{"id":590,"date":"2026-10-08T20:49:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T20:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/prepare-financials-business-loan\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T20:49:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T20:49:50","slug":"prepare-financials-business-loan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/prepare-financials-business-loan\/","title":{"rendered":"How to prepare your financials for a business loan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;ve found the right equipment, the second site or the business you want to buy. Now the bank wants your numbers, and you&#8217;re not sure they&#8217;ll stand up. The last thing you want is a slow &#8220;no&#8221; because your books were messy.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that you can prepare financials for a business loan in a few weeks if you work in the right order. Lenders want to see three things: clean, up-to-date accounts, proof you can afford the repayments, and a clear plan for how the money will be used and paid back.<\/p>\n<p>Below is what Australian lenders usually ask for, a step-by-step plan to get ready, and a worked example that shows how clean numbers can change what a lender sees.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In short:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Most lenders want two years of financial statements, recent tax and BAS records, and current management accounts.<\/li>\n<li>The main question a lender asks is whether your cash profit comfortably covers all your loan repayments.<\/li>\n<li>Messy books, overdue ATO debt and no forecast are the most common reasons a good business looks risky on paper.<\/li>\n<li>A 12-month cash flow forecast that shows the new repayments is often the most persuasive document you can provide.<\/li>\n<li>Start preparing two to three months before you apply, not the week the lender asks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What financial documents do banks need for a business loan?<\/h2>\n<p>Most Australian lenders ask for the last two years of financial statements, your latest tax records and BAS, and recent management accounts. Larger or more complex loans usually also need forecasts and a business plan.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nab.com.au\/business\/small-business\/moments\/starting-out\/buy-business\/apply-finance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NAB&#8217;s guide to business finance documents<\/a> is a good example of a typical list. It includes annual financial statements for the last two years, your latest full ATO portal report (which can include tax returns and recent BAS), and, for some applications, cash flow projections, interim management accounts, leases and a business plan. Directors may also be asked for personal tax returns, a Notice of Assessment and a statement of assets and liabilities.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/business.gov.au\/finance\/funding\/apply-for-a-business-loan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">business.gov.au guide to applying for a business loan<\/a> gives a similar list and notes that requirements vary by lender and loan type, so always confirm with yours.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Document<\/th>\n<th>What the lender uses it for<\/th>\n<th>Where it comes from<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Two years of financial statements<\/td>\n<td>Trading history, profit trend and balance sheet strength<\/td>\n<td>Your accountant<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Current year management accounts<\/td>\n<td>How the business is trading right now<\/td>\n<td>Xero, prepared by your bookkeeper or CFO<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>ATO portal report, tax returns and BAS<\/td>\n<td>That you&#8217;re up to date with the ATO<\/td>\n<td>ATO online services<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Aged debtors and creditors<\/td>\n<td>Quality of your cash and how you pay suppliers<\/td>\n<td>Xero reports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>12-month cash flow forecast<\/td>\n<td>Whether you can afford the new repayments<\/td>\n<td>Your CFO or advisor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Business plan or loan purpose summary<\/td>\n<td>What the money is for and how it pays back<\/td>\n<td>You, with your advisor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Directors&#8217; personal financials<\/td>\n<td>Guarantor strength and personal debts<\/td>\n<td>You and your accountant<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>What do lenders look at when they assess your business?<\/h2>\n<p>Lenders mainly want to know if you can repay the loan from the cash your business already makes. Everything else, like security and guarantees, is their backup plan.<\/p>\n<p>In practice, a credit assessor works through a handful of questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Serviceability:<\/strong> does your cash profit cover all your loan repayments, with room to spare?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trend:<\/strong> is revenue and profit steady or growing, or did last year go backwards?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Balance sheet:<\/strong> how much debt do you already carry, and is there money owed to the ATO?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cash habits:<\/strong> do your bank statements show regular overdrafts, bounced payments or large unexplained transfers?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Concentration:<\/strong> does one customer or supplier make up a big share of the business?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Security:<\/strong> what property, equipment or guarantees sit behind the loan?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Many lenders measure serviceability with a debt service cover ratio. It compares your earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) with your total yearly loan repayments. A ratio of 1.0 means every dollar of earnings goes to the bank. Lenders want a buffer above that, and each lender sets its own level, so ask yours what it uses.<\/p>\n<h2>How do you prepare financials for a business loan, step by step?<\/h2>\n<p>Start with clean books, then build the forward-looking documents on top of them. Doing it in this order means your forecast is built on numbers the lender can trust.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Reconcile everything in Xero.<\/strong> Every bank account, credit card and loan should match the bank to the cent. Clear out old unreconciled items and suspense accounts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tidy the balance sheet.<\/strong> Check that debtors, creditors, stock, GST, PAYG, super and loan balances are all real and current. Write off debts you&#8217;ll never collect.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get your ATO account in order.<\/strong> Lodge any outstanding BAS and returns. If you have ATO debt, set up a payment plan and stick to it before you apply.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Separate personal and business spending.<\/strong> Move private costs out of the business, or list them clearly as add-backs so the lender sees your true profit.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prepare current management accounts.<\/strong> Produce a profit and loss and balance sheet to the most recent month end, compared with the same period last year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Build a 12-month cash flow forecast.<\/strong> Include the new loan, its repayments, BAS, tax, super and any seasonal dips. Show the lowest point in your bank balance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Write a one-page loan summary.<\/strong> Explain how much you need, what it&#8217;s for, how it makes or saves money, and how it will be repaid.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gather the supporting documents.<\/strong> Aged debtors and creditors, leases, existing loan statements, quotes or contracts, and directors&#8217; personal financials.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If ATO debt is part of your picture, our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/set-aside-for-bas\/\">how much to set aside for BAS each month<\/a> shows how to stop it building up again.<\/p>\n<h2>Worked example: a $4.5M trades business borrowing $600,000<\/h2>\n<p>This is an illustrative example with realistic numbers, not a client story.<\/p>\n<p>A commercial plumbing business turns over $4.5M a year. It wants a $600,000 equipment and vehicle loan over five years. At an assumed interest rate of 9%, repayments are about $12,450 a month, or roughly $149,000 a year. The business already pays about $110,000 a year on existing vehicle loans.<\/p>\n<h3>What the lender sees first<\/h3>\n<p>The owner sends last year&#8217;s accounts and a Xero profit and loss that hasn&#8217;t been reconciled for four months. The numbers show EBITDA of $330,000.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Total yearly repayments: $110,000 + $149,000 = $259,000<\/li>\n<li>Debt service cover: $330,000 divided by $259,000 = about 1.27<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The balance sheet also shows $140,000 owing to the ATO with no payment plan, and the latest BAS isn&#8217;t lodged. To a lender, that looks thin and risky.<\/p>\n<h3>What the lender sees after a clean-up<\/h3>\n<p>Over six weeks, the books are reconciled and reviewed. That turns up several issues.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$62,000 of supplier invoices were entered twice, which understated profit.<\/li>\n<li>$31,000 of one-off legal costs from a contract dispute that won&#8217;t happen again.<\/li>\n<li>$27,000 of the owner&#8217;s private vehicle and family phone costs run through the business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Correcting the duplicate invoices lifts EBITDA to $392,000. The legal costs and private expenses are shown as clearly listed add-backs, giving adjusted EBITDA of $450,000.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Debt service cover: $450,000 divided by $259,000 = about 1.74<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The owner also lodges the BAS, sets up an ATO payment plan and includes it in the forecast. The 12-month forecast shows the bank balance never drops below $85,000, even through the January slowdown.<\/p>\n<h3>What changed<\/h3>\n<p>The business didn&#8217;t earn a dollar more. But the lender now sees accurate profit, a clear buffer over repayments, an ATO debt that&#8217;s being managed, and a plan for the lowest cash month. That&#8217;s a very different conversation.<\/p>\n<h2>What can stop a business loan from being approved?<\/h2>\n<p>The most common problems are poor records, unmanaged ATO debt and no evidence of how the loan will be repaid. Most of these are fixable if you start early.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Late or unreconciled books.<\/strong> If your accounts are months behind, the lender can&#8217;t trust the current position.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Overdue ATO debt.<\/strong> Lenders check for it. The ATO can also report a business tax debt to credit reporting bureaus when, among other criteria, at least $100,000 is overdue by more than 90 days and the business isn&#8217;t engaging to manage it, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ato.gov.au\/individuals-and-families\/paying-the-ato\/if-you-don-t-pay\/firmer-action-we-may-take\/disclosure-of-business-tax-debts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ATO&#8217;s rules on disclosure of business tax debts<\/a>. A payment plan you keep to counts as engaging.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Falling profit with no explanation.<\/strong> A bad year is easier to accept when you can show why it happened and what you&#8217;ve changed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Private spending mixed into the business.<\/strong> It hides your true profit and raises questions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No forecast.<\/strong> Without one, the lender has to guess whether you can afford the new repayments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How long does it take to get your numbers ready?<\/h2>\n<p>Allow two to three months if your books are a few months behind, and two to four weeks if they&#8217;re already up to date. The forecast and loan summary usually take a week or two once the books are clean.<\/p>\n<p>Timing matters too. Applying soon after your financial year accounts are finalised gives the lender a fresh full-year result. If you&#8217;re planning a big purchase in the next year, it pays to start tidying now.<\/p>\n<p>Not sure where you stand? A <a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/services\/#business-review\">Comprehensive Business Review<\/a> gives you a clear picture of your cash, profit and balance sheet before a lender looks at them.<\/p>\n<h2>Common questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Do I need audited accounts for a business loan?<\/h3>\n<p>Usually not for a small or medium business loan. Most lenders accept financial statements prepared by your accountant plus current management accounts. Very large facilities or some specialist lenders may ask for more, so check early.<\/p>\n<h3>Can I get a business loan with ATO debt?<\/h3>\n<p>It&#8217;s possible, but it&#8217;s harder. Lenders want to see that the debt is on a payment plan and that you&#8217;re meeting it. Some may want part of the loan used to clear the ATO debt first, so be upfront about it.<\/p>\n<h3>What are add-backs, and will a lender accept them?<\/h3>\n<p>Add-backs are one-off or private costs added back to profit to show what the business really earns. Lenders will often accept reasonable, well-documented add-backs. They are far less likely to accept vague or recurring ones, so keep each one clear and supported.<\/p>\n<h3>Should I use a broker or go straight to my bank?<\/h3>\n<p>Either can work, and it depends on how complex your needs are. Business.gov.au suggests comparing products across several lenders, including non-bank lenders. Whoever you use, well-prepared numbers make the process faster.<\/p>\n<h2>Want your numbers ready before the bank asks?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/contact\/\">Book a free call<\/a> and we&#8217;ll talk through what your lender will want to see and how ready you are. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/services\/#cfo-packages\">CFO packages<\/a> include the forecasts, budgets and monthly reporting that make a finance application easier.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>An accountant shows you what already happened. A CFO shows you what to do next.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to start on your own, download our free <a href=\"https:\/\/link.xpressautomations.com\/widget\/form\/FhTXpbFx96KEe6OeCwr2\">Run your business with Complete Financial Clarity Excel template<\/a>. And if you&#8217;re wondering whether it&#8217;s time for ongoing support, read <a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/need-virtual-cfo-signs\/\">when you need a virtual CFO<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- sf-related --><\/p>\n<h2>Related reading<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/set-aside-for-bas\/\">How much to set aside for BAS each month<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/need-virtual-cfo-signs\/\">When do you need a virtual CFO? 7 signs it&#8217;s time<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/geelong-business-cash-flow\/\">Geelong business cash flow: plan now for summer<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/simicfinancial.com\/en\/preparing-business-for-sale\/\">Preparing a business for sale: what buyers check<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>This article is general information only and doesn&#8217;t take your circumstances into account. Speak with a qualified adviser before making decisions.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Australian lenders ask for before a business loan, an 8-step checklist to get your financials ready, and a worked example showing how clean books change what the bank sees.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-exit"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Prepare financials for a business loan | Simic Financial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to prepare financials for a business loan in 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