The desk · · 1 min read
Count completed applications, not opens
An open is a maybe. A funded file starts with statements attached. Here is why MCA shops should retire open rate as the scoreboard.
Open rate is an easy number to put on a slide. It is a poor number to run a funding shop on. Image prefetch, privacy proxies, and scanners all inflate it. A merchant who never saw the note can still count as an open.
For merchant cash advance, the only conversion that matters is a completed application with statements. That file can be underwritten. A click cannot.
If you need an early-warning signal, watch inbox placement on a seed list, complaint rate, and bounce rate. Those move before a noisy open percentage does. Then watch replies that ask a real question, and the applications that follow.
MCA Inbox reports the file, the batch it came from, and whether it arrived complete. We will not sell you a dashboard that celebrates a 70% open rate on mail sitting in spam.