diff --git a/cmd/mergeRequest.go b/cmd/mergeRequest.go
index 0904f542..98de20e8 100644
--- a/cmd/mergeRequest.go
+++ b/cmd/mergeRequest.go
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ import (
 // mrCmd represents the mr command
 var mergeRequestCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "merge-request [remote]",
-	Short: "Open a merge request on GitLab",
-	Long:  `Currently only supports MRs into master`,
-	Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(0),
+	Short: mrCreateCmd.Short,
+	Long:  mrCreateCmd.Long,
+	Args:  mrCreateCmd.Args,
 	Run:   runMRCreate,
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/mrCreate.go b/cmd/mrCreate.go
index 0ce59e57..0b5129ad 100644
--- a/cmd/mrCreate.go
+++ b/cmd/mrCreate.go
@@ -50,8 +50,12 @@ func runMRCreate(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		log.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	if !lab.BranchPushed(sourceProjectName, branch) {
-		log.Fatal("aborting MR, branch not present on remote: ", sourceRemote)
+	p, err := lab.FindProject(sourceProjectName)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !lab.BranchPushed(p.ID, branch) {
+		log.Fatalf("aborting MR, branch %s not present on remote %s. did you forget to push?", branch, sourceRemote)
 	}
 
 	targetRemote := forkedFromRemote
diff --git a/internal/gitlab/gitlab.go b/internal/gitlab/gitlab.go
index 3424e6eb..1cfe2317 100644
--- a/internal/gitlab/gitlab.go
+++ b/internal/gitlab/gitlab.go
@@ -260,13 +260,8 @@ func IssueClose(pid interface{}, id int) error {
 }
 
 // BranchPushed checks if a branch exists on a GitLab project
-func BranchPushed(project, branch string) bool {
-	p, err := FindProject(project)
-	if err != nil {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	b, _, err := lab.Branches.GetBranch(p.ID, branch)
+func BranchPushed(pid interface{}, branch string) bool {
+	b, _, err := lab.Branches.GetBranch(pid, branch)
 	if err != nil {
 		return false
 	}