> ## 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 does the lender match score work?

> What the 0 to 100 score on each lender means, what raises and lowers it, and how to read Why this score?

Every lender with criteria gets a score from 0 to 100 for each deal, shown in a ring on the deal's **Submissions** tab. The fuller and greener the ring, the better the fit. The score is worked out from the lender's criteria and the deal's facts; it doesn't change anything on the deal, and you can always submit to any active lender.

## Where to see it

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the deal's Submissions tab">
    The **Lender matches** card on the left lists your lenders. **All** shows every active lender, unranked.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Ranked">
    NextLevel MCA scores every lender against the deal. **Ranked** shows the recommended lenders, best first, with a **Disqualified** section underneath. The card's subtitle shows how many are eligible, recommended and auto-eligible, and your workspace threshold. Once ranked, the rings also show in **All**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click a lender's ring">
    The ring's tooltip reads **Why this score?**. Clicking it opens that lender's checks: each criterion, what the lender requires, the deal's value, and whether it passed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Click **Re-match** after you change the deal (upload statements, fix the industry, set matching inputs) to score again.

## The two kinds of check

The checks table is split in two:

* **Gates** are yes/no rules: the product, prohibited states, allowed and prohibited industries, prior defaults, reversals, recovery activity, the lender's additional rules, and whether this deal was already sent to the lender. **Failing any gate rules the lender out**: its score is 0 and it shows a red **Disqualified** pill with the reason.
* **Factors** are the numeric limits and other measures of fit: monthly revenue, time in business, credit score, NSFs, negative days, existing positions, funding amount, average balance, deposits per month, paper grade, term and frequency, the lender's track record, and your relationship with it. Each factor carries points; the table shows how many the deal earned out of the maximum (for example *20/25*).

## How the number is worked out

For a lender that passes every gate, the score is the share of points the deal earns across the factors that can be measured.

* **Meeting a limit is good; clearing it comfortably is better.** A deal right at a lender's minimum scores well on that factor, and one well above it scores better.
* **Missing a numeric limit holds the whole score down**, the more so the further off the deal is. The popover footer says what held the score down. That's why a lender whose limits the deal misses usually isn't recommended.
* **Missing deal data counts against the score, but less than a miss.** A factor the deal has no data for shows a **?**. Fill in the deal's details, such as state and industry, for an accurate score.
* **Paper grade** scores best when the deal's paper grade is one the lender writes, and less the further away it is.
* **Term and frequency** only count when the deal has a **Desired term** or **Desired frequency** in its Matching inputs and the lender has term settings.
* **Track record** counts once your team has a history of decisions with the lender. It favours lenders that approve deals like this one.
* **Relationship** helps when the lender is funding this merchant now or has funded it before.
* A lender whose only criteria are yes/no rules has little to measure fit on. Add its numeric limits to score it properly.

## Where the deal's numbers come from

* **Revenue, deposits and balance**: from the analysed bank statements once there are any; until then, from what the merchant stated. The strip at the top of the card says which.
* **NSFs and negative days**: the worst of the latest three statement months.
* **Credit score**: the primary owner's score, or the lowest owner score if none is marked primary.
* **Existing positions**: the open (not paid off) positions recorded on the deal.
* **Product, desired term and frequency, paper grade override, bankruptcy, franchise years, prior default, reversals and seasonal**: from the **Matching inputs** card on the right of the Submissions tab.

## The labels on a lender

| Label | Meaning |
| - | - |
| **Recommended** (gold star) | Passes every gate, has criteria, and scores at or above your workspace threshold. See [Changing what counts as recommended](/help/recommended-threshold). |
| **Auto** | Auto-eligible: recommended, and confidence isn't low. |
| **Disqualified** | Failed a gate. Hover for the reason. You can still submit. |
| **No criteria** | Grey ring with a dash. The lender has nothing set, so it can't be scored or recommended. Add its criteria under Lenders. |
| **Current funder** | The lender's name matches the funder on one of the deal's open positions. Often the likeliest approval for a renewal or add-on. |
| **Funded before** | This lender funded an advance for this business in the past. |
| **Submitted** | Already sent on this deal. Resubmit from the submissions table instead. |

**Confidence** (High, Medium or Low, beside each lender) says how much the score rests on real data. High means the state and industry are known, the statements cover the required months, and most factors could be measured. Low means little deal data to score on.

## Common problems

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="A lender I know takes this deal scores low">
    Open **Why this score?** and look for red crosses and question marks. A missed limit caps the score, and missing data lowers it. Check the deal's facts, and check the lender's criteria for a typo (see Match impact on the lender's Criteria tab).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Ranked is empty">
    No lender clears your threshold for this deal. Switch to **All** to pick lenders anyway, or look at the **Disqualified** section to see why lenders were ruled out.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Every lender shows “No criteria”">
    Your lenders have no criteria yet. See [Setting lender criteria](/help/lender-criteria).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The score changed after statements were analysed">
    Matching switches from the stated revenue to the bank-verified figures once statements are analysed, and statement data fills in NSFs, negative days and positions.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Tip>
  Each lender's **Deal history** tab shows the score every deal had when it was sent to that lender.
</Tip>


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