What Info Lenders Need to Approve Your Business Loan: A Complete Guide

All the documents and information you need to get approved for different small business financing options.

Are you thinking about applying for a small business loan?

Online lenders have made the loan application process faster and easier than traditional financial institutions or Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. Still, it can require submitting a significant amount of information and uploading many documents so lenders can determine your creditworthiness.

This article will explain all the loan documents you may need to get approved for a small business loan and how they contribute to securing your financing.

Credit report
Bank account statements
Tax returns
Income statement
Budget and cash flow projections
Other documentation your business may need to provide to lenders

Credit report

If you want access to business funding, you and your business must be able to prove that you have a history of paying back loans in full and on time. You can do this by having solid personal and business credit scores. They demonstrate good credit.

Having poor credit doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get approved for a loan. However, if you are approved, more likely by online lenders than traditional banks, you will likely be offered a smaller loan amount than you may need and be forced to pay higher interest rates on the money you borrow. (A better credit score usually results in lower interest rates for most short-term loans and other types of financing.) Your loan repayment terms will be less favorable than if you have a superior credit rating. In most cases, lenders will require you to put up business or personal collateral — or make a personal guarantee — to secure the loan.

The differences between your personal credit score and business credit score are partially dependent on your business structure and how it limits risk. Typically, it’s wise to create a separate legal entity for your business, usually a limited liability company, corporation, or partnership. If you separate your personal and business finances, issues with your personal credit history, like overdue payments on old student loans, will limit its impact on your ability to get business financing.

Want to know your credit score? Get a credit report from one or two credit bureaus, such as Dun and Bradstreet, Experian, or FICO. If you have a solid credit score, it’s more likely you’ll be approved for a small business loan with a low interest rate, reasonable fees, and good terms. What’s considered a good or bad personal credit score varies depending on the lender’s credit scoring model and loan approval guidelines.

FICO’s personal credit scoring model ranges from 300 to 850. A score below 580 is typically considered bad, while a score of 670 plus is usually considered a good one. Although minimum credit score requirements vary, some online lenders may approve you for a business loan with a personal credit score as low as 500. A traditional lender like a bank may require you to have a minimum score approaching 700.

Much like personal credit scores, a good or bad business credit rating also varies based on a lender’s credit scoring standards. Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX business credit scoring model ranges from 0 to 100. A good score is anything above an 80; a bad one is below 50.

Tip: If you find errors in your credit report, you must correct them before submitting a small business loan application. If your score is low for a specific reason, such as business credit card debt or other financial problems, it’s probably worth spending time improving yours before applying for any business financing. If you own a new business, you may need to get a business credit card and use it to build a credit history before you apply for other types of financing.

Bank account statements

Most small business lenders will review your business bank statements as part of the application process. They are a good indicator of your business cash flow and how much of a loan you can afford to pay back.

Lenders are more likely to approve loans for businesses that earn a healthy revenue and spend cash wisely. Bank statements are one of the critical ways loan companies can track this.

Tax returns

Your business income tax returns prove how your organization performed in the past. You must supply lenders with several years’ worth of accurate returns that show how much your company has earned and how it spent money. If you’re an entrepreneur or a new small business owner, you can bypass the business tax return requirement by asking your accountant to create a projection of what your tax return will look like for the current year.

When filling out your taxes, you must balance maximizing deductions with demonstrating that you earn consistent revenue. Maximizing write-offs can help you save on your taxes, but it can reduce your revenue so much that it could limit your possibilities of qualifying for small business loans.

Income statement

Your income statement is a report of your historic business cash flow. It’s a detailed documentation of company revenue and expenses.

Income statements are beneficial when lenders want to understand how a business performed over the past year or more. Don’t worry if your expenses exceed your revenue. This is typically the case for startups and newer businesses. It may be okay if lenders see your expenses are reasonable compared with other similar companies.

Balance sheet

Your balance sheet is similar to your income statement. The difference: The income statement is a historical report, while your balance sheet presents your current financial situation.

A balance sheet should include all the following factors:

Accounts receivable
Current assets
Liabilities
Sources of equity.

Each of these things is important to business lenders. The purpose of a balance sheet is to document what your business owns right now and how much it currently owes. If its liabilities significantly exceed its current assets, you may find it more challenging to secure a small business loan with a reasonable interest rate and good terms.

Budget and cash flow projections

When considering you for a loan, lenders will want to know how you plan to use the financing and the income increase you expect to generate from it. Some of the most common business needs company owners use loan funds for include:

Purchasing or improving real estate
Paying for inventory
Hiring new workers
Expanding into new areas
Investing in new equipment
Dealing with a cash flow emergency
Affording payroll.

Business loan companies want you to be as specific as possible with your plans for the cash they lend you. However, there is some flexibility in this. Consider your budget and cash flow projections as just that: projections. Lenders know that things can change, and you may need to make adjustments in how you specifically use the cash.

To get approved for some business loan options, you’ll probably need to develop two different projections. One will show how your business will perform without any new financing. The second should show how your company will be able to produce better results once you receive small business financing. Ideally, this will convince lenders that your business could benefit from a loan and be able to pay it back.