The short answer
Give the honest structural answer — pricing on an advance is set by the bank statements, so any number before you have seen them is invented — then immediately give a range so the merchant is not left with nothing. Refusing to say anything at all reads as evasion and loses the call; quoting a specific factor to hold their attention loses the deal later when the real offer arrives.
This is the first hard moment on most calls. The merchant wants a number, you genuinely do not have one, and the two obvious responses — a made-up figure or a flat refusal — both lose. The workable answer is a structure and a band, delivered in that order.
The answer
"Pricing on this is set off your bank statements — the deposits, the balances and what is already coming out. Anyone giving you a number before they have seen those is guessing, and the guess is always lower than the offer. What I can tell you is the range this sort of file usually lands in, and then we get you a real number today rather than a guess now."
Give them the band
| If the merchant asks | Give |
|---|---|
| "What is the rate?" | The factor band, framed as where files like theirs land |
| "What will the payment be?" | A holdback percentage of receipts, not a dollar figure |
| "How long is the term?" | The usual range in months, and what moves it |
| "What are the fees?" | A straight answer. This one you can actually give. |
Fees are the exception worth noticing. Origination and administrative fees are usually knowable in advance, so answering that one precisely buys you credibility for the questions you genuinely have to answer with a range.
If they will not move on
A merchant who refuses to proceed without a firm number before underwriting is often shopping several brokers with the same demand and will take whoever quotes lowest — which means whoever is least honest wins the appointment and loses it back at the offer. Say the band once more, ask for the statements, and let them go if they will not. That merchant costs more to chase than to lose.