Merchant cash advance daily payments and weekly payments work the same way: the funder debits a set amount from your business bank account by ACH, either every business day or once a week, until it has collected the purchased amount in your contract. The payment is sized on your usual revenue, it is the same amount every time, and it stops when the agreed total has been paid. As an example, a $50,000 advance at a factor rate of 1.35 is repaid as $67,500, which works out to about $536 each business day over six months or about $2,596 a week over the same six months. Below are the full numbers at three example factor rates, plus what holidays, account balances and returned payments mean for the schedule.
Our guide to how a merchant cash advance works covers the offer, the contract and the two ways collection can be set up. This post stays with the set ACH debit.
How a merchant cash advance is repaid
When you sign, you authorize the funder to debit your business checking account on a schedule. Each debit goes through the ACH network, the same system a utility uses to collect a monthly bill. In Nacha's description of how ACH payments work, the company collecting the money is the originator, its bank passes the instruction to an ACH operator (the Federal Reserve or The Clearing House), and your bank withdraws the funds from your account.
On a daily schedule the debit runs every business day, Monday through Friday, and never on a weekend. On a weekly schedule it runs once a week on a set weekday. In both cases the amount stays the same from the first payment to the last, apart from the final one, which is whatever is left of the purchased amount after rounding. Because the price was fixed at signing as a factor rate, nothing accrues while the advance is open, and once the total is collected the debits end.
How merchant cash advance payments are sized
The funder starts with your last four months of business bank statements. It totals the real sales deposits in each month, looks at how steady they are and what the account holds on a normal day, and notes any payments already going to other funders. From the average month it works out a usual business day or a usual week, and it sets the payment as a share of that figure, so a normal week of sales carries the payment comfortably. Our post on how much you can get with a merchant cash advance walks through that sizing at three revenue levels.
Take a business that deposits about $80,000 a month. With about 21 business days in a month, a usual business day brings in roughly $3,810, and a usual week brings in roughly $18,460. In the $50,000 example below at a factor rate of 1.35, the six-month payments ($536 a day or $2,596 a week) are each about 14% of a usual day or week, and the nine-month payments ($357 a day or $1,731 a week) are about 9%. Those shares are examples, and every funder sets its own. The payment is set against what the business normally deposits, and the term is however many payments it takes to reach the purchased amount.
Several states require the payment in writing before you sign. Florida's disclosure law, section 559.9613, requires the total to be paid, the total dollar cost, and the manner, frequency and amount of each payment. New York's disclosure rule, 23 NYCRR Part 600, and California's, 10 CCR section 914, both give sales-based financing an "Estimated Payment" row, written as the amount followed by its frequency, and an "Estimated Term" row. Our guide to merchant cash advance terms explains each line of an offer.
A $50,000 merchant cash advance in dollars
The figures below are examples, not quotes or the terms of any funder. They use three example factor rates on the same $50,000 and leave out any fee taken at funding, which an offer lists separately. The factor rate sets the total you repay, and the payment frequency and term only decide how that total is split up.
| Example factor rate | Total payback | Cost in dollars | Cost per dollar received |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.25 | $62,500 | $12,500 | 25 cents |
| 1.35 | $67,500 | $17,500 | 35 cents |
| 1.45 | $72,500 | $22,500 | 45 cents |
The cost stays the same whether the advance is repaid in six months or nine, because the factor rate applies once to the amount funded. Funders usually price a longer term with a higher factor rate, so a nine-month offer and a six-month offer on the same file will rarely carry the same rate. Our factor rates explained post shows how to read the rate next to fees and early payoff terms.
Merchant cash advance daily payments on $50,000
A six-month term at about 21 business days a month is about 126 debits, and a nine-month term is about 189. Each payment is the total payback divided by the number of debits, rounded to the dollar.
| Example factor rate | Daily payment over 6 months (126 debits) | Daily payment over 9 months (189 debits) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.25 ($62,500) | About $496 | About $331 |
| 1.35 ($67,500) | About $536 | About $357 |
| 1.45 ($72,500) | About $575 | About $384 |
Merchant cash advance weekly payments on $50,000
Six months is 26 weeks and nine months is 39 weeks, so a weekly schedule has 26 or 39 payments.
| Example factor rate | Weekly payment over 6 months (26 payments) | Weekly payment over 9 months (39 payments) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.25 ($62,500) | About $2,404 | About $1,603 |
| 1.35 ($67,500) | About $2,596 | About $1,731 |
| 1.45 ($72,500) | About $2,788 | About $1,859 |
A weekly payment comes out a little lower than five daily payments on the same advance and term. At 1.35 over six months, five daily payments of $536 add up to $2,680 against a weekly payment of $2,596. Bank holidays remove business days from a daily schedule but leave every week of a weekly schedule in place, so the same total is spread over slightly fewer daily debits.
How many payments there are, and what bank holidays do
The count of 21 business days a month comes from the banking calendar. The Federal Reserve's holiday schedule lists 11 holidays for 2026, and FedACH processing pauses for each one. Independence Day falls on a Saturday that year and the Reserve Banks open the Friday before, so 10 of the holidays land on a weekday. That leaves 251 banking days in the year, or just under 21 a month, which is the figure used in the tables above.
On a daily schedule, a bank holiday is a day with no debit. The number of payments stays the same, so the final payment lands one business day later for each holiday along the way. Some contracts handle it differently and collect the missed day's amount on the next business day, so check how your payment schedule treats holidays before the first one comes around.
On a weekly schedule, a payment due on a holiday moves to the next business day. Nacha describes this as common practice for bills, which are collected on the next business day when the due date falls on a weekend or holiday. A Monday debit in the week of Labor Day, for example, would run on Tuesday instead.
What to keep in the business account
Keep enough in the account to cover each debit on the day it posts. According to Nacha, ACH debits settle either the same day or the next banking day, so the money needs to be there when the funder's debit arrives, not later that afternoon when a card batch lands. On a daily schedule that is one payment, about $536 in the 1.35 example. On a weekly schedule it is the whole weekly amount, about $2,596, on a single day.
Know which other automatic debits (rent, insurance, payroll taxes, a loan payment) hit the same account and on which days. Keep a cushion of a few days' payments, or a full week's payment on a weekly schedule, so a late customer payment does not reach the funder's debit. On a weekly schedule, ask whether the debit day can fall after your biggest deposit day of the week, for example a Tuesday debit for a business that deposits its weekend sales on Monday.
What a missed or returned payment means
If the account cannot cover a debit, your bank returns it unpaid, usually as insufficient funds. Your bank may charge its own returned item fee, and many merchant cash advance contracts list a separate fee for each returned payment, so read the fee section of the offer before you sign. The funder will usually try the payment again or contact you about it.
A single returned payment followed by a call and a catch-up is usually routine. A run of returned payments, or moving deposits to another account, can count as a breach under the default section of many contracts, and returned items show up on the statements a funder reads for your next offer. If you see a short stretch coming, call the funder before the debit date rather than after it. Many contracts include a reconciliation clause that compares what was collected with the agreed share of your actual receipts, and it is worth asking about before you sign; our merchant cash advance reconciliation post explains how a request works. If several advances are each taking a debit, MCA consolidation can replace them with one weekly or monthly payment on a longer term, although the total may not go down.
Daily or weekly payments: which fits your business
Daily payments are smaller and line up with businesses that deposit money every day, such as restaurants, retail stores, salons and auto shops that settle card sales daily. The trade-off is more line items to reconcile in your books and a schedule that holidays stretch by a day here and there.
Weekly payments suit businesses whose money arrives in larger, less frequent deposits, such as contractors, trucking companies and professional services firms paid by check or ACH from their own customers. One debit a week is simpler to plan around and to record, but the full weekly amount has to sit in the account on one day.
Payment frequency is set offer by offer, along with the factor rate and the term, so compare the total payback first and the payment second. The example below shows two offers on the same $50,000 where the cheaper one also happens to be weekly; on another file the numbers could run the other way. If you plan to clear the balance ahead of schedule, our merchant cash advance early payoff post explains when paying early lowers the total and when it only ends the debits sooner.
When to use a merchant cash advance
An advance is built for speed and for businesses whose bank statements are stronger than their collateral or their credit file. Funders decide mainly on deposits, and advances are typically funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer. That makes an advance a good fit when the money has a clear job and a short payback window.
Inventory is the most common example. A store that can buy $50,000 of stock at a supplier's discount before a busy season, and expects to sell it for well over the purchase price within a few months, can set the $17,500 cost of a 1.35 advance against the margin on that stock. A job that pays later is another. A contractor who needs materials and crew for a project that pays 45 days after completion can start now, carry the weekly payment from ongoing revenue and collect the full contract amount when the customer pays.
In each case, set the cost in dollars against what the money earns or saves, and make sure a usual week of deposits covers the payment with room to spare. If the need can wait several weeks and you qualify for a bank loan, a longer loan will usually have a smaller payment, and we can show you both.
How to get offers through us
Our revenue-based financing runs from $5,000 to $2,000,000. You fill in a short form and upload four months of business bank statements, and the funders in our network that work with businesses like yours send offers. We put them side by side with the total payback, the payment amount, daily or weekly frequency and the estimated term for each, and go through them with you before anything is signed. There is nothing to pay to apply or to see offers, and getting matched does not need a hard credit pull.
The funders we work with generally look for about a year in business and about $20,000 a month in deposits. If you are not there yet, apply anyway, because some funders work with newer or smaller businesses and we will tell you plainly what is realistic. You can start your application or call us at (818) 351-0225 to talk through a payment that fits your deposits.
Frequently asked questions
How is a merchant cash advance repaid?
A merchant cash advance is usually repaid through a set ACH debit from your business bank account, taken every business day or once a week until the funder has collected the purchased amount in the contract.
What is the daily payment on a $50,000 merchant cash advance?
At an example factor rate of 1.35, a $50,000 merchant cash advance is repaid as $67,500, which is about $536 a business day over six months (about 126 debits) or about $357 a business day over nine months (about 189 debits); at 1.25 the six-month figure is about $496, and at 1.45 it is about $575.
What are the weekly payments on a $50,000 merchant cash advance?
At an example factor rate of 1.35, the $67,500 total is about $2,596 a week over 26 weeks or about $1,731 a week over 39 weeks, while at 1.25 the six-month weekly payment is about $2,404 and at 1.45 it is about $2,788.
Are merchant cash advance payments taken on weekends and bank holidays?
Merchant cash advance payments are not taken on weekends or bank holidays, because ACH debits only settle on banking days; a daily schedule skips the holiday and runs one business day longer, and a weekly payment that falls on a holiday is usually collected on the next business day, though your contract's payment schedule has the final word.
What happens if a merchant cash advance payment is returned?
A returned payment usually brings a returned item fee from your bank, any returned payment fee in the contract and a call or second attempt from the funder, so call the funder before the debit date when you see a short stretch coming.
When should you use a merchant cash advance?
A merchant cash advance fits when you need money within a day or two for a clear purpose, such as stock bought at a discount, materials for a job that pays on completion or an urgent repair, and a usual week of deposits covers the set payment with room to spare.
