MCA Portfolio Metrics Explained

A merchant cash advance portfolio can look healthy and still be underperforming. These are the metrics that separate the two.

Starting capital

The capital you committed to the wallet. It is the denominator for every return figure, so keep it fixed unless you actually add or withdraw funds.

Capital deployed

The portion of your capital currently sitting in live advances. Idle capital earns nothing, so deployment rate is a direct driver of return.

Realized vs in-progress profit

Realized profit is collected. In-progress profit is expected from performing deals. Reporting them as one number is the most common way syndicates overstate performance.

Default and at-risk rate

Track the share of RTR sitting in at-risk and defaulted deals, not the count of deals. Ten small defaults matter less than one large one.