How is a daily MCA debit calculated?

In the common fixed-debit contract, the funder divides the total payback into equal ACH pulls on every business day of the term. A $50,000 advance at a 1.30 factor rate repays $65,000; over a 6-month term of 126 business days (six months at 21 days), that is about $515.87 every business day. The debit does not flex when sales do — a slow Tuesday costs the same as a strong Friday.

Fixed debit vs % holdback

There are two ways funders collect, and they behave very differently in a slow month:

  • Fixed daily debit. The same amount every business day regardless of sales. Predictable, but the full debit is owed even in your worst week — returned debits trigger fees and collection calls.
  • % holdback (split funding). The processor remits card sales daily and the funder keeps a fixed percentage — commonly 10–20%. The dollar amount rises and falls with sales, which protects you in slow periods and costs you in strong ones.

Many contracts marketed as flexible are actually fixed debits with a reconciliation clause — an after-the-fact adjustment you must request and prove. Read which one you signed before relying on the holdback behavior.

Why the “term” on the quote is not the real timeline

A 6-month term assumes your sales support the debits. The holdback mode in this calculator shows the honest math: a $65,000 total at a 15% holdback on $40,000 of monthly card sales collects about $285.71 per business day, which takes roughly 228 business days — about 11 months — not 6. The quoted term is an estimate the funder makes about your sales, and the shortfall is where renewals come from: near the end of the term, the remaining balance gets stacked into a new advance.

What share of sales is too much?

As a working rule, total daily debt service above roughly 20% of daily card sales leaves too little for payroll, inventory and rent, and pushes businesses into renewal cycles. If the fixed debit exceeds that share, either negotiate a longer term or a lower amount before signing. If you already have multiple advances stacking, see how reverse consolidation works and the payback & APR calculator for the full cost picture.

Background: what an MCA is, the factor rate calculator for the cost behind these debits, and what a default costs.