Reading the match matrix

The matrix replaces the spreadsheet of lender guidelines and the memory of whoever has been around longest. Every cell is explained, so a rep can tell a merchant why a lender is out, and a manager can see which lenders are close enough to ask for an exception.

1. 1Open a deal and go to the Lenders tab.
2. 2The Lender matches card shows how many lender programs fit, when the deal was last evaluated, and five key facts (revenue, time in business, FICO, positions, amount).
3. 3If some lenders need more data, a note lists what is missing and how many lenders are waiting on it. Fix those first.
4. 4Use the tabs All, Eligible, Warnings, Needs data and Ineligible to filter.

Rows are ranked by group, then by score, then by expected commission. Each row is one lender program, so the same lender can appear more than once.

Columns are the criteria most lenders care about: Revenue, TIB, FICO, Positions, Amount, ADB, NSFs, Neg. days, Holdback, State and Industry. Under each header is the merchant's own value. Hover any cell for the rule, the lender's message and the gap.

• Green (Meets): the rule passes. Amber (Warning): a soft rule fails. Red (Fails): a hard rule fails. Gray (No data): the fact is unknown. A dash: the lender has no rule on it.
• Score (0 to 100): the share of soft-rule weight the deal passes (a soft rule with unknown data earns half). Once a lender has 3 or more decided submissions, 20% of the score is its approval rate. Example: 3 of 4 equal soft rules pass and 1 is unknown, so criteria are 3.5 of 4 = 87.5%; with a 60% approval rate the score is 0.8 x 87.5 + 0.2 x 60 = 82.
• `Near miss` chip: every hard fail is within tolerance (20 FICO points, 1 for counts, 2 months or 15% for time in business, 10% for money). Close enough to ask the lender for an exception.
• `Missing` chip: the facts this lender needs that the deal does not have yet.
• `up to $…` under the program name: the recommended maximum amount.

recommended max = lowest of:
  program (or lender) max amount
  max x monthly revenue x revenue
  (target holdback % x revenue - existing payments) x term months / factor
rounded down to the nearest $500

Worked example: revenue $72,000, existing payments $4,620 a month, target 25%, program max $100,000, revenue multiple 1.25, term 120 to 240 days, factor 1.29 to 1.45. Payment room is 25% x 72,000 - 4,620 = $13,380 a month. The midpoint term is 180 days, about 5.92 months, and the midpoint factor 1.37, so 13,380 x 5.92 / 1.37 is about $57,800. The caps are $100,000, $90,000 and $57,800, so the matrix shows up to $57,500.

1. 1Tick the lenders you want, or click Select eligible to tick every Eligible and Warnings row.
2. 2Click Submit to open the submission builder: Documents, then Lenders & recipients, then Email & submit.
3. 3If you ticked an ineligible lender, step 2 shows a warning with the failed rules. Tick Submit anyway to that lender and type why (for example, the lender's rep approved an exception).

• Matches refresh on their own when the deal, statements, positions or any lender's criteria change. The refresh button re-runs them now.
• Work the Needs data group before you submit: it often hides the best lender.
• A red cell on a lender you know funds this kind of deal usually means its criteria are out of date. Tell whoever maintains lenders.