Can I get funding if I already have a merchant cash advance?

Yes, you can. Having an open merchant cash advance does not disqualify you, and plenty of businesses with one or more positions get funded. What changes is which route makes sense, and getting that part right is the difference between solving the problem and compounding it.

The three ways this usually goes

1. Refinance or consolidate. A new position pays off the existing advance or advances, leaving one payment instead of several. Usually a longer term and a lower payment, which frees up daily cash flow immediately. For most owners carrying a position this is the right answer, and it is a specific product rather than a general idea: see MCA refinancing, or take it straight to Merchant Fund Express, who underwrite these in house rather than passing the file around.
2. Do not renew without a competing offer. Your current funder will offer you a renewal, and they are counting on you taking it without looking. A renewal is the moment they have you: you are mid-position, you need the cash, and they know you are unlikely to shop. That is exactly when pricing gets worse, not better. Get a second number first. Merchant Fund Express will look at your existing position and quote against it, so you can see what your renewal is actually worth before you sign it.
3. Take an additional position. Possible, and sometimes right when the money buys something that clearly earns more than it costs. Priced higher because the risk is higher, so the maths has to work on the slow month, not the good one.

What an underwriter is checking

Existing positions show up in your bank statements as daily or weekly debits, so there is no point leaving them out. The underwriter is answering one question: can the account comfortably carry this payment as well as the ones already there?

• How much of the existing advance is left to pay
• What the current daily or weekly debits total
• Whether deposits have held up since the advance was taken
• Negative days since it started, which is the clearest sign the payment is too heavy

Strong deposits and a clean account with one position is a very fundable file. Thin deposits, negative days and three positions is a different conversation.

Products that do not compete for the same cash

Some funding is secured against something specific rather than your daily deposits, so an existing advance matters much less:

• Equipment financing is secured by the equipment itself.
• Invoice factoring is underwritten on your customers' credit and advances against invoices you have already earned.

The one thing to avoid

Taking a new advance purely to make the payments on the last one, then another to cover both. Each is smaller and costs more than the one before. That spiral is what people mean by stacking, and it is worth naming because it is avoidable: if the payments are already tight, consolidating is the move, not adding.

Be straightforward about what you are carrying. It is visible in the statements anyway, and a funder can only structure a consolidation properly if they can see the whole picture.

If you are carrying a position right now, the useful next step is a real quote against it rather than more reading. Merchant Fund Express reviews existing advances and quotes refinances and consolidations directly, and a real underwriter looks at the file. Merchant Fund Express is a partner of The Company Chronicle.

Questions owners ask

Can I get a second position?

Often yes, depending on deposits, how much of the first advance is left, and whether the account has stayed clean. Pricing reflects the added risk.

Is refinancing better than taking another advance?

Usually. Consolidating several payments into one typically lowers the total daily or weekly outgoing and simplifies the cash flow, instead of layering a second debit on top of the first.

Do I have to tell a funder about my existing advance?

Yes, and there is no downside to it. The debits are plainly visible in your bank statements, and full disclosure is what lets a funder structure a payoff or consolidation.

How much of my advance should be paid off before I apply?

Many funders look for roughly half, though strong deposits and clean banking can matter more than the exact percentage.

Related

• Will applying hurt my credit?
• What is a factor rate?
• What lenders see in your bank statements
• Why was I declined?
• How much can I borrow?
• How fast can I get funded?
• What documents do I need?
• What credit score do I need?
• Can they take my house?
• What is a UCC filing?
• Can I pay off an MCA early?
• What if I miss a payment?
• Under a year in business?
• What is a holdback rate?
• Tax lien or judgment?
• Is my industry restricted?
• What does a broker charge?
• Why 3 different offers?
• Do I need collateral?
• Will they call my customers?

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General information, not financial or legal advice. Terms vary by lender and business.