Oregon Funding Disclosures: What Your Offer Should Tell You

What Are Disclosure Rules for Business Funding?

Where they exist, commercial financing disclosure rules require funders to give business owners a standardized summary of an offer's cost before the deal is signed. The summary typically shows how much you receive, what you will repay in total, what the money costs in dollars and how the payments work, so a merchant cash advance, a term loan and a line of credit can be compared side by side.

These rules are set state by state, and they have been changing. Several states have passed commercial financing disclosure laws, and others have considered them, each with its own coverage, exemptions and details. Whether your business is in Portland, Eugene, Salem or anywhere else in the state, confirm what currently applies to you with the Oregon Attorney General's office, the state's financial regulator, or a business attorney before relying on any summary, including this one.

Whatever the rules say, you can hold every funder to one simple standard: show me the numbers in writing before I sign. The rest of this guide explains which numbers matter and how to use them.

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Why Clear Disclosures Matter for Your Business

Business funding can be opaque. Merchant cash advances often use factor rates and holdbacks that make the true cost hard to calculate. Term loans can carry origination fees, prepayment charges or interest calculations that are hard to follow. A clear disclosure cuts through that fog.

Imagine a funder offers you $20,000 at a 1.25 factor rate with a 10% holdback on card sales. You would have to do the math yourself. The payback is $25,000, so the money costs $5,000, but how expensive that is per year depends on how quickly your sales repay it. If your card sales average about $1,000 a business day, the holdback takes roughly $100 a day and the advance lasts about a year, which works out to an annualized cost a little under 50%. If sales run closer to $1,500 a day, it lasts about eight months and the annualized cost is closer to 70%. A clear disclosure shows you figures like these instead of leaving you to work them out.

Clear terms also build trust. A funder that willingly puts every number on paper is signaling that it expects its offer to hold up to scrutiny, whether you run a coffee shop in Bend or an auto repair shop in Medford.

Which Funding Types Should Come With a Clear Breakdown?

Every type of business funding can, and should, be explained in writing. Here is what you are most likely to be offered:

• Merchant cash advances (MCAs): a lump sum in exchange for a percentage of future card sales or bank deposits, or a fixed daily or weekly debit.
• Business term loans: a fixed amount repaid with interest over a set term.
• Business lines of credit: a revolving limit, with interest charged on what you draw.
• Invoice factoring or receivables financing: selling or borrowing against unpaid invoices for immediate cash.
• Equipment financing: loans or leases used to buy equipment.

MCAs are usually structured as a purchase of future receivables rather than a loan, hence the factor rate instead of an interest rate. Whether a specific agreement is treated as a loan depends on how it is written, and courts have reached different conclusions, so an attorney should review anything you are unsure about.

Which products a given disclosure rule reaches, and which transactions it exempts, varies among the states that have one. Rather than guess, ask the funder in writing whether any disclosure rule applies to your offer, and ask for the full numbers either way.

🔗 Related reading: SC Business Working Capital: How to Qualify · Fast MCA Capital

What a Clear Disclosure Should Include

A good disclosure is short, easy to read and ideally delivered as its own page rather than buried in the contract. It should include:

• The amount of financing: the funding amount, and what actually reaches your account after any fees.
• The total dollar cost: the difference between the total repayment and the amount you receive.
• The total repayment amount: the sum of every payment over the life of the deal.
• An annualized cost estimate: a single percentage that expresses the cost per year. Ask how it was calculated and which fees it includes.
• Payment amounts and timing: how much you will pay and how often, for example a daily debit of $150 or a weekly payment of $500.
• Early payoff terms: whether you can pay early and whether doing so reduces the total cost.

Illustrative Example: How It Looks in Practice

Suppose a funder offers a $10,000 merchant cash advance with a factor rate of 1.25 and a fixed daily debit of $150. A clear disclosure would show:

• Amount of financing: $10,000
• Total dollar cost: $2,500
• Total repayment: $12,500
• Estimated term: about 83 business days, roughly four months ($12,500 divided by $150)
• Annualized cost: well over 100% at that pace (illustration only; ask the funder for its own figure)

Now suppose the same advance were repaid at $60 a day over roughly ten months. The dollar cost is identical, $2,500, but the annualized cost drops to roughly 55%. That is why a factor rate alone cannot tell you which offer is cheaper. Speed matters as much as the multiplier.

How to Qualify and What Funders Look For

Clear terms help you choose among offers, but funders still decide who qualifies. Most weigh the following:

• Time in business: many prefer at least six months to a year of history.
• Monthly revenue: steady deposits matter more than one strong month.
• Business bank statements: expect to share several recent months so the funder can gauge cash flow.
• Credit score: personal credit is often considered, though MCA providers tend to weigh sales more heavily.
• Industry: some industries, such as restaurants and retail, may face different criteria.

What to Do When You Receive an Offer

• Read every line. Confirm that the total dollar cost and the annualized figure match what you were told on the phone.
• Check the repayment schedule. Daily or weekly payments need to fit your cash flow. If they look too high, ask about a different structure.
• Look for early payoff terms. Some funders reduce the cost if you pay early; others do not.
• Compare multiple offers. Use the annualized figure as a starting point, but weigh the term and total dollar cost too. A lower annual rate stretched over a longer term can still cost more in dollars.
• Ask questions before you sign. A good funder will explain anything unclear. If a funder refuses, treat that as a red flag.

Practical Tips for Oregon Business Owners

• Keep a copy of every offer. If a question comes up later, you have documentation.
• Give yourself time to review. A legitimate offer should survive a day or two of careful reading. If a funder insists you sign immediately, treat that as a warning sign.
• Know who is making the offer. If a broker or matching service introduces you to a funder, the funder's name should be on the offer and the contract, and you can look the company up in the state's business entity search.
• Beware of pressure to skip the details. A funder who calls the cost breakdown a mere formality may not be trustworthy.
• Use the numbers to negotiate. If one funder's annualized cost is far higher than another's, ask for better terms. Some funders will adjust rather than lose the deal.
• Search the contract for a confession of judgment. Where an agreement includes one, the funder may be able to obtain a judgment quickly if you default. Several states restrict these clauses, so ask an attorney before you sign one.

Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: Focusing only on the factor rate. A 1.2 factor rate sounds better than 1.3, but repaid over about three months it works out to an annualized cost of roughly 150%, while a 1.3 factor rate repaid over about eight months comes to roughly 80%. Always check the annualized figure and the term together.

Mistake #2: Ignoring early payoff terms. Some agreements require the full payback even if you finish early. Find out before you sign whether paying early saves anything.

Mistake #3: Not asking about holdback percentages. With a percentage-of-sales MCA, the daily amount rises and falls with your sales. If sales dip, you still owe the full repayment; it simply takes longer. Make sure the percentage is manageable.

Mistake #4: Treating any annualized figure as exact. An annualized figure depends on assumptions about repayment speed and which fees are included. Read the total dollar cost alongside it.

Mistake #5: Signing without shopping around. Comparing is the whole point. Get MCA Funding Fast is a free matching service that can connect you with several vetted funders, so you can review their offers side by side.

What to Do If an Offer Was Not What You Were Told

If a funder will not provide a clear breakdown before you sign, walk away. Plenty of funders will put their terms in writing.

Signed already, and the deal is not what you were promised? Gather the offer, the contract and every email or text, then write to the funder asking it to explain the gap. Deceptive practices can be reported to the Oregon Attorney General's office or the FTC, and the Better Business Bureau lists complaints about businesses. For advice on your options, talk to a business attorney.

Get Matched with Vetted Funding Partners

Get MCA Funding Fast is free for small-business owners. We do not make credit decisions or issue funds, and we cannot guarantee approval. Instead, we connect you with vetted funding partners whose offers you can compare. Tell us about your industry, revenue and needs, and we will match you with options to review. Ask each partner for the numbers described in this guide, compare them carefully, and move forward only if an offer truly fits your business. There is no obligation.