In This Article
Short answer: Missing one MCA payment is not like missing a credit card payment. There's no grace period, there's no late fee and a slap on the wrist. The moment that ACH bounces, your funder knows, and the clock starts immediately. You need to understand what's about to happen before you decide how to handle this.
1What Actually Happens When You Miss a Payment
Here's what most business owners don't realize. Your MCA funder is pulling daily debits from your bank account, automatically. When one bounces, it triggers an NSF fee from your bank (usually $25-$35 per attempt). But the funder doesn't just try once. They'll retry that ACH 2 or 3 times. Each retry, another NSF fee. So a single missed daily payment can cost you $75-$100 in bank fees alone, before the funder even picks up the phone.
And they will pick up the phone.
Most MCA companies have internal collections teams that are aggressive by design. You should expect a call within 24-48 hours. Not a polite reminder. A pressure call. They'll call your business line, your cell, and if you have a personal guarantor on the agreement, they're calling them too.
2The Bigger Problem: You're Probably Already in Default
This is the part that catches people off guard. Missing one payment isn't just missing one payment — it's a technical default under most MCA agreements. And a default triggers a completely different set of consequences than a late payment.
Once you're in default, the funder has the right to accelerate the entire remaining balance. That means you don't owe $500 for the week. You owe the full purchased amount, minus whatever you've already paid back. For most business owners that's somewhere between $30,000 and $150,000, due immediately, in full.
That's not a scare tactic. That's what the agreement you signed says.
3What You Should NOT Do
Don't block the ACH. This is the first instinct most business owners have, and it's the worst thing you can do. Blocking the daily debit is an explicit default trigger in virtually every MCA contract. It tells the funder you're not just struggling — you're trying to cut them off. And it escalates their response dramatically.
Don't open a new bank account and move your deposits. They'll find out. The MCA agreement gives them the right to monitor your banking activity, and most funders have seen this move a thousand times. It doesn't buy you time, it buys you a lawsuit.
Don't ignore the calls. Going dark on your funder is the fastest way to end up with a confession of judgment filed against you (in states where they're still enforceable), or a UCC lien notice sent to your customers and vendors. Silence, to an MCA funder, is a signal that you're about to run. And they'll act accordingly.
Don't stack another MCA on top of this one. If you can't afford the payment you have, taking a second advance to cover the first one is financial suicide. It's also, technically, a default on the first agreement (the stacking clause). You'll end up with two funders chasing you instead of one.
4What You Should Do Instead
Call the funder before the payment bounces, if you can. This sounds counterintuitive. But MCA funders deal with struggling businesses every day. If you call them proactively, some (not all, some) will work with you on a temporary reduction, a payment pause, or a restructured schedule. They'd rather get paid slowly than chase you through litigation.
Know your agreement. Pull out your MCA contract right now and look at the reconciliation clause. Most MCA agreements have language that says your daily payment should be adjusted based on your actual revenue. If your revenue has dropped, you may have a legal right to request a lower payment. Most business owners don't know this exists. Most funders won't volunteer it.
Talk to a debt settlement firm before you're in collections. Once the balance is accelerated and they've filed a UCC lien and frozen your accounts, your leverage drops to almost zero. The time to negotiate is now, before you've defaulted, not after. A settlement firm (particularly one that's attorney-owned) can negotiate a reduction on the total balance, typically 40-60% of what you owe, and restructure it into payments you can actually afford.
5The Real Question You Should Be Asking
If you can't afford this week's payment, you probably couldn't comfortably afford last week's either. And next week isn't looking great. The question isn't "how do I survive this week." The question is: what's the plan for the full remaining balance, because this problem isn't going away on its own.
Most business owners wait too long. They skip a payment, then scramble, then block the ACH, then go dark, then get sued. By the time they reach out for help they've burned through every option that would've actually worked.
Don't be that person. If you're reading this article because you're sitting at your desk right now trying to figure out how to make it through Friday, that's actually the right time to act. Not next week. Not after the lawsuit. Now.