Behind on payments, or wondering about merchant cash advance usury?
Pick the situation closest to yours. You'll get a calm read on where you stand, your first steps, and an honest look at every option, even the ones that don't involve us.
Nothing here is a sales pitch. You won't need an account, there's no credit pull, and nobody contacts you unless you ask.
Start here
Choose the situation closest to yours:
- I was declinedBeing declined tells you something, but it doesn't pass judgment on your business.
- I'm behind on paymentsFalling behind on remittances for an advance is serious, but it can be negotiated.
- I have more than one advanceTwo positions can be fine.
- I want outYou can get out of a merchant cash advance in five ways: paying it down, paying it off early, refinancing it, settling it or letting it run its course.
You were declined. This is what that means, and what it doesn't.
Being declined tells you something, but it doesn't pass judgment on your business. Five things account for most declines, and every one of them has a fix or a workaround.
What to do first
- Request the reason in writing Funders and banks will usually name the requirement you fell short on: time in business, deposits, NSF days, an open position or credit. What you fix depends on which one it was.
- Go through your bank statements from the past three months and count the days with an NSF or a negative balance Those are the days an underwriter counted, and more than three or four in a month is the most frequent hidden cause.
- Hold off on applying everywhere at once Sending a dozen applications in one week signals distress to the next underwriter and may set off hard credit pulls you never needed.
You've fallen behind on the daily or weekly payments. These are the steps to take ahead of the next draft.
Falling behind on remittances for an advance is serious, but it can be negotiated. The next few business days count for more than anything that has already happened.
What to do first
- Go through the default and reconciliation sections in your agreement before today is over Find out whether there is a confession of judgment, which state's law governs, and whether the agreement includes revenue-based reconciliation.
- Get in touch with the funder before you miss a third draft, not once you already have — Most funders would rather adjust the daily amount than start collections. That conversation gets tougher once a notice has been sent.
- Find the true figure: your total daily remittances divided by your average daily deposits Past roughly 15–20%, most businesses can't keep up with the load. Whether a restructure will do or a bigger change is needed comes down to that number.
You have more than one advance open. This is how to see everything you carry and what brings it down.
Two positions can be fine. When you hold three or more, each one taken to cover the last, even a profitable business can run out of cash. Getting out begins with a single table that tells the truth.
What to do first
- Write down each position with its funder, date, amount received, total purchased amount, daily or weekly draft and remaining balance — Owners almost never have this in one place. Until that exists, no one can say what your options really are: not you, not a partner, not an attorney.
- Total your daily load and divide it by your average daily deposits — That share is the whole story. Below 10% you can manage, 10–20% is tight, and over 20% calls for a change right away.
- Read every agreement for a clause that bars stacking A new advance could already breach an older agreement, and that affects which next steps are safe.
You want out of your advance. These are all the ways out, along with what each one really costs.
You can get out of a merchant cash advance in five ways: paying it down, paying it off early, refinancing it, settling it or letting it run its course. Every option has a cost, and not all of those costs are measured in dollars.
What to do first
- Look in your agreement for the remaining purchased amount and any discount for paying early Because a factor rate is fixed, paying early saves you nothing unless the agreement spells out a discount. Plenty of agreements include one, and most owners never ask about it.
- Get a payoff letter from the funder The letter gives the exact amount and the date it holds until. Anything else is guesswork.
- Weigh what it costs to pay it off against what the replacement would cost If a refinance costs more over its life than what's left on the advance, it isn't a way out; it just extends your stay.
Honest, in order, and no shame.
You are not the first
Every situation on this site is common. Ordinary things push owners into declines, missed payments and stacked advances: a slow quarter, a customer who pays late, a tax bill. The way out is also ordinary.
First steps before options
Each situation opens with what to do over the next few business days, mostly at no cost, and only then mentions any product.
All your choices, even the ones that don't involve us
Next to anything from our network, the same table lists a bank, an SBA lender, your current funder, an attorney and simply waiting for now, each with its real cost.
Cost in dollars, not just a rate
Every factor rate is shown with its APR-equivalent and total payback, since a 1.3 over six months does not equal 30%.
Plain answers before you talk to anyone.
Is this a lender?
No. Pemberton Business Resolution is a guide. If asking for funding options fits your situation, we send the request to a funding partner in our network, and that partner pays us if a deal funds. We say so openly, and we also say so when a bank, an attorney or your current funder is the better choice.
Does my credit take a hit if I read this or start a request?
Reading costs nothing and asks nothing. Starting a request does not pull credit. Should you go ahead with a specific offer later, the funding partner may run a soft or hard inquiry, and you will be told which one before it happens.
I'm behind on payments right now. What should I do today?
Go through your agreement's default and reconciliation sections, reach out to the funder before the third missed draft, and don't cover the old advance with a new one. The behind-on-payments situation walks through each step.
Is consolidation a good idea?
Sometimes. For a business with healthy deposits and two or more positions, a true consolidation can cut the daily load in half. Or it may simply be a larger advance over a longer term. Put total payback before and after side by side, with the factor rate's APR-equivalent next to it, and make the decision with the full number in view.
What if the truthful answer is not to borrow at all?
Then that is the answer you get. A number of the options here aren't funding at all: waiting a quarter, letting positions run off, negotiating with your funder, or getting help from an attorney or a nonprofit business counselor.
Can I just ask a question?
Yes. Send us an email or a note, and someone at the desk will write back within one business day. Asking a question doesn't require starting a request.
The products and the math, plainly.
Plain explanations of the products and the math: the dollar cost of a factor rate, how consolidation actually works, what a reconciliation clause is for, and when a bank is the better choice.
Not sure which situation is yours?
Write a few lines about what is going on. You'll get a straight answer from a real person within one business day.