Preparing for a call with a business lender: what to have ready

The first conversation with a lender or specialist sets the tone for everything that follows. A prepared, clear call leads to accurate options, faster assessment and fewer surprises. An unprepared one leads to follow-up questions, delays and sometimes options that do not quite fit. A few minutes of preparation makes a real difference. Here is what to have ready.

The three things to know cold

1. How much you need. A specific figure, sized to the actual need plus a sensible buffer. Use the cash flow gap calculator or your quotes to work it out.
2. What it is for. Be specific: “stock for the Christmas period”, “wages for six weeks until a council contract pays”, “a replacement coffee machine”.
3. How it will be repaid. From what income, over what timeframe. “Repaid from December and January sales” or “from the next three progress claims”.

These three answers shape every option a specialist can suggest.

Your business numbers

• Average monthly deposits, even an estimate.
• How long the business has traded under its current ABN.
• Business structure: sole trader, partnership, company or trust.
• Main customers and how they pay.
• Seasonality, if income varies through the year.

Our guide on how much your business can borrow explains why these matter.

Your commitments

List every existing facility: loans, equipment finance, leases, credit cards, merchant advances, buy now pay later plans and any ATO payment arrangement, with approximate balances and repayments. Lenders will see these in your statements; mentioning them upfront speeds things up and builds trust.

Ready to have that conversation? Start your 60-second enquiry. No credit check to enquire.

Your tax position

Know whether BAS lodgements are up to date, whether there is an ATO balance and whether a payment plan is in place. If your accountant can provide an ATO portal statement, even better.

Property

If you own residential or commercial property, know roughly its value and what is owed against it. Even if you prefer unsecured funding, property can widen options for larger amounts.

Credit history

If there is anything on your credit file that needs context, such as a default, late payments or a past insolvency, prepare a two-sentence explanation: what happened, when, and what has changed. Checking your own report beforehand helps; see reading your credit report.

Practical readiness

• Have your driver licence or passport nearby.
• Confirm you can log in to internet banking for the business account.
• Be somewhere you can talk and access email.
• Note your deadline, if there is one.

The loan readiness checklist gives you a quick score.

Questions you will likely be asked

• When do you need the funds?
• What happens if you do not get them?
• How do customers pay, and how long do they take?
• What repayment would feel comfortable each week?
• Is there anything in your statements we should know about?

Questions you should ask

• What options suit my situation, and why?
• What is the realistic timeline to funding?
• What will the total cost be in dollars?
• What are the repayment amount and frequency?
• Are there fees, and what are they?
• Can I repay early, and does that reduce the cost?
• What documents will you need next?

Our guide to comparing business loan offers has more.

After the call

Write down what was discussed, the options suggested and what you need to provide. Send documents promptly. If anything changes, such as a customer paying early or a new expense arising, tell your specialist straight away so they are working with current information.

Common mistakes on a first call

The most common mistakes are vague amounts (“as much as I can get”), vague purposes (“cash flow”), forgetting to mention existing debts or tax arrangements, overstating turnover and agreeing to anything without asking about total cost. Each one either slows the process or leads to an option that does not fit. A clear, honest picture, even if some parts are not flattering, always produces better results than an optimistic one that falls apart during assessment.

If English is not your first language

If you would feel more comfortable with a family member, business partner or adviser on the call, that is perfectly fine. Let your specialist know at the start. What matters is that you understand the options and the terms, and that the information you provide is accurate.

A simple one-page brief to have open during the call

Before you dial in or answer, put together a single page you can glance at while you talk. At the top, write the amount you want, what it is for and when you need it. Below that, list your average monthly deposits over the last six months, your two or three biggest regular expenses, any existing loans with their monthly repayments, and whether you own property. Finish with one or two sentences on why now is the right time, such as a contract you have won or a seasonal stock build.

This brief does two jobs. It keeps your answers consistent, which matters because the lender will later compare what you said against your statements. It also keeps you calm. Many owners freeze when asked for a figure they know perfectly well, simply because the call feels like an exam. Having the numbers in front of you turns it into an ordinary business conversation.

How to talk about a weak month or a past problem

Almost every business has a quarter it would rather forget. The worst approach is to hope it goes unnoticed, because it will show up in the bank statements anyway. The better approach is to raise it briefly and explain what happened and what changed. A sentence like “we lost our largest client in March, replaced most of that revenue by June and have spread our customer base since” is far more reassuring than silence followed by an awkward question.

The same applies to a credit default, a payment arrangement with the tax office or a period of overdrawn balances. Be factual, give dates and explain where things stand now. A lender assessing a business with a blemish is mostly trying to judge whether the problem is behind you. Clear, honest context makes that judgement much easier and often opens options that would otherwise be closed.

Who should be on the call

If the business has more than one director or owner, decide in advance who will lead the conversation. Ideally it is the person who knows the numbers best. If your bookkeeper or accountant handles the detail, it can help to have them available afterwards for follow-up questions, but the lender will usually want to hear directly from the owner about the plan and the reason for borrowing.

An illustrative example

An illustrative landscaping business owner prepared a one-page note before his call: $60k for a compact excavator and materials for a commercial contract, repaid from three monthly progress payments; average deposits; one existing ute loan; BAS up to date; no property. The call took fifteen minutes, the specialist identified two suitable options and the owner connected his statements that afternoon.

Make the first call count

When you enquire with us, a specialist calls you to talk through your situation. There is no credit check to enquire, your details are not sprayed around a list of lenders, and a real person listens to what you need. Fill in the form accurately and have your numbers handy, and we can usually suggest the right path on the first call. Apply now.