Your Clevis dashboard shows a single Farm Financial Health Score from 0 to 100. A number like that is only useful if you can see exactly how it's built — so here is the complete methodology, published in full. Nothing in the score is hidden, weighted secretly, or adjusted by us after the fact. Your lender can check our math, and we hope they do.

The foundation: FFSC ratios

The score is built on the financial ratios defined by the Farm Financial Standards Council (FFSC), the same framework used by ag lenders, Farm Credit associations, and university extension programs across the country. Clevis computes each ratio from your actual records: the balance sheet (with crop inventory valued at current local cash bids), your income and expense books, the depreciation engine's tax-book values, and the loans you've entered.

The six ratios and their bands

Each ratio is scored from 0 to 100 on a straight line between two published anchor points — the FFSC "vulnerable" bound (scores 0) and the "strong" bound (scores 100). A ratio at the midpoint of its band scores 50. Values beyond either bound are capped, so one spectacular ratio can't hide a weak one.

Current ratio — current assets ÷ current liabilities. Vulnerable at 1.0, strong at 2.0. Weight: 20%. Measures whether the assets that turn to cash this year cover the bills due this year.

Working capital ÷ gross revenue — vulnerable at 10%, strong at 30%. Weight: 10%. Working capital in proportion to the size of the operation; $100,000 of cushion means something very different on 500 acres than on 5,000.

Debt-to-asset ratio — total liabilities ÷ total assets (market basis). Vulnerable at 60%, strong at 30%. Weight: 20%. The classic solvency measure: how much of the operation the lender owns versus you.

Term-debt coverage — (net farm income + depreciation + interest) ÷ scheduled annual term-debt payments. Vulnerable at 1.25×, strong at 1.75×. Weight: 15%. Whether the operation generates enough to make its term payments with room to spare.

Operating-expense ratio — operating expenses ÷ gross revenue. Vulnerable at 80%, strong at 60%. Weight: 20%. How much of every revenue dollar is consumed by operating costs.

Return on assets — (net farm income + interest) ÷ total assets. Vulnerable at 4%, strong at 8%. Weight: 15%. What the whole asset base earns, independent of how it's financed.

How the composite works

The overall score is the weighted average of the ratios Clevis can actually compute from your data. If a ratio is missing an input — no loans entered yet, no bank connected — that ratio is shown as gated with a plain-language hint, its weight is excluded, and the composite is computed over the remaining weight. The score card always tells you what share of the full FFSC weight your score covers. We never fabricate a missing number, and unknown is never treated as zero.

Where the inputs come from

Crop inventory is valued at the best local cash bid within 50 miles of your ZIP code, refreshed with live elevator bids — the same bids on your Marketing page. Depreciation comes from the Clevis tax engine (MACRS/§179/bonus, computed per IRS Pub 946 and verified against its tables in our automated test suite). The current/long-term debt split follows your loan payment schedules. Receivables and payables come from unpaid income and expense records in your books.

What the score is — and isn't

The score is a screening tool built on lender-standard benchmarks, refreshed as your books change. It is not credit advice, a loan decision, or a substitute for your lender's or CPA's analysis — farm balance sheets have judgment calls (asset values, inventory quality, family living draws) that no automated score fully captures. When the score and your gut disagree, that's the conversation to have with your lender, with the lender packet from Clevis on the table.

The bands and weights above are the single source of truth for the score, and this page changes whenever they do — the update date at the top is your guarantee. Questions or a ratio you'd like added? Tell us at hello@clevis.ai.