By Stefan Idriceanu, Co-founder
Stips and Missing Statements: The Silent Killer of Time to Funding
Missing statements and outstanding stips rarely kill a deal outright; they stall it until a faster funder closes it. The fix is to detect gaps the moment a submission arrives, request everything missing in one message, and file every returned document on the right deal.
Last updated: 6 November 2026
Why stips are the quiet delay
Ask a funder why a deal took five days instead of one and the answer is rarely the underwriting. It is usually something like "we were waiting on March," "the voided check came in on a different thread," or "the ISO sent the driver's license to the wrong rep."
Each of these delays is small. Together they decide whether the merchant signs with you or with the funder who called first.
Stip delays are hard to see because no one system shows them. The request lives in email, the missing item lives in someone's head, and the returned document lands in an inbox, not on the deal.
The three stip delays that cost the most
1. Late discovery. The file looks complete at a glance. Three statements arrived. Nobody notices they are January, February and April until an underwriter starts scrubbing. The request goes out a day after it could have.
2. Drip requests. The underwriter asks for March. The ISO sends March. Then the underwriter notices the application is unsigned and asks again. Then a voided check. Each round trip costs hours or a day.
3. Lost returns. The document comes back as a reply to an old thread, from a different email address, or attached to a message about another merchant. It sits in an inbox while the deal waits.
Common MCA stips
Every funder's list differs, but most files draw from the same set. Use this as a starting checklist and edit it to your credit box.
| Stip | Why it matters | Common problem |
|---|---|---|
| Consecutive bank statements (often three to six months) | True revenue, positions, NSFs and daily balances | A month missing in the middle |
| Month-to-date activity | Recent balance and new positions | Screenshot instead of a statement |
| Signed application | Merchant, owner and business details | Unsigned or partially completed |
| Owner ID | Identity verification | Expired or unreadable |
| Voided check or bank letter | Account for ACH debits | Account does not match statements |
| Business verification documents | Entity and ownership | Name differs from the application |
| Tax returns or financial statements | Larger or longer-term deals | Missing schedules or pages |
| Payoff letters | Consolidations and refinances | Balance out of date |
| Landlord or lease information | Some industries and larger deals | Not provided until asked |
A worked example
The following timeline is illustrative, with hypothetical timings for example only.
Drip approach. Day 1 morning: submission arrives. Day 1 afternoon: underwriter notices March is missing and asks. Day 2: March arrives; underwriter then finds the application unsigned and asks. Day 3: signed application arrives on a new thread and sits in the rep's inbox. Day 4: rep forwards it; underwriter asks for a voided check. Day 5: decision.
Intake approach. Day 1 morning: submission arrives and the missing month is flagged immediately. The underwriter reviews the file once and sends a single request for March, the signed application and a voided check. Day 2: the documents arrive and are filed on the deal. Day 2: decision.
Nothing about the underwriting changed. The difference is when gaps were found and how many times the ISO was asked.
A stip process that works
- Check completeness at intake. Before anyone scrubs a statement, confirm the months are consecutive and cover your lookback period, including month-to-date where required.
- Show gaps as blockers, not notes. A missing month should stop the file from looking ready, so nobody moves to a decision on incomplete data.
- Review once, request once. Collect every missing item into one request to the ISO or merchant.
- Match returns to the deal. Every returned document should attach to the right deal regardless of which thread or address it came from.
- Protect ISO boundaries. One ISO's documents should never attach to another ISO's deal for the same merchant.
- Clear the blocker when the document arrives. Re-check completeness once the new statement is in, rather than trusting a note that says "received."
- Track wait time. Record how long each deal waited on documents. It is one of the easiest delays to shorten once it is measured.
How DueDeal handles it
DueDeal focuses on catching gaps early and getting returned documents onto the right deal.
- Missing months flagged automatically. DueDeal detects gaps in statement months and raises a "statements needed" gate on the deal, so the file does not look complete when it is not.
- Requests are sent by your team. DueDeal does not automatically send stip or document requests today. An underwriter or processor sends the request, with the missing months already identified.
- Intake matching. ISO and broker emails and their attachments are matched to the right deal automatically. Emails that cannot be matched are parked for review instead of lost.
- ISO boundaries. An optional rule stops one ISO's email from attaching to another ISO's deal.
- Extraction on arrival. Bank statements, credit card statements, applications, tax returns, P&Ls, balance sheets, personal financial statements, K-1s and credit reports are extracted, and bank statements are reconciled to the cent.
- Gates in a queue. Gates sit in a queue where they are claimed and decided, with an audit entry for every decision. See policy exceptions in MCA underwriting.
Complete files matter because the rest of the analysis depends on them, from true revenue to position counts.
Measure your document delays
Missing-document delays are one of the metrics in our parallel pilot. Keep your CRM and your analysis provider, give DueDeal 20 deals, and we will measure how long files wait on stips. Or book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
What are stips in merchant cash advance? Stips, short for stipulations, are the documents and conditions a funder requires before approving or funding an MCA. Common stips include bank statements, a signed application, owner ID and a voided check.
How many months of bank statements do MCA funders require? Requirements vary by funder, but many ask for three to six consecutive months plus month-to-date activity. Check each funder's guidelines, since a missing month in the middle usually delays the file.
Why do missing bank statements delay MCA funding? True revenue, positions and NSF counts all depend on consecutive months. A missing month means the underwriter cannot finish the analysis, and discovering the gap late adds a round trip with the ISO.
How can ISOs reduce stip delays? ISOs can send consecutive statements with month-to-date activity, a fully signed application and a voided check in the first submission, and reply on the original thread so documents reach the right deal.
Does DueDeal automatically request missing documents? No. DueDeal automatically detects missing statement months and flags them as a "statements needed" gate. Your team sends the request to the ISO or merchant.
How does DueDeal match returned documents to deals? DueDeal matches incoming emails and attachments to the right deal automatically and parks unmatched emails for review. An optional rule prevents one ISO's email from attaching to another ISO's deal.