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Merchant Cash Advance Calculator: Your Factor Rate as a True APR

Most states never require an MCA provider to show you an APR. Three numbers from your contract fix that.

Step 1 · From your agreement

What your contract says

Payment frequency

Pre-filled with a typical advance — replace with your own numbers.

Step 2 · Translated by the math disclosure laws use

The disclosure it didn’t give you

Estimated cost of financingEst. per methodology below
Estimated APRthe rate any bank would have to quote for the same money112.5%
Finance charge total dollar cost$15,000
Factor rate1.30
Estimated term 126 payments5.8 mo
Cash leaving your account, monthly$11,158

Only 11 states require any of these figures to be disclosed — is yours one of them?

Is that monthly drain sustainable? Get a free file review — restructuring, settlement, or another path, whichever fits.

Method: equal-payment internal rate of return, annualized (260 banking days/year for daily debits, 52 weeks for weekly, 12 for monthly) — the same style of estimated-APR math state disclosure laws prescribe. Estimates assume payments as scheduled; reconciliation or missed payments change the outcome. Educational, not financial advice.

Where the Numbers Live

How to find these three numbers in your MCA contract

MCA agreements bury the economics in purchase language. Look for: the “Purchase Price” or funding amount (what you received — enter it minus any origination fees actually withheld), the “Purchased Amount” or “Receipts Purchased Amount” (the total you must remit), and the “Daily Payment” or “Remittance” (the fixed debit). If fees were deducted before the money hit your account, use what actually arrived — that’s your true advance, and the APR will be higher for it.

Whether your funder owed you these numbers up front depends on your state: see the 50-state comparison of MCA disclosure laws — eleven states now require cost disclosures, and a funder that skipped them may have a compliance problem worth raising.

If the Number Shocked You

What to do when the true cost is unsustainable

An estimated APR over 50% isn’t automatically a crisis — and one over 200% isn’t automatically hopeless. What matters is whether the monthly cash drain fits your revenue. When it doesn’t, there are nine real resolution paths — from renegotiating the schedule to professional MCA debt restructuring (sustainable modified terms, resolved as paid in full), negotiated debt settlement where genuine hardship exists, refinancing, and legal defense where enforcement crossed lines your state’s law draws. The wrong choice usually comes from calling a firm that only sells one of them.

Start with the complete guide to all nine MCA debt relief strategies, then how to choose a firm — the six tests that separate real operators from fee farms.

Common Questions

Factor rates, APR, and your options: FAQ

What is a factor rate on a merchant cash advance?
A factor rate is the multiplier between what you receive and what you repay: a $50,000 advance at a 1.30 factor means $65,000 back. It looks like "30%" — but because you repay in daily or weekly installments over months rather than keeping the money for a year, the annualized cost is far higher. That same 1.30 factor repaid over about six months works out to an estimated APR above 100%.
How do I convert a factor rate to APR?
You can't convert factor rate to APR with a simple multiplication — the APR depends on how fast you repay. The calculation treats your advance like a loan with equal payments and solves for the internal rate of return: the faster the daily debits reclaim the money, the less time you actually hold it, and the higher the effective APR. This calculator does that math from three numbers on your contract: amount received, total payback, and payment amount.
Why doesn't my MCA contract show an APR?
Because in most states, it doesn't have to. MCAs are structured as purchases of future receivables rather than loans, which keeps them outside lending-disclosure rules. As of July 2026, eleven states require some form of commercial financing cost disclosure, and only a few — California, New York, Connecticut, and Vermont (from 2027) — require an APR-style figure. Everywhere else, the factor rate is all you get, which is exactly why this calculator exists.
Is a 1.3 or 1.4 factor rate good?
The factor rate alone can't tell you — the term does. A 1.3 factor repaid over twelve months is a very different cost of capital than the same 1.3 repaid over four months, where the estimated APR can exceed 150%. Run your actual payment amount through the calculator, then compare the APR against any other financing you could qualify for, quoted the same way.
My MCA payments are unaffordable. What are my options?
There are more paths than the collectors suggest: renegotiating the payment schedule with the funder, professional restructuring to sustainable modified terms, negotiated settlement where genuine hardship exists, refinancing into amortizing debt, legal defenses where the contract or enforcement crossed lines your state's law draws, and bankruptcy alternatives. Which one fits depends on your revenue, your state, and your contracts — our strategy guide covers all nine, and a free file review tells you which applies to your situation.

You’ve seen the real number. Now see the real options.

Bring us the agreements behind that APR — a free file review tells you whether restructuring, settlement, or another path fits, with the honest answer even when it’s “handle it yourself.”

Request a free file reviewCall (929) 263-2835

Editorial disclosure: This free tool is published by JT Milton Merchant Advisory, 11 Broadway, Suite 615, New York, NY 10004, an MCA advisory firm serving businesses nationwide. Calculations are estimates for education and comparison; nothing on this page is legal or financial advice. Related: All nine resolution strategies · MCA laws by state · How to choose a firm