Merchant Cash Advance Services
Pick the structure from what your bank account already carries.
Funding amount you're looking for
Business funding for owners with business bank deposits. Not personal or payday cash.
Applying won’t affect your credit.
A business with no advance usually starts with a standard merchant cash advance. One advance with room left can fit a second position, two can fit the narrow third-position market, and payments that crowd out payroll point to consolidation. Each row below links to the page that goes deeper.
We're not a funder.
We don't fund deals ourselves. We shop yours with funders who do, so you see more than one offer.
Only funders that fit.
Your file goes to funders that work with your industry and your deal size. Nobody else sees it.
You make the call.
Every offer comes to you in writing. Nothing happens until you pick one.
- What it costs to apply
- Nothing. Applying costs you nothing, and Afterfirst MCA charges you no fee.
- Credit
- Ask us how each funder checks credit before you agree to anything.
- Speed
- We call you back and talk with you before your file goes to any funder.
- Offers
- Every offer shows the total payback, the payment amount, how often it comes out, and the term.
How do you choose between a second position, a third position and consolidation?
You choose by reading the stack first and what you need second. We list every current funder, the original purchased amount, the estimated remaining balance and the payment amount and frequency. Then we set the total payments against a month of actual deposits, meaning deposits after transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds and returned items come out.
| What the statement shows | Structure we usually shop | Why |
|---|---|---|
| No advance on the account | Merchant cash advance | Clean file; the question is fit, not position |
| One advance, room left after it clears | Second position MCA | New funder sits behind the first and prices that risk |
| Two advances, still paying on time | Third position MCA | Narrow market; we check whether it helps or hurts |
| Payments crowding out payroll and vendors | MCA consolidation | Replaces several payments with one, if the math works |
Every funder sets its own criteria, so the table is a starting point for our read, never a promise of what any funder will do.
MCA funding prices change with position
MCA funding is usually priced higher at each later position, because each new funder collects behind the ones already pulling. The price shows up in the factor rate, the offer size and the estimated term together.
Price signals in a later-position offer
A later position rarely changes just one number. Owners should expect several of the terms to move against them at once, and compare them together.
A second behind a small first
When the first advance is small relative to deposits, a second-position funder has more room to work with. Offers in that case can look closer to what the first advance carried.
Shorter estimated terms from second-position funders
Second-position funders often shorten the estimated term to limit how long they sit behind the first. A shorter term means a larger daily debit for the same purchased amount.
Turning the term into a debit amount
Always convert the estimated term into a debit amount before comparing offers. Two offers with the same factor can land very differently on a Tuesday balance.
Holdback splits in place of a fixed debit
A second-position offer on a split holdback takes a larger share of card sales instead of a larger fixed amount. Convert that share into a typical week's dollars too.
What our team declines to shop
Our team declines to shop a file when another position would make the account worse, not better. If the existing payments already take most of what comes in, a new advance just adds a payment. In that case we say so, and we point to the Guide on payments that are too high rather than sending your file around.
We also pass when the statements don't support what you need. That is a reading of your file, and it's not a judgment of the owner.
How brokers use this table
Brokers use the table as a pre-sort so your file lands in the right funder boxes on the first send. If you already know the stack, put it in your application and name the structure you think fits. We'll tell you if we read it differently.
Each structure, with the page that explains it
- MCA consolidation: trading several daily payments for one
MCA consolidation replaces several advance debits with one. How payoff letters work and the two tests we show: daily debit and total payback.
- How does a merchant cash advance work, from offer to payoff?
How does a merchant cash advance work? Purchase price, factor rate, holdback, remittance and reconciliation, in the order funders read them.
- What a second position merchant cash advance takes to place
A second position merchant cash advance sits behind the advance you already pay. What funders read after the first payments, and the clause we check.
- When a third position merchant cash advance helps, and when it hurts
Third position merchant cash advance files are a narrow market. When a third helps, when consolidation fits better, and when we pass on your file.
Choosing a structure
What is a position in merchant cash advance terms?
A position is the order in which a merchant cash advance was taken relative to others still being paid. The first advance on the account is the first position, the next one is the second position, and so on. Later positions usually cost more because more payments are ahead of them.
Can one business have both a consolidation and a new advance?
Some consolidation offers include extra working capital on top of the payoffs, and some don't. The funder decides that based on the account after the old payments stop. We show the net cash, if any, as its own line on the comparison.
Does our team shop first-position files?
Yes, our team also shops files with no current advance. Our focus is harder paper, but a clean file goes through the same read and the same side-by-side comparison. The mechanics are explained in our merchant cash advance overview.
What if the right answer is no new funding?
When no new funding is the right answer, our team says so and shows the numbers that led there. A file that should wait is better served by a reconciliation request or a talk with counsel than by another payment. You can come back when the account looks different.
Which merchant cash advance service fits my business?
Start with what the bank account shows. No open advance points to a first-position advance or a line of credit. One or two advances you're keeping up with points to a second or third position. Payments stacked past what deposits can carry point to consolidation or a reverse consolidation. We read the statements and tell you which one the numbers support.
Do these services cost anything to apply for?
No. Applying costs you nothing, and Afterfirst MCA charges you no fee. The funder pays us a commission when a deal funds, and how we're paid explains how we do earn money: a monthly membership and a commission when a deal funds.
Sources
- The Federal Trade Commission Asks owners to study any financing offer and ask what happens if a payment is missed (business blog), a check that applies to every MCA funding structure on this page.
Afterfirst is not a funder; all offers are subject to funder underwriting.
Illustrative example case
Illustrative example, not a real client. Figures are made up to show how this product can look.
- Illustrative example, not a real client Sample file. A business with steady deposits sends one application. Afterfirst reviews it, shops funders that fit, and shows offers side by side. The owner picks one or walks away. Funding follows once approved and signed.
What happens after you apply
Apply
Send one free application online or by phone. A person on our team reads it before any funder sees it.
Review
We call you, to fill gaps and confirm bank statements.
Offers compared
We shop your file with funders that fit and show every offer side by side: payback, payment, and term.
You choose
Pick an offer or walk away. Nothing is final until you sign the funder's contract.
Funding
Once you sign, the funder sends the money straight to your business bank account.
Send one file.
See what fits.
Call 877-FUND-654 with questions.