MCA Merchant Verification Calls: A Workflow for Resolving Issues Before Funding
By Johnny Accardo · Founder & CEO, Big Tuna Solutions
A practical MCA merchant verification call workflow for preparing the file, recording sourced answers, routing discrepancies, and keeping the funding handoff clear.
Define the call from the actual closing instructions
Start with the current requirements and instructions for the specific deal. Record who requested the call, its purpose, the topics to cover, the party expected to participate, the assigned caller, and any timing or completion condition communicated by the responsible partner or internal reviewer. Do not reuse a prior script as though it applies universally. A short confirmation call, an ownership clarification, and a detailed pre-funding interview may need different preparation and different review paths.
Build a call sheet from the current file
Prepare a concise view of the details the caller is expected to discuss, using the latest application, approved terms, closing documents, bank information, stipulations, and other relevant sources. Show the source and version beside each field. Include the business name, participant role, requested or approved transaction details, intended use of proceeds when it is part of the required review, and any open question already identified by operations. The caller should not have to search attachments during the conversation or assume that the newest upload is the approved record.
Confirm the participant through the established process
Before discussing deal information, follow the identity and authority checks established by the organization and the party that requested the call. Record the participant, their stated role, the contact method used, and the outcome of the required check without collecting extra information simply because the call form has room for it. If the expected person is unavailable or the participant cannot be confirmed under that process, log the attempt and route the exception instead of improvising a substitute verification.
Record answers against their source fields
Capture each answer beside the value already in the deal record and classify the result in plain operational terms: confirmed, clarified, changed, not known, not asked, or needs review. Preserve the merchant's wording when context matters, and keep factual notes separate from the caller's interpretation. A single passed status hides whether every required topic was addressed and makes it difficult for the next reviewer to understand why the call changed the file.
Route discrepancies without editing the history away
When an answer differs from the application, closing documents, approval, or another source, open a discrepancy item tied to both values. Identify the affected field, source documents, owner, required reviewer, and next action. Do not silently replace the earlier value or ask the caller to decide whether a difference is material. A corrected phone number, an unexplained ownership difference, and a change to transaction details can require very different follow-up under the team's process.
Keep attempts, completion, and review separate
Track every attempt with its date, caller, contact method, outcome, and next scheduled action. Use separate milestones for reached, call completed, discrepancies under review, review completed, and final outcome recorded. This prevents a completed conversation from being mistaken for a fully cleared file. If another call is required, link it to the first attempt and identify which unanswered or corrected items must be revisited rather than starting a disconnected note.
Hand off a reviewable result to funding operations
The handoff should show the instruction source, participant, call time, topics covered, confirmed details, discrepancies, supporting corrections, reviewer outcomes, and any open next action. Keep the call record connected to the closing-document and funding-confirmation workflows so later changes remain visible. Review queues for overdue attempts, incomplete topics, unresolved discrepancies, and completed calls with no recorded disposition. The goal is not a perfect script; it is a traceable result that lets the authorized reviewer see what was asked, what changed, and what still needs a decision.