Published October 26, 2026. Rates, ranges and requirements described are typical for the business funding market and change over time; final terms always depend on the participating lender's review. Let's Syndicate is a commercial funding marketplace, not a lender.
Revenue-based funding is the business financing model that made no credit check lending mainstream: the funder advances capital against your deposits and is repaid as a fixed percentage of your daily revenue. Your credit score is, at most, a footnote.
It is also one of the most misunderstood products in the market, because its pricing uses factor rates rather than APRs. This guide covers how the underwriting works and how to do the pricing math honestly.
Approval on Cash Flow, Not Credit
The underwriting question in revenue-based funding is simple: does this business's deposit history support this advance with this repayment rhythm? The funder reads your statements for volume, consistency, trend, average daily balance and existing obligations, then sizes an advance accordingly.
Credit enters only as a screen for showstoppers like an open bankruptcy. A 580 score with six months of clean, growing deposits outcompetes a 720 score with chaotic statements every day of the week in this model.
How Revenue-Based Underwriting Works
- Deposit volume sets the ceiling: advances commonly run 50–150 percent of average monthly deposits.
- Consistency moves the pricing tier: steady or growing deposits beat volatile ones at the same volume.
- Average daily balance matters: it must comfortably absorb the projected daily or weekly remittance.
- Existing positions reduce capacity: debits from other advances already hitting the account lower the offer.
Because the application is essentially your statements, decisions are same-day and funding commonly follows within 24 to 72 hours of acceptance.
The Real Cost: Factor Rates With a Worked Example
A factor rate of 1.25 on a $50,000 advance means you repay $62,500, a flat $12,500 cost, regardless of how fast you repay unless the product offers early-payoff discounts. The repayment is a fixed percentage of each day's deposits, so strong days collect more and weak days collect less.
The honest way to evaluate that cost is against what the capital does. A $50,000 advance that buys inventory turning in six weeks at a healthy margin, or that bridges receivables worth $80,000 into payroll coverage, is cheap at 1.25. The same advance spent on expenses with no return is expensive at 1.10. Factor-rate math is business math, not APR math.
Revenue-Based Funding vs. a Bank Loan
| Bank term loan | Revenue-based funding | |
|---|---|---|
| Underwriting basis | Credit, history, collateral | Deposit history and cash flow |
| Time to fund | 30–90 days | 1–3 days |
| Credit impact | Hard inquiry | Soft check or none |
| Repayment | Fixed monthly payment | Fixed percentage of daily revenue |
| Bad months | Same payment regardless | Collects less when revenue dips |
| Typical cost | Prime + spread | Factor 1.15–1.40 |
The bank loan wins on rate; revenue-based funding wins on speed, accessibility and the repayment's flex with revenue. Businesses that use both well treat revenue-based funding as the bridge and the bank product as the destination, and pre-qualify through a marketplace so the offers can be compared across hundreds of lenders in one pass.
Compare related funding options
Explore revenue_term_loan, revenue_credit_line through Let's Syndicate. Bring a specific budget, your existing obligations and a conservative cash forecast. Final availability and requirements depend on the participating lender's review.
Frequently asked questions
Does revenue-based funding require a credit check?
Most revenue-based funders use a soft pull to screen for active bankruptcies, or none at all. Your consumer credit score does not drive the approval decision; your deposit history does.
How is revenue-based funding repaid?
As a fixed percentage of your daily deposits collected automatically, so remittances rise and fall with your revenue instead of hitting a flat monthly number.
Is revenue-based funding expensive?
It costs more than bank debt, priced as factor rates commonly between 1.15 and 1.40. Whether it is expensive for your business depends on the return the capital generates and how quickly you can retire it.
Small Business Lending Rule (Regulation B)
Federal regulatory guidance on small business lending requirements and equal credit opportunity standards.
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