Editorial standards and how we make money
What we check, where our money comes from, and what happens to the information you send us. If anything here is unclear, email [email protected].
Who we are
MCA Guide is an independent comparison and matching service for business owners considering a merchant cash advance. We are not a lender, funder, broker of record, or financial advisor. We don't issue advances, make credit decisions, or set the terms of any offer.
Our guides are written and reviewed by the MCA Guide editorial team. We don't attach invented names, titles, or credentials to our content.
How we research
Every guide is checked against primary sources wherever they exist:
- Provider rate sheets, published terms, and provider websites
- State commercial-financing disclosure statutes and regulator guidance
- Published SBA and Federal Reserve small-business data
Cost examples use the same arithmetic everywhere on the site: advance × factor rate = total repayment, and a simple annualized rate based on the repayment term. We say when a figure is a simple estimate, because the true amortized APR on daily or weekly payments runs higher. Our calculator shows the math.
How we compare providers
Our directory profiles 24 providers on the same fields: factor-rate range, advance amounts, minimum requirements, repayment structure, and published policies such as early-payoff discounts. Profiles are compiled from publicly available information and re-checked when terms change.
Terms change often, and an individual offer can differ from a provider's published range. Always confirm terms with the provider before you sign.
How we make money
MCA Guide is free for business owners. We may be compensated when you connect with a provider through our site, for example through referral or advertising arrangements. That compensation is how we keep the site free.
Compensation does not change the provider information we publish. Factor-rate ranges, requirements, and the cost math are the same whether or not a provider has a relationship with us.
Our funding marketplace partner: 1West Finance
Funding requests submitted through forms on MCA Guide are shared with 1West Finance, our funding marketplace partner. 1West matches requests with available providers and may compensate MCA Guide. 1West also appears in our directory and comparisons; wherever it does, we note the partnership.
Where your request goes
When you submit a funding request, we send it to one partner, not a list of brokers. We don't sell your personal information. A provider may later ask your permission to run a credit check before making an offer; submitting a request on our site is not itself a credit application. You can decline any offer.
Our privacy policy explains what we collect and how it's shared. Never send us Social Security numbers, bank logins, or full account numbers.
Updates and corrections
We update pages when rates, laws, or provider terms change, and each guide shows the date it was last updated. If you find an error, email [email protected] with the page and the correction. We fix confirmed errors as soon as we can.
About our images
The photographs of business owners on this site are AI-generated editorial illustrations. They show representative scenes, not real customers, and we never present them as people who used our service.
See also our disclaimer and terms of service. Content on MCA Guide is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice.