Small Business Loan Application

Applying for commercial credit can be tedious. It calls for more documentation than you might initially have expected and certainly a lot more than when you apply for consumer credit. For lenders, extending credit to an entrepreneur usually means customizing the loan to suit the credit needs of that business. So don' be disheartened by the amount of paperwork needed to accompany the application. Instead, be prepared!

Among the best assets you can bring to the lender is a well thought-out and documented business proposal.

You need to clearly state the purpose of the loan (will the money be used for temporary working capital, buying equipment, or expanding facilities); the amount of funds needed and for how long; and a repayment schedule. Your business proposal should include the following information:

• Business description that tells the nature of the business, describes the product and its market, identifies its customers and competition.

• Personal profile that outlines the background and experience of each of the principals in a resume.

• Proposal that states the type of loan requested and its purpose.

• Business plan that outlines your corporate strategy for the next three to five years; it will aid you and the lender in determining whether the business will generate the cash flow needed to repay the loan.

• Repayment plan that tells how you propose to repay the loan or outlines a repayment schedule. The lender will be expecting you to repay the borrowed funds from the profits produced by the business. As a contingency, you might need to develop a plan on how you would repay the loan if the profits alone turned out to be inadequate.
• Supporting documentation will include copies of pertinent papers that support the information contained in your loan proposal-for example, a lease, certificate of incorporation, partnership agreement, letters of reference, contracts, invoices or vendor quotes.
• Collateral that you will use to secure the payment of the loan. Collateral can include business and personal assets such as inventory, equipment, and accounts receivable or real estate, stocks, bonds, and automobiles.
• Financial statements, both personal and for the business. The business financial statement should be provided for the last three to five years of operation including a year-to-date interim report. It should contain a balance sheet showing business assets and liabilities, and a profit-and-loss statement showing revenues and expenses. The lender uses this information to calculate a debt-to-worth ratio for the business. Be prepared to provide copies of tax returns for the business for this same period. The personal financial statement should list your assets and your liabilities. Identify the names in which title to each asset is held and its fair market value. You should be prepared to provide copies of your personal tax returns. You may be asked for a list of credit references. Lenders will check your personal as well as your business credit rating.

Small Business Financing Lenders

will carefully examine your financial statements and business projections. As a borrower, you must be fully prepared to answer questions about them.

Personal guarantees of the owners or other principals usually are required, even from an established business. The lender also may request another party's guarantee such as a cosigner or a surety, or may request a government guarantee from the U.S. Small Business Administration or other government agency.

In addition to the personal guarantee that you give, under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act the lender is allowed to require another person's guarantee should your application fail to meet the lender's standards of creditworthiness. If all or most of the assets listed on your personal financial statement are owned jointly with your spouse, or with someone else, the lender is likely to require such a guarantee. But the lender may not require that your spouse be the guarantor.

In the case of secured credit, the lender is allowed to obtain a spouse's or other co-owner's signature on certain documents when the applicant offers, as security for the loan, property that the two own jointly. In this case, the spouse or other co-owner may be asked to sign documents - such as a mortgage or other security agreement that would be necessary under applicable state law to make the property available to satisfy the debt.