What Is a Document Staleness Check?
A document staleness check refers to verifying the recency of documents in a funding packet.
In MCA and small business lending, funders typically require the most recent two to three months of bank statements and valid identification. If an applicant submits older or expired documents, the packet may be incomplete or misleading.
This type of check usually occurs during intake and scrubbing. Operators use it to confirm that submissions meet documentation requirements before underwriting resources are spent.
How Does a Document Staleness Check Work?
Staleness checks review both dates and validity markers on submitted files.
- Date extraction: Bank statement periods and ID expiration dates are parsed.
- Threshold check: Dates are compared against funder rules, such as “statements must be within the last 90 days.”
- Flag generation: Any statement outside the acceptable date range or IDs past expiration are flagged.
- Outcome: Submissions with stale documents are routed back for corrections or clarification.
In Heron, document staleness checks are automated within the scrubbing workflow.
- Automated parsing: Bank statements and IDs are ingested, and key dates are extracted.
- Validation: Heron checks whether the documents meet currency and validity thresholds.
- Structured outputs: Flags for expired or outdated documents are logged in CRM fields.
- Next action: Deals with stale documents trigger missing-info requests, while compliant submissions move directly to underwriting.
This makes sure teams are always working with current, reliable documents.
Why Is a Document Staleness Check Important?
For brokers and funders, document staleness checks are important because outdated information leads to inaccurate underwriting. A business’s cash flow position can change quickly, so stale documents may hide recent risks or misrepresent financial health.
Heron makes this safeguard reliable by automating staleness detection. This reduces manual errors, speeds up intake, and makes sure no deal advances with expired or outdated paperwork.
Common Use Cases
Document staleness checks are applied in daily submission reviews.
- Flagging bank statements older than the required 60–90 day window.
- Detecting expired IDs submitted with funding packets.
- Writing staleness flags into CRM fields for underwriter visibility.
- Triggering missing-info requests for updated statements or IDs.
- Preventing outdated packets from advancing to underwriting review.
FAQs About Document Staleness Check
How does Heron detect document staleness?
Heron parses bank statement date ranges and ID expiration dates, compares them to funder thresholds, and flags any documents that are too old or expired.
Why are staleness checks necessary in MCA underwriting?
They make sure that underwriters are working with current, accurate data. Without them, funders risk making decisions based on outdated financial positions.
What outputs should teams expect from staleness checks?
Teams receive structured CRM fields showing whether documents passed or failed recency checks, along with automated flags for exception handling.