Accounting preparation before seeking financing

What gets asked for, nearly every time

Financing requests stall on document assembly far more often than on the underlying numbers.

• Two to three years of business tax returns
• Year-end and interim financial statements that reconcile to those returns
• A current balance sheet with aged receivables and payables
• Debt schedule with terms and remaining balances
• Forward cash-flow projection with stated assumptions
• Owner personal returns and a personal financial statement

Reconciliation is the real work

The single most common problem is interim statements that do not tie to the filed returns. Explaining the difference after the fact costs credibility; reconciling before submission costs a few hours.

Projections need assumptions attached

A projection without documented assumptions reads as optimism. State the revenue basis, the collection lag, the fixed obligations, and what happens if the primary assumption is wrong. No preparation guarantees approval — but unexplained numbers reliably slow it down.