Reconciliation, and why it is the whole answer
Reconciliation is the mechanism for adjusting a fixed debit when revenue falls. Some contracts make it a right you can exercise on evidence; others make it something the funder can consider.
The difference is not academic. A discretionary clause means a funder can keep taking the original amount out of an account that can no longer support it, and be entirely within the agreement.
This is also the clause regulators have paid the most attention to. Several states, California and New York among them, now require commercial financing disclosures precisely because these terms were being sold as flexible when they were not.
What to do the week revenue falls
Contact the funder before you miss a debit, not after. A missed ACH is usually a defined event of default; an early conversation almost never is.
Have the evidence ready — the bank statements showing the decline, and a short explanation of the cause and how long you expect it to last.
Ask specifically for a reduced debit for a defined period rather than a pause. Funders grant reductions far more readily than holidays, and a reduction keeps you out of default.
Do not take a second advance to cover the first. Stacking is the most common route from a difficult month to a closed business, and the funder will see it in your statements.
What not to do
Do not switch bank accounts to stop the debit. It is treated as a deliberate breach, it usually triggers every remedy in the contract at once, and it destroys the goodwill you need.
Do not simply let the ACH bounce. Returned-payment fees compound quickly and a pattern of returns is what moves a file from servicing to collections.