is complete and nothing else is needed from you until offers arrive.
If you would like a number first, our Instant Quote reads the same four statements and emails you an estimate, usually within a couple of minutes. It does not pull your credit, and it is an estimate rather than an offer. You can continue your application from that email with the statements already in.
What happens while funders review your file
Once the application is complete, your rep reviews it with the statements and presents your request to the funders in our network that work with businesses like yours. Most of them prequalify from the statements and a soft credit pull, so getting matched does not need a hard pull, and our post on whether a merchant cash advance affects your credit explains the difference.
Underwriters read the deposits, the daily balances and any payments to other funders, and they may come back with questions through your rep about a large transfer or an advance you listed. Answering the same day keeps the file at the front of the queue. When the file is complete, offers often come back the same day.
Online funders tend to keep applicants waiting less than banks do. In the Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 8% of loan, line of credit and cash advance applicants at online lenders reported a long wait for a credit decision or funding, compared with 21% at large banks and 16% at small banks.
How offers come back and how to compare them
Offers arrive together and in the same format, so you can read them side by side. Each one states the amount you receive, the total you pay back, the factor rate, the payment, how often it is taken and roughly how long it runs. Some states also require a standard cost disclosure with the offer. New York's Commercial Finance Disclosure Law, for example, requires providers of commercial financing of up to $2,500,000 to give standardized disclosures when an offer is made, so the terms of different offers can be compared.
Compare offers in dollars. The factor rate tells you the total, since $50,000 at a factor rate of 1.32 means $66,000 paid back, and our guide to factor rates shows how that multiplier turns into a payment. Then check the payment against a normal week of deposits, because a set daily or weekly payment comes out on slow days too. Two offers on the same amount can differ by thousands of dollars and in how often money leaves the account.
In that example, Offer B costs $6,500 less and takes a payment once a week instead of every business day. Offer A finishes in about six months and Offer B in about seven, so the cheaper offer also runs a little longer. We go through each offer with you, line by line, before anything is signed. The full method, with a worked $100,000 example, is in our guide on how to compare business loan offers side by side.
There is nothing to pay to apply or to see offers, and you are under no obligation to accept one.
Choosing an offer, signing and the verification call
When you tell your rep which offer you want, they ask for a photo of the front of your driver's license or state ID and a voided check from the business checking account. The check shows the funder the account and routing numbers it will pay into, and a clear phone photo of each is enough. The funder then finishes its review. If it runs a hard credit pull at this stage, you know before it happens.
Next comes the contract. Funding contracts are signed electronically, and under the federal E-SIGN Act a contract cannot be denied legal effect because an electronic signature was used to form it. Signing takes minutes, so spend the time on reading: the payment, the total, whether paying early reduces what you owe, and what the contract says about asking for a review of the payment if sales drop for a stretch. If the funder needs every owner to sign, the file waits for the last signature.
Before releasing money, funders usually make a short call to the owner. They confirm who you are, that you signed, that you understand the payment and the total, and which account the money goes to. The call takes a few minutes, but a missed call pauses the file until you call back, so keep your phone close after you sign.
When the money reaches your account
Once verification clears, the funder's bank sends the money by wire or by ACH, and from there the Federal Reserve's payment schedule decides the day. Under the Fedwire operating hours, banks can send customer wire transfers until 6:45 p.m. Eastern, which is 3:45 p.m. Pacific. Under the FedACH processing schedule, the last deadline for a same-day ACH file is 4:45 p.m. Eastern, or 1:45 p.m. Pacific, and anything later settles the next business morning. A funder's own bank sets earlier internal cutoffs than these.
Neither system settles payments on weekends or on the holidays the Federal Reserve observes, so an offer chosen on a Friday afternoon usually funds the following week. Most applicants we work with are funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer, and some the same day. If you need the money today, our guide to same-day business funding covers how to line every step up before the cutoffs.
What slows a merchant cash advance application down
Most delays come from the file rather than the funder, and each one usually costs a day.
- Statements sent as screenshots, missing a month or pulled from a personal account count as missing, and the file goes back to the queue until the right PDFs arrive.
- A business name or EIN that differs between the application, the bank statements and the voided check makes the underwriter stop and confirm which business is applying.
- An existing advance left off the application still shows up as debits on the statements, and explaining it later adds a round of questions that listing the balance and funder up front avoids.
- A co-owner who has not opened their signing link holds the application, and a co-owner who has not signed the contract holds the funding.
- Stopping to call a partner or an accountant after offers arrive often adds a day, so settle on the daily or weekly payment the business can carry before you apply.
- A missed verification call stops the transfer until you call back.
- Choosing an offer late on a Friday or the day before a bank holiday pushes funding past the days the payment systems are closed.
Start your merchant cash advance application
Revenue-based financing through the funders we work with runs from $5,000 to $2,000,000, is decided mainly on four months of business bank statements and usually needs no collateral. Our revenue-based financing page sets out how the payment and the total work. When your statements are downloaded, start your application, or call us at (818) 351-0225 and tell us the date you need the money.
Questions about applying for a merchant cash advance
How long does it take to get approved for a merchant cash advance?
When the application and four months of bank statements are complete, offers from the funders we work with often come back the same day, and a file that needs a second look or missing statements takes longer. The funder finishes its review after you choose an offer, and most applicants are funded within one to two business days of choosing, some the same day.
How fast can I get a merchant cash advance after I apply?
Most applicants are funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer. Same-day funding is possible when the file is complete early in the morning and the signature and verification call happen before the funder's bank cutoffs. Weekends and bank holidays add days.
What does a merchant cash advance application ask for?
Our merchant cash advance application asks for the amount, time in business, monthly revenue and a rough credit score range, then the business details including the EIN, any advances you already have, each owner's details and identity, and an electronic signature. Four months of business bank statements complete it, and a photo ID and a voided check follow once you choose an offer.
Does it cost anything to apply for a merchant cash advance?
There is nothing to pay to apply through us or to see offers, and you are under no obligation to accept one. The cost of an advance is written into the offer as a factor rate and a total payback in dollars, and any fee a funder charges appears in its agreement, so you see it before you sign.
Will applying for a merchant cash advance hurt my credit?
Applying through us does not need a hard credit pull to get matched, because most funders prequalify from your bank statements and a soft pull, which does not affect your score. A funder may run a hard pull in final underwriting after you choose its offer, and you know before that happens.
Do I have to accept an offer after I apply?
You do not. You can read every offer, go through the numbers with our team and decline all of them, and nothing is signed or funded until you sign a funder's contract.
