> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nextlevelmca.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How do I connect and use DataMerch?

> Connect your own DataMerch account, check merchants automatically or by hand, and read the results on a deal.

DataMerch is the industry's shared record of merchant history: defaults, slow pays, stacking and other notes filed by funders. NextLevel MCA looks merchants up in DataMerch using **your own DataMerch account**. Your credentials, your plan, your usage.

<Note>
  Connecting and changing the DataMerch settings needs Settings access (admins, or a role that includes it). Anyone who can edit deals can run a check.
</Note>

## Connect your account

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get your credentials">
    Sign in to your DataMerch account. The **authentication token** and **authentication key** are both under API access.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Settings → Integrations">
    On the **DataMerch** card, click **Connect**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter them and test">
    Paste the **Authentication token** and **Authentication key**, then click **Connect & test**. The app stores them encrypted and checks they work. They're never shown again.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose automatic checks">
    **Check every new deal automatically** is on by default. See [Automatic checks](#automatic-checks).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pro plan (optional)">
    Turn on **DataMerch Pro plan** only if your DataMerch account is on Pro. See [DataMerch Pro](#datamerch-pro).
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame caption="Settings → Integrations before DataMerch is connected.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/nextlevel-mca/eYRjzFTqC5OE024-/images/settings-integrations.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=eYRjzFTqC5OE024-&q=85&s=517819bd8a69de40d9646a127c7939d7" alt="Settings → Integrations before DataMerch is connected." width="1696" height="1032" data-path="images/settings-integrations.png" />
</Frame>

### Managing the connection

Once connected, the card shows a status: **Connected**, **Saved** (not verified yet), **Off** or **Error**.

* **Test** checks the stored credentials still work.
* **Replace** enters new credentials (**Replace & test**).
* **Disconnect** deletes the credentials. Checks already on deals are kept.
* The switch in the card header turns DataMerch off without forgetting the credentials. No checks run while it's off.
* If DataMerch rejects a call, the card shows **Last call failed** with the reason until the next call succeeds.

## Automatic checks

With **Check every new deal automatically** on, a check runs on your DataMerch account:

* when a deal is created with an EIN or legal name on file, from any source (created in the app, the application form, the API), and
* when an EIN is first added to a business (the business's latest deal is checked).

The card is already filled in when you open the deal, and the activity log shows it as an automatic check. Reps can still re-check by hand. Turn the setting off to check only when a rep clicks.

## Checking a merchant on a deal

The **DataMerch** card is on the deal's **Underwrite** tab.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Check">
    Click **Check DataMerch**. The app looks the business up by the 9-digit EIN on file, or by legal name when there's no EIN. With an EIN on file you can click **By name instead**. If the card says to add an EIN or legal name, add one to the business first.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the result">
    * **Clear** means DataMerch has nothing on file for that lookup.
    * A match shows each merchant DataMerch returned, with its notes: category (such as Default or Slow Pay), date and text. Serious categories such as Default or Fraud are red, Slow Pay is amber, and satisfied or paid notes are green. A merchant can also be listed without notes.
    * An EIN lookup is marked **EIN match**. A name lookup is marked **Possible match**: compare the city and state before you rely on it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check again when needed">
    **Re-check** asks DataMerch again. Otherwise, an identical check from the last 24 hours is reused instead of asking again. **Search by name** and **Search by EIN** switch how the business is looked up.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Every check is written to the deal's activity log. If a check fails, the card says **Last check failed** and keeps showing the last good result underneath.

Checks can also be run through the NextLevel MCA API and AI connector. See the **Developers** tab of this site.

## The DataMerch flag

When the newest successful check found notes, the merchant is flagged. The flag shows the most serious category, for example **Default Account** or **Slow Pay**, with a count when there are more. It appears:

* next to the business name in the deal header, on the deals board and list, and on the business page and businesses list
* in the **Submit to lenders** window, as a warning. You can still send.

Click the flag to read every note. On a deal, **Open DataMerch details** takes you to the card on the Underwrite tab. A clear check, or no check yet, shows no flag.

## DataMerch Pro

With **DataMerch Pro plan** turned on, each check also shows:

* who submitted each note: a broker (by name) or in-house
* the merchant's search history: how many times it was looked up in DataMerch in the last 6 months, and how many in the last 30 days. **Show dates** lists them. Several recent searches usually mean the merchant is shopping for funding right now.

If your DataMerch account isn't on Pro, DataMerch refuses the Pro details and the standard lookup is used. The card then says **Standard lookup** so you know to check your plan.

## Common problems

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="There's no DataMerch card on the Underwrite tab">
    The card only shows when DataMerch is connected and switched on. Someone with Settings access connects it, or turns its switch back on, under **Settings → Integrations**. People with that access see a line on the Underwrite tab naming what isn't connected yet. A deal checked before DataMerch was disconnected or turned off still shows those results, read-only.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A check failed">
    Read the reason on the card. If DataMerch rejected the credentials, ask someone with Settings access to click **Test**, and **Replace** them if they've changed in your DataMerch account.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


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