Free tool

Merchant cash advance calculator

An MCA is quoted as a factor rate, not an interest rate — which makes it look far cheaper than it is. This converts it into an annualised cost you can compare with anything else.

Your figures

Estimates only. Your actual terms depend on your business profile.

What it costs

Total repayable
Cost of the advance
Months to repay
Equivalent annual rate

Want these figures emailed to you?

We will send this calculation and, if it is useful, point you at the funding options worth looking at. Found Funding is an introducer to Swoop — we do not lend and we do not give advice. No newsletter, no drip sequence, just a reply from a person.

Why the factor rate flatters it

A factor rate of 1.35 on £25,000 means you repay £33,750. That sounds like 35%. It is not 35% a year — it is 35% over however long the repayment takes, and because an MCA is repaid as a percentage of card takings, a good trading month makes it more expensive in annual terms, not less.

Repay that £33,750 over nine months and the equivalent annual cost is not far off 70%. That is the number to hold next to a term loan quote, and it is the number no MCA quote shows you.

When it still makes sense

Genuinely short bridges where speed matters more than price, and businesses with card takings but no assets to secure against. It is expensive money, not bad money — the mistake is using it for something that was never short-term.

If you are already in one and the trading is sound, refinancing is usually the single biggest saving available to you — and it is one of the more common reasons businesses run a funding search in the first place. We are an introducer: we put your profile in front of the lenders on Swoop’s panel and you deal with whoever fits. We do not lend, and we are not a broker.

See what your business actually qualifies for

It takes a few minutes to see what your business is eligible for. Free, impartial, no pressure.

Find Funding