FairMCA Learn
Funders and brokers have trade press, conferences and lawyers. Merchants get a 30-page contract on a phone. These guides are for the side of the deal that signs.
Start from where you are
Calculators
Each one opens with a worked example. Type your numbers over it. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Your sales, your holdback, your payment: see what your agreement allows next to what is being debited.
Open →CalculatorSee what you repay, the cash that lands, the dollar cost, the term and an estimated APR.
Open →CalculatorWork out your real sales, then compare each payment's effective percentage with your contract's.
Open →CalculatorAdd up every payment, see the share of your sales they take and what is left.
Open →CalculatorSee your balance, payments left, an estimated payoff date and the payoff amount with any discount.
Open →CalculatorSee the cash a renewal really puts in your hand and what that cash costs.
Open →All guides by topic
The clause in many MCA agreements that is meant to bring your payment down when your sales fall, and how to ask for it.
5 guidesThe clause that is supposed to lower your payment when sales drop. How to find it, how the math works, and how to ask for it.
5 minThe holdback in your contract is a promise. The one your bank statement shows may be higher. Here is how to calculate it, step by step.
7 minNot every dollar in your bank account is a sale. How to sort deposits into real receipts, with a worked month.
7 minShort scripts, what to ask for, what never to agree to on the phone, a call log and a follow-up email.
6 minA plain-English template you can copy, what to attach, how to send it, and what to do while you wait.
What you signed, what it lets the funder do, and what to ask before you sign the next one.
4 guidesThe 14 terms that decide what you owe and when.
8 minA plain-English checklist for reading an offer, with why each question matters and where to find the answer in the contract.
8 minThe common default triggers in MCA agreements, what usually happens after one, and what is usually not a default.
7 minWhat a guaranty is, how a performance guaranty differs from a payment guaranty, how to find yours and what to ask before signing.
How an offer gets sized, and what the money really costs in dollars and as an estimated APR.
5 guidesWhy a 1.35 factor can cost far more than 35%.
8 minThe numbers funders look at, how an offer and a payment get sized from your deposits, and why deposits can overstate your sales.
7 minThe same advance paid daily or weekly: how much each payment is, how your cash flow feels, and what it does to the estimated APR.
7 minOrigination, underwriting, wire, filing and penalty fees: what each one is, where it shows up, and what it does to your real cost.
4 minWhy many MCAs do not get cheaper when you pay early, what your contract may say, and how to get a payoff in writing.
Sales fell, a payment is due, or someone is offering to make it all go away.
3 guidesA day-by-day plan for the first seven days after your sales fall while a fixed MCA payment keeps coming out.
7 minWhat to do first, and what never to do.
4 minTen signs to slow down before you hire anyone to deal with your funders, seven questions to ask, and where to find help.
Stacked positions, renewals, consolidation, and how the exits compare.
4 guidesHow second and third positions eat your cash flow.
8 minHow consolidation advances work, a worked example with three positions, and the questions to ask before you take one.
8 minEight ways people try to get out from under an MCA payment, side by side, with what each fits, costs and risks.
8 minHow the main business funding options differ on speed, cost, repayment and risk, with one example priced two ways.
The law behind MCAs in plain English. Education only: for a default, a lawsuit or a lien notice, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state.
4 guidesThe legal idea behind every MCA, the three questions New York courts ask, and what the answer does and does not mean for you.
3 minWhat a confession of judgment is, what New York changed in 2019, what that does and does not mean for your business, and what to check.
4 minWhat a UCC-1 is, what it covers, how long it lasts, how to look up what is filed against your business, and how to clear it after you pay.
4 minAt least 11 states now require funders to give small businesses written cost disclosures. Where they apply, what they ask for, and what they do not do.
The course
Find each clause in your own contract, see what it costs in dollars, and know what to ask. Lesson 1 is free.