Qualify · 6 min read

What underwriters look for in your bank statements

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For most revenue-based funding, three months of business bank statements carry more weight than your credit score. Underwriters are not reading them for character — they are reading for whether a payment can clear.

01Average daily balance

This is the first number most underwriters compute. It answers a simple question: on a normal day, is there money in the account? A business doing $80,000 a month that holds an average balance of $600 reads as riskier than one doing $40,000 and holding $9,000, because the payment has to clear on ordinary days, not just good ones.

02Deposit count and consistency

Ten deposits a month from regular customers reads stronger than one large wire, even at the same revenue. Consistency suggests the revenue repeats. A single large deposit raises the question of what happens next month.

03NSFs and overdrafts

Non-sufficient funds items are the fastest way to a decline. A few across three months invites questions; a pattern usually ends the conversation. If you had a bad month for a reason you can explain, say so up front — an explained anomaly lands very differently from one an underwriter discovers.

04Negative days

The count of days the account sat below zero is scored directly. Low single digits across three months is usually workable. Beyond that, expect smaller offers, shorter terms, or a decline.

05Existing positions

Daily or weekly debits from other funders are visible in the statements, and they are always found. Underwriters total that load against your deposits to see what is left. Understating what you are carrying does not work and costs you credibility on a file that might otherwise have been approved. If the load is the problem, consolidation may be the actual answer.

06Making the next 90 days read better

• Keep a deliberate buffer so the account does not touch zero.
• Run business revenue through the business account, consistently.
• Time large owner draws away from the days payments clear.
• Clear or restructure a position before adding another one.