A call or the request form starts it, funding partners review, and any offer comes from a partner. This page covers what a business plan may need, partner requirements, a document list, the underwriting steps and questions to ask about credit reports. Partners decide.
What banks may look for in a business plan: payroll lines at a Clay County, MN insurance agency
Banks and other lending partners may look for a business plan that answers four things plainly: what the money pays for, how the business earns the money to pay it back, who runs it, and what backs the debt if sales fall short. A plan for an established business can be a few pages; a long market study is rarely the point.
Take a Clay County, MN insurance agency planning to add two customer service staff. The plan's staffing lines show each new salary, when it starts and which renewals or new policies are expected to cover it, so a reviewer can follow payroll from the first paycheck to the revenue meant to support it.
- Use of funds, in dollars and dates
- Monthly revenue and the largest regular costs
- Payroll before and after the change
- Existing debts and their payments
- Who owns the business, and in what shares
Clay County, MN finance and insurance employers numbered 82 in 2023, with 486 employees between them (County Business Patterns, NAICS 52).
Small business loan requirements are set by each partner: Moorhead, MN contractors with crew payroll
Small business loan requirements do not come as one published list. Every funding partner writes its own, which is how one request can draw two different answers. Items a partner may weigh include time in business, annual revenue, recent bank deposits, credit, existing debt and what the money is for.
For a Moorhead, MN contractor carrying crew payroll, the payroll itself is part of the picture: a partner may ask how often payroll runs, how large it is and which jobs pay for it. Construction employers are small on the whole in this county: 75.3% of Clay County, MN's 194 construction establishments with paid employees had fewer than five on staff in 2023 (County Business Patterns, NAICS 23).
- Time in business and annual revenue
- Bank statements for the latest three to six months
- Credit, which a partner may check
- Open contracts or invoices behind the request
- Other loans, leases or advances already in place
What documents do I need for a small business loan in Moorhead, MN? A materials order as the test
The paperwork for a small business loan depends on the partner and the amount. Take a Moorhead, MN finishing contractor asking for money to pay a supplier for drywall, mud and tape for three houses. A partner may want:
- Business bank statements, the most recent ones
- The business's own tax returns, one or two years back
- A photo ID for each owner, plus the ownership split
- The supplier quote for the materials
- The contracts or purchase orders the materials are for
- Every loan, lease or advance now open, with what each costs a month
The request form takes contact and company details. The quote and the jobs behind it are things to describe on the call, and a partner asks for copies if it wants them.
The business loan underwriting process for the convenience store side of a Clay County, MN gas station
Underwriting means the funding partner checks the request in its own way, so no two reviews need to follow the same steps. For the convenience store side of a Clay County, MN gas station, a request might cover cooler doors, shelving, a POS system or store stock. Anything at the forecourt is site work and is outside this site.
| Step | What the partner may check | What the business may provide |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Owners and ownership shares | ID and ownership details |
| Deposits | Bank statement trends | Recent statements |
| Credit | Business and owner credit | Consent to a credit check |
| Debts | Existing loans, leases and liens | A debt list |
| Purpose | What the money buys | Quotes or invoices |
| Decision | Whether to offer, and on what terms | Questions about any offer |
Gasoline stations with convenience stores accounted for 22 of Clay County, MN's employer establishments in 2023 (County Business Patterns, NAICS 447110).
Credit report questions a Moorhead, MN finishing contractor can put to a funding partner
Scored on a 0-to-300 scale, FICO SBSS is a credit score built for small businesses rather than people. A funding partner may or may not use it, so the plainest route is to ask.
A Moorhead, MN finishing contractor expecting a large repair bill on a sprayer can put these questions to a funding partner before asking for money:
- Does this partner use the FICO SBSS score at all?
- If it does, can it share the score it saw?
- Which other credit reports does it pull?
- Does a credit check come before or after any offer?
- Who to call with a question about a report
Coralmoor Business Funding does not produce credit scores. For the funding types a request can cover, see business loan types.
By Coralmoor Business Funding · Updated
