Pay only on funded deals: how a success-based referral fee works

Most ways of buying deal flow charge before anything funds: per lead, per click or per month. A referral fee paid only on funded deals turns that around. Here is exactly how EFN's works: what it is, when it is owed, how it is billed, and what it never costs you.

Three ways lenders pay for deal flow

• Per lead. A fixed price for each contact, paid whether or not the borrower answers, qualifies or funds.
• Per click or per month. Advertising and subscriptions charge for exposure, and the screening is still yours.
• Per funded deal. A referral fee owed only when a referred deal funds. A file you decline, or one that never closes, costs nothing.

The first two put the risk of a bad file on the lender. The third puts it on whoever sent the file, which changes what gets sent.

How EFN's referral fee works

• The rate: 1% of the funded amount, meaning the principal at closing. It is the same for every lender in the network.
• When it is owed: only on deals that actually fund. No fee is owed for a lead you decline, one the borrower withdraws, or one that never funds.
• How it is billed: EFN sends a written invoice for the deal after it funds, due within 10 business days of funding.
• What it never is: a charge up front, a monthly fee, a deduction from the loan at closing, or a cost to the borrower.
• Priority: one flat referral fee for every lender in the network. No lender can pay to be routed ahead of another.

A worked example

If a referred deal funds with $150,000 of principal, the referral fee is $1,500, invoiced after funding. If the same borrower's deal is declined, withdrawn or never funds, the fee is nothing.

What you report, and when

Under the referral agreement, you report a funded deal that came from an EFN referral within 10 business days of closing. That is how EFN learns a deal funded, and it is what the invoice is built on.

Repeat business from a borrower EFN introduced

The agreement also covers what comes later. For 24 months after EFN first routes a borrower to you, further equipment financing you provide to that borrower counts as referred, and each funded deal restarts the period. A borrower you already had a financing relationship with before EFN's routing is excluded, if you tell EFN within 10 business days of receiving the lead.

Why this model changes what you receive

A source paid per lead is paid to send more leads. A source paid only when a deal funds is paid to send a deal that will fund: a file that fits your box, from a business owner ready to buy, sent to you rather than to a list. Every match is human-reviewed against your credit box before it reaches you. Each deal goes to one lender at a time, with no competing calls from other lenders. You have 24 hours to claim it; once you claim it, it is yours until you pass. Unclaimed after 24 hours, it moves to the next best fit.

What it costs to start

Nothing. Joining is free, and completing your lender profile takes five minutes or less. Nothing is routed to you until you have reviewed and signed the referral agreement, so the terms are settled before the first deal arrives.

Common questions

Is the referral fee taken out of the loan at closing?
No. Nothing is deducted at closing and nothing is added to the borrower's deal. EFN invoices you after the deal funds.

When is the fee due?
Within 10 business days of funding, on EFN's written invoice for that deal.

Do I pay anything for deals I decline?
No. Pay nothing for leads you pass on. No fee is owed for a lead that is declined, withdrawn, or never funds.

Does the borrower pay EFN anything?
No. EFN is free for the borrower. The referral fee is paid by the lender, and only on funded deals.

Can the fee change?
EFN can change the standard fee with 30 days' written notice, and a change never applies to referred leads already in your pipeline.

Set your box. Receive only what fits.

Watch how it works (2 min) · See a sample routed deal

Free to join. The referral fee is 1% of the funded amount, and it applies only on deals that actually fund.

More for lenders: Equipment finance deal flow, matched to your credit box · How an equipment financing referral reaches your desk · For second-look equipment lenders: the files the bank passed on · Looking for equipment finance brokers? A referral network for lenders instead · Equipment finance lead sources: where deal flow comes from, and what each one asks of you · Equipment leasing referral partners: what a good one looks like · How to get more equipment finance applications without buying leads · Application-only equipment deal flow, matched to your program · Second-look equipment and truck deals, for the lenders who fund them · Small-ticket equipment deal flow, sized to your program · Guides for lenders

Equipment Funding Network is a matching and referral service, not a lender and not a broker. Lenders make every credit decision and set every term.