Brokers ask this as a counting question and funders answer it as an arithmetic one. Three small positions on a business doing $200,000 a month is a different file from two large ones on a business doing $40,000, and the count is the same.
| Positions | Typical effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | Full field, best pricing |
| 1 | Ordinary. Most funders unaffected |
| 2 | Placeable, narrower field, worse pricing |
| 3 | Specialist funders, short terms, expensive |
| 4+ | Very limited, and usually the wrong product |
Do the arithmetic instead
- Add up every daily and weekly remittance across the statements.
- Express it as a share of average daily deposits.
- Add what your proposed advance would take.
- If the total leaves the business without enough to operate, it does not matter what any funder says — the deal defaults.
What to do with a two-position file
Disclose both up front. A funder who finds a position in the statements after you told them about one reads every subsequent submission from you differently, and the cost of that lasts far longer than the deal. Position the file to funders who write second and third position deliberately rather than hoping it slips through.
Questions brokers ask
How many MCA positions can a merchant have?
One is ordinary and two is placeable with a narrower field and worse pricing. Three needs specialist funders and four or more is usually the wrong product rather than a hard search.
Does the number of positions matter more than the amount?
No. What matters is the share of daily receipts the existing remittances consume, plus what yours would add. Three small positions on a large business can be safer than two large ones on a small one.
Should you disclose all positions to the funder?
Always, up front. A position discovered in the statements after you disclosed one costs you the deal and changes how that funder reads every file you send afterwards.
When is another position simply the wrong answer?
When existing remittances plus yours would consume most of the daily takings. At that point you are not underwriting a deal, you are scheduling a default with your name on the submission.
How do you find positions the merchant did not mention?
In the statements — identical debits recurring on every business day, roughly 21 or 22 times a month. Weekly positions appear four or five times and are the ones most often missed.
Reference
The conversation with a stacked merchantWhat to establish before you place anything, and when to walk.
Alex Makowski
Founder, Infinite Bookings
Runs the lead generation operation behind Infinite Bookings — paid traffic, the funding application, and the delivery pipeline that puts records into brokers’ CRMs.
Reachable directly at alex@infinitebookings.com or 732-609-7182.