Every business loan underwriter — fintech, bank, SBA, MCA — has the same first 60 seconds with your file. They open three things and make a tentative decision before they read a word.
The three numbers
1. Monthly deposits (average, last 3 months). This is their shortcut for revenue, and they trust it more than anything you write on the application. From Plaid or your PDF bank statements, they take the sum of credit transactions in each month, divide by 3, and get your average monthly deposits. Everything else keys off this.
2. Personal FICO. A proxy for "is this human a credit risk." For MCA, they care less (500+ fine). For a fintech line, they want 660+. For SBA, 680+. For a bank, 700+.
3. Time in business. Measured from the earlier of: your business bank account open date, your business's formal entity filing date, or your EIN issue date. 6 months is the absolute floor for most lenders. 2+ years opens most products. 5+ years unlocks bank and SBA.
If those three numbers clear the lender's floor, your file moves to detailed review. If not, you get the auto-decline before anyone looks.
The detailed review
Once your file clears the top-line check, they dig into bank statements. The red flags, in rough order of severity:
- Negative days: how many days did your balance go below $0 (overdraft)? More than 3 in a month is a hard problem. More than 10 in a month = decline for most lenders.
- NSF fees: non-sufficient funds charges. Each one visible in your statement is a flag.
- Existing MCA debits: daily or weekly ACH pulls to names like "On Deck," "Fundbox," "Kapitus," "Lendr," "Rapid Finance," "Credibly," "PIRS," "Yellowstone," etc. Even one existing MCA makes most new MCA funders cautious. Two is "stacked" — most will decline. Three and you're in default-risk territory.
- Volatile deposits: average $80K/month, but one month was $150K and another was $20K. Underwriters model worst-case and underwrite to the lower months.
- Few monthly deposits: one lump deposit of $80K vs 120 smaller deposits throughout the month are very different risk profiles. More, smaller deposits = more credible operating business.
- Large gambling or crypto transactions: more conservative lenders deprioritize these files.
- Tax levies or legal garnishments: visible from "IRS" or court withdrawals. Shows resolved vs unresolved issues.
What they absolutely verify
- Bank account ownership: they check that the business bank account's name matches the legal business entity on your application. If your account is personal but you say the business is an LLC, red flag.
- Your identity: SSN + name match through your credit file. KYC software runs in the background.
- Entity existence: state Secretary of State filings. If you claim an LLC, they verify it's active, not dissolved.
- Industry: NAICS code. Some industries are declined outright by certain funders (adult, cannabis, firearms, high-risk ecommerce).
The easy fixes
If you have 60 days before you apply, three moves that meaningfully improve your file:
- Zero negative days for 90 days straight. Keep a buffer. Any overdraft inside the 3-month statement window is visible.
- Drop credit utilization below 10%. Pay down before statement close (see our utilization guide). This improves the FICO they pull.
- Clean up existing MCAs if possible. An existing MCA that pays off within the next 60 days dramatically improves what a new lender will offer. If you have an active MCA, mention it upfront — don't hide it. They WILL see it.
What they weigh less than you think
- Business plan narrative. Fintech lenders don't read business plans. SBA still does.
- Tax returns. Fintech uses bank statements; SBA uses tax returns. For most fast products, no returns needed.
- P&L statements you prepared. Underwriters trust statements they derive from your bank data, not ones you prepared. For loans over $500K and SBA, formal financials matter.
Your move
The faster you can get a lender those three top-line numbers, the faster you get a real offer. Our form takes 3 minutes because we're collecting exactly the data an underwriter cares about — no filler.