Every business aims to grow; an influx of money helps a business move forward towards its goals. Obtaining a small business loan is a prodigious way to finance the progress and expenses of a business. However, there are certain crucial aspects that one should contemplate before applying for loans.
Getting a business loan is not essentially an intricate process. However, if you are better prepared for it, your chances of approval are heightened. Following the basic steps and electing a lender that focuses on small and medium enterprises can make your business funding quite simple.
Many different lenders offer small and medium businesses the opportunity to grow by providing them friendly loans. Here are some of the essential steps that must be followed when applying for a business loan.
Small Business Loan – Essential Steps
Create a Sold Business Plan
Whether your business has just appeared on the market or has been around for a while, a solid business plan is essential to convince lenders to issue a loan. It states the critical aspects of your business and what your business is all about.
Your mission and goals must be mentioned in the business plan; this allows the lender to assess the nature and potential of your business. Your business plan must highlight how your company plans to pay back its small business loan in due time with interest.
Many business owners are tempted to skip this step as they consider it to be an unnecessary burden. Don’t make that mistake. Put some effort into noting every facet of your business plan in detail and update it as time goes by.
Spotless Accounting Records
As important as a business plan may be, your accounting records are also an essential measure of your financial standing. Lenders will imperiously look into your balance sheets, income statements, cash flows, and other financial records to assess riskiness before offering you a small business loan. Apart from financial sheets, they will also see if the company is making any profits and look at their debt ratios to see how the business has performed in the past.
If something is missing in the records, you have no way of proving that it exists or existed, and the loan officer looking at it will not be convinced to hand out a loan to you.
Maintain and Track your Credit Score
With the growth of many online lending options and other means to secure loans, lenders are thinking outside the box to verify the credibility of loan seekers. However, a credit score remains one of the most crucial aspects in determining the worthiness of a business.
A score of 700 plus is considered excellent, while 600 plus still offers you plenty of options. Below that, you have limited options and, depending on the case, a small business loan may be approved.
Some people have no idea of their credit score because they haven’t bothered to check it in a long time. It can be a big mistake because your credit score is still considered to be the most reliable factor in assessing the riskiness of an individual or a business. Therefore, ensure that your credit score doesn’t go haywire and track it often.
Determine the Use of the Loaned Amount
Disclosing what you will be using the loan amount for may sound like something personal you are unwilling to disclose, but it can be very advantageous to approve a small business loan. Small businesses do not usually have a market reputation. Therefore, lenders might be unsure about your plan of action.
Telling them how you plan to use the loaned amount will help them evaluate your business’s expected profitability, which ultimately means that you can pay back the loaned amount. Lenders have a team of experts who are adept at handling various clients with multiple declared purposes for a loan. These experts usually make accurate predictions of a business.
Following the guidelines mentioned above to obtain a small business loan will increase your chances of approval. It is best to declare truthful information about your business to ensure that you do not land in any trouble later on.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
