Credible Law launches free Chrome extension for merchant cash advance estimates

Credible Law has released a free Chrome extension that helps business owners estimate merchant cash advance repayment, fees, APR, holdbacks and stacked advances. The tool is aimed at giving users a faster way to gauge MCA costs before signing or renegotiating an agreement.

Why it matters: - Merchant cash advances can be hard to compare because repayment terms often use factor rates, holdbacks, daily debits and stacked advances instead of a simple interest rate. - Credible Law’s new calculator gives business owners a quick way to estimate cost, repayment timing and cash-flow impact before they commit to an MCA or seek professional review. - The tool is also meant to help owners spot how multiple advances or frequent withdrawals can pressure operating cash flow.

What happened: - Credible Law launched the Merchant Cash Advance Calculator by Credible Law, a free Chrome extension for business owners. - The extension is available through the Chrome Web Store. - The tool lets users enter figures from an MCA agreement and estimate repayment amounts in the browser. - Kevin Leonard of Credible Law said the calculator is designed to help business owners organize the numbers before they evaluate an agreement or speak with a qualified professional.

The details: - The extension can estimate total purchased amount or contractual payback, cost above the original advance, daily payments, weekly payments, estimated repayment period, estimated annual percentage rate and remaining payoff after prior payments. - The calculator can also model revenue-based payments using a holdback percentage, combined payments for multiple or stacked MCAs and possible settlement payments. - The tool is intended as an educational starting point, and results may differ from the amounts required under a specific contract. - Differences can come from origination charges, administrative fees, default fees, reconciliation provisions, renewal terms, variable remittances or other adjustments. - Credible Law says the estimated APR output is for comparison and educational purposes and does not reclassify an MCA as a loan or determine how any outside authority would characterize a transaction. - Merchant cash advances are often described using an advance amount, factor rate, purchased amount, payment frequency, holdback percentage or estimated repayment period. - A factor-rate example in the release shows a $100,000 advance with a 1.40 factor rate producing a $140,000 purchased amount before other charges. - That example creates a $40,000 difference between the original advance and the purchased amount. - The payment calculator is built to help users translate daily or weekly ACH withdrawals into an operating expense and estimate how long repayment could take at a given payment level. - The revenue-based payment function lets users enter estimated revenue and a holdback percentage to calculate the remittance. - A sample calculation in the release shows $50,000 in receipts with a 15% holdback producing a $7,500 remittance. - The multiple-advance calculator combines obligations from several MCAs and can estimate total outstanding purchased amounts, combined daily and weekly payments, approximate monthly burden, the revenue share needed to cover all MCA payments and the effect of another advance on cash flow. - The payoff function estimates remaining contractual balance after payments already made. - The settlement calculator models lump-sum settlements, short-term repayment arrangements, longer installment proposals and the current contractual payment schedule. - The extension does not require an account. - The published privacy disclosures say calculations are performed locally in the extension and that the tool does not collect personal information, transmit financial information, track browsing activity or require access to websites visited by the user. - The extension is designed for educational and informational purposes only and does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice. - Credible Law also offers online MCA calculators and legal tools through its website.

Between the lines: - The launch reflects continued demand for simple consumer-style tools in a financing market where repayment terms can be opaque and heavily customized. - The release repeatedly stresses that a calculator cannot resolve contract disputes, enforceability questions or payoff accuracy, which signals the limits of any estimate tool in MCA disputes. - Privacy may be a selling point for users who want to run numbers without creating an account or uploading business records.

What's next: - Business owners can install the extension from the official Chrome Web Store listing and use it from the Chrome toolbar. - After installation, users can select the relevant calculator, enter MCA figures and review estimates. - Credible Law says business owners facing collections, ACH withdrawals, UCC-related issues, arbitration, lawsuits, bank restraints or judgments can review its MCA defense resources and request an attorney review based on their circumstances. - The company’s merchant cash advance resources cover agreements, daily and weekly withdrawals, reconciliation requests, defaults, UCC liens, arbitration, lawsuits, bank restraints, judgments, settlements and bankruptcy-related options.

The bottom line: - Credible Law is trying to turn a complicated financing product into a simple browser-based estimate tool, with the biggest value coming from faster visibility into cost, repayment pressure and stacking risk.