It can be difficult to get a business loan or line of credit. Especially when you’re just starting. But a loan or line of credit could open many doors for your business. You could use it to jumpstart your business, expand operations, update your equipment, or solve cash flow problems related to late payments from customers or seasonal fluctuations in revenue.

If you’ve never applied for business capital before, the process can be intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be. Follow these steps to prepare yourself and get the funding your business needs.

Look Into Your Options

There are lots of loan options available to small business owners, many you may not even know exist! There are a lot of lenders to choose from too. So, the first step is to look into all your options in terms of lenders and types of funding options that are available.

We have made that simple for our clients. Step one is to contact the Integrity Business Funding Consultants professionals and speak with a Certified Credit & Lending Specialist.

We have long-term professional relationships with vetted lenders. The lenders in our community are referred to as preferred lenders for a reason. We persistently monitor the experiences our clients have with these lenders. Our lenders remain preferred with positive feedback from clients who have engaged these lenders.

A Certified Credit & Lending Specialist will conduct a free one-on-one funding consultation with you. We will then contact our lenders on your behalf. Once they indicate they can fund you, we will introduce you. This way, you are only speaking with lenders that are familiar with your funding request and have already indicated they can fund you.

Scheduled your Free funding consultation today!
https://calendly.com/integrityfundingconsultants

Make Sure You Can Handle Repayments

Of course, before taking on debt, determine how much you can afford in debt payments. The rule of thumb when running a business is that you should be bringing in 1.25 times your total operating expenses in revenue. That means if your business brings in $10,000 a month, and your operating expenses are $6,000, you can afford $2,000 a month in loan repayments. Remember that some alternative lenders require daily or weekly repayment schedules, so you may be making many small payments each month. This may affect cash flow.

Gather Your Documentation

Online lenders may not require as much documentation for small business loans as traditional lenders. But they all require some documentation.

You will need to prove your business income using profit and loss statements, bank account statements, and tax returns. You’ll need to provide Social Security numbers and other information for all of the business owners. You may need to sign a personal guarantee and put-up collateral.

Some of the documents to gather are:

1. Review your personal credit scores and reports. See what lenders will see.

2. Review your business credit scores and reports. See what lenders will see.

3. Gather relevant current business documentation needed for lending applications such as:

• Balance Sheet/Financial Statement - year-to-date plus last 2-year ending statements.

• Income Statement (P&L) - year-to-date plus last 2-year ending statements.

• Cash Flow Statement

• Accounts Payable

• Accounts Receivable (if applicable)

• Inventory Report (if applicable)

• Last Two Years of Business Tax Returns (if applicable)

• Last Two Years of Personal Tax Returns

• 12-months of Business Financial Projections

Collect the documents listed above, along with copies of the driver’s licenses of all owners with 20% or more ownership, and place them in a folder on your desk or file them on your PC. Please be sure to keep these documents updated on a regular basis. Reviewing your business financials should be something every business owner performs monthly.

Don’t be intimidated by the prospect of getting capital for your business. It’s easier than ever to obtain capital for your business. As long as you can afford to make the repayments, a cash infusion can benefit your business. You could get the funds to expand, update equipment, cover day-to-day operating expenses during a slow period, and more.

Contact the Integrity Business Funding Consultants professionals and schedule your free consultation today! https://calendly.com/integrityfundingconsultants