The Build Script
The call you run when the file needs the rails installed first. Open with the relationship, find where the money is actually landing, explain the season honestly, and close on the processing.
A build is not a no. Never let a merchant hear it that way. The season is the step that turns a file that cannot fund into one that funds well — the whole call is about making that feel like progress, not a delay.
Opening
Build rapport first. Do not open with the paperwork. The file is already in front of you; the merchant needs to feel like there is a person on the other end.
Hey [Client's Name], it's [Your Name] with Capvera — how are you doing today?
Get the commitment before you get into it. A merchant who agrees to fifteen minutes will stay on the phone through the season explanation.
Good. So I've had a chance to go through everything you sent over with my team, and I want to walk you through what we're looking at — because there's a real opportunity here, but it's going to need one step first. Do you have about fifteen minutes?
Confirm the business identity out loud. It gets the merchant talking and confirms you are looking at the right file.
Perfect. Before I get into the plan, let me make sure I've got your business right — you're running [Business Name], correct?
Discovery — current payment methods
Let them answer fully. Do not interrupt. You are listening for card volume, and for how much is running outside the bank.
So tell me — when a customer pays you today, how does that money actually come in? Card, cash, check, apps?
And when they pay by card, who runs that for you right now? Square, Stripe, your own terminal?
This is the crux of the build call. If card volume is landing in Square or Stripe and never touching the operating account, that is exactly why the file does not fund today.
Got it. And that account — does that money land in the same bank account we looked at, or somewhere else?
That's what I thought, and this is the part I want to explain, because it's not a problem with your business — it's a problem with where your money is sitting.
The season — why 30 to 60 days
Slow down here. This is the single most important paragraph in the build call, and the merchant has probably never heard it explained plainly.
Here's what's happening. When a funder looks at you, they're not really looking at your business — they're looking at your bank statement. And right now, a big chunk of what you're actually earning isn't showing up there, because it's running through a processor that doesn't report to the account they read.
Your revenue is real. It's just not on the page the funder reads. So when they see [X] a month in deposits and your real number is [Y], they price you like a smaller business than you are.
Name the product only after the reason. The merchant should understand why before they hear what.
What we do is put our processing in place — that's Clover, the terminal and the software — so all of that card volume starts landing where it can be seen. Then we let it season. That's thirty to sixty days of clean deposits going through the account.
And after that season, you're not applying with [X] a month anymore. You're applying with what you actually earn — and the file that was a maybe becomes a yes.
Set the timeline honestly. A merchant who feels oversold at the start becomes the chargeback at the end.
I want to be straight with you about the timeline, because I'd rather you know now: this is not money this week. The season is real and it takes as long as it takes. What you get at the end of it is a much stronger position than you're in today.
The close
So here's what I'd recommend. We get the processing set up first — that's the equipment and the software, and I'll walk you through the pricing on it like I would anything else. Then we let it season, and I stay on you through the whole window so nothing slips.
Never quote a Clover price without the term. We lease at the 48-month cap — state the term every time.
The equipment is a lease, and I want to give you the number with the term attached so there's no confusion: it's [price] a month on a [term] — that's the full term, and that's the number we work from.
Ask for the decision plainly. Do not trail off into a summary and hope they volunteer a yes.
Does that sound like something you want to move on?
This is the handoff into Segment 2. The MPA is the next concrete step, and you have just promised to walk them through it.
Great. What I'll do is send you the merchant processing agreement to sign, and I'll walk you through every line of it before you touch it — I don't want you signing anything you haven't had explained.
Close the loop on the relationship. The build is not a consolation prize; it is the beginning of a funding client.
And [Client's Name] — once this is running, you and I are going to talk again about the funding side. This isn't the end of the conversation, it's the setup for it.
Objection handles
What they push back on, and what you say
“I already have a processor.”
“You do, and I'm not asking you to abandon it. What I'm asking is where your card volume lands and whether a funder can see it. If it can't, the processor is the reason your file is stuck — and that's a fixable problem.”
“Why do I have to wait sixty days?”
“Because a funder reads history, not intentions. Sixty days of clean deposits is what turns your real revenue into something they can price. There's no way to shortcut that — anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a worse product.”
“That's a lot per month for a terminal.”
“It is, and it's a lease on the full term, so I want you comparing it to the right thing. The question isn't what the terminal costs — it's what the file is worth once your volume is visible. On your numbers that gap is [X], and the equipment is a fraction of it.”
“Can we just fund now with what I have?”
“I can send it, and I'll tell you what happens: it comes back as a no, or it comes back priced like a smaller business. I'd rather spend sixty days and get you the real number than send a file I know is going to underperform.”
“Let me think about it.”
“Of course. Can I ask what the hesitation is — is it the timeline, the equipment cost, or something else? Because if it's the timeline I can't move it, but if it's anything else there's usually something I can do.”
The call ends with a signed MPA
If you hang up without the merchant agreeing to the processing and expecting the agreement, the build has not started. The next step is Segment 2 — walk them through every line before they sign.