For the standard API setup flow shared by all funder integrations, see Set up a funder API integration. This article covers Idea Financial-specific details.
Our latest API integration is now live: Idea Financial.
When you submit to Idea Financial via API, we'll automatically:
Submit the Deal info (business details and all owner details)
Upload documents (application and bank statements, if available)
Check the submission status and bring the response straight into MCA Pilot
Capture offer details, offer links, and stips required (when applicable)
Tip: If you hover over the Submission, you'll see a Check Status button which gets a live update from Idea Financial and updates the Submission.
Setup Instructions
Idea Financial onboarding has three parts: create your staging portal account, create and activate API keys in that portal, and connect them in MCA Pilot.
1. Request access and create your portal account
Click here to email Jimena Martinez at Idea Financial asking to get set up with API credentials
When you request access, give Idea Financial the setup person's Name, Email, and a US mobile phone number for MFA. Idea Financial uses these details to create your staging portal user and sends an invite to that email address. The details must be unique in Idea Financial's system, so don't use MCA Pilot's own information.
Accept the invite and set a password. You can also forward the invite email to your technical contact so they can finish setup; signing in sends a 2FA code to the mobile phone on the account.
Sign in to the staging portal at https://partner.ideafinancial.net/sign-in
2. Create your staging API keys
In the portal, click Admin, then API Keys, then the API Keys menu item.
Click + NEW API KEY.
Fill in API Key Name, Description, and Status.
Set Status to Active and save the key.
Copy the generated Client ID and Client Secret. Both values are shown on this screen after you save.
3. Connect MCA Pilot
In MCA Pilot, go to the Funders page and create or click into Idea Financial
Under the Submission Method tab, click the Edit button in the top right corner
Choose API Integration as the Submission Method
Select Idea Financial for API Funder and Development for API Environment
In the API Key field, enter your username, password, client ID, and client secret separated by commas (e.g., [email protected],MyPassword123,abc123clientid,xyz789clientsecret)
Submit a test Deal that has all the required info
4. Switch to Production
After your test succeeds, contact Idea Financial to confirm the test. Idea Financial enables production access after staging testing and QA approval.
Sign in to the production portal at https://partner.ideafinancial.com/sign-in
Create a new API key: click Admin, then API Keys, then the API Keys menu item, then + NEW API KEY. Fill in API Key Name, Description, and set Status to Active.
Copy the new Client ID and Client Secret.
In MCA Pilot, go back to your Idea Financial funder, enter the new credentials into the API Key field, and change the API Environment to Production
Required Phone Numbers
Idea Financial requires two separate phone numbers on every API submission: a mobile phone for the rep submitting the deal, and a business phone number on the deal itself. An owner's phone number does not cover either one.
Rep (originator) phone
Idea Financial requires a mobile phone number for the agent submitting the deal. MCA Pilot uses the deal originator as the agent. If the deal has no originator, it will fall back to the user who clicked Submit.
To make sure this works, every user who originates deals must have a phone number on their profile. Here's how to add one:
Go to the Users page in MCA Pilot
Click into the user's profile
Update the Phone field with their mobile phone number
Save the changes
If the originator's phone number is missing, the submission will error with: "Agent/Originator phone number (required by Idea Financial)"
Business phone
Idea Financial reads the deal's business phone number separately from any owner phone number. If the business phone field on the deal is blank, the submission errors with "Missing Required Fields: - Business phone number" even when every owner has a phone number.
To fix it, open the deal, go to the Details tab, add the business phone number, and resubmit.
Required Fields
Business Info:
Business name
Legal structure (LLC, Corporation, Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, etc.)
Business address (street, city, state, zip code)
EIN / Tax ID (must be 9 digits)
Business phone number
Monthly revenue — if Annual Revenue is filled in, we'll calculate it from there. If not, we'll estimate it from your most recent bank statement deposits
Owner Info (for each owner on the deal):
First and last name
Email address
Residential address (street, city, state, zip code)
Date of birth
Phone number
Social Security Number (must be 9 digits)
Ownership percentage
Documents (recommended, not required):
Application for API
Bank statements
Smart Defaults
To help your deals go through smoothly, MCA Pilot will automatically fill in certain values if they aren't provided:
Annual Revenue: If not entered, it's calculated from the average deposits across your most recent bank statements
Amount Requested: If not entered, it defaults to 2x the monthly revenue. If revenue is also unavailable, it defaults to $25,000
FICO Score: Defaults to 650 if not provided
NAICS Code: Defaults to 999999 (general) if no industry is set on the deal
Submission Status Mapping
Idea Financial returns various statuses that are automatically mapped to MCA Pilot statuses:
Idea Financial Status | MCA Pilot Status |
Draft, Processing | Sent |
Submission Incomplete, Dormant | Pending |
Conditional Offer, Offer, Closing, Contract Ready, Contract Out, Closing Incomplete | Approved |
Funded, Closed, Open | Funded |
Declined, Not Interested, Abandoned | Declined |
When a deal is Approved, MCA Pilot will also automatically create an Offer record with the offer details, including the amount, rate, term, frequency, stips required, and a link to Idea Financial's online checkout page.
Important Notes
All owners on the deal will be submitted to Idea Financial (not just the primary owner)
After a successful submission, MCA Pilot automatically checks the status and updates the Submission with the latest response
The Application Number returned from Idea Financial will be saved to the Submission in MCA Pilot
If the deal is approved, offer details including stips and checkout links are captured automatically
You must complete integration testing in the Development environment before Idea Financial will enable your Production access
Note: If an API Submission errors, hover over the Submission and click View error to see what's wrong. You can fix the missing information and resubmit.
If you have a question or run into any issues, please respond directly in the chat or contact +1 888-501-1477 for the fastest response.