BCRS Business Loans shares its top tips for a speedy loan process

Business loans are one of the most common sources of finance for SMEs in the West Midlands and prove to be vital in helping them grow, prosper and make the most of opportunities that arise along the way.

Taking on additional contracts, employing new staff and preparing for growth can be an incredibly difficult and stressful time for SMEs. But it needn’t be.

The term ‘cash is king’ is still as relevant today as it has ever been and making the necessary preparations to achieve growth can, in many cases, hit a company’s cashflow. Which is where the need for finance usually creeps in.

At a time when traditional lenders, such as banks, continue to have incredibly tight credit criteria, it is important SMEs know that there is an affordable, quick and relationship-based alternative in BCRS Business Loans, which ‘believes that no viable business should go unsupported’.

We sat down with Tony Wood, the head of credit at BCRS Business Loans, to discuss his top ten tips for a speedy, efficient loan process:

1. Primarily, ensure that your loan application has no gaps – if a particular field is not applicable for any reason, please mark it accordingly

2. As a lender of social impact, we provide loans to create and safeguard jobs for growing businesses – are you sure you meet these criteria?

3. We require a full Experian or Equifax report for each director/ owner/ partner

4. Experian/Equifax report should correlate to the information found on the personal assets/liabilities/income/expenditure forms

5. Any adverse credit information should be accompanied with a good explanation/ evidence of satisfaction

6. We would like to see your accounts for the past 3 years

Please note:
a. This is not applicable for start-ups
b. Businesses that have been trading for less than 3 years should provide us
with their accounts to date.
7. Cash flow projections would usually need to show VAT
8. Cash flow projections should account for loan monies going in/loan repayments and include the anticipated increase in wages for new jobs to be created. Please remember to include opening and closing bank balances.
9. Profit & Loss projections should be net of VAT
10. Projected income/ sales figures need to be supported with a sales and marketing plan or evidence of new contracts and orders, to judge whether these projections are realistic. This is particularly important for start-up businesses

So, if you ensure you are ticking all ten of those tips, you should have a speedy loan application on your hands.

BCRS Business Loans supports businesses in and around the West Midlands with loans from £10,000 to £150,000 over a period of one to seven years.

Since being established in 2002, BCRS has lent over £51.5 million in business loans which has supported the growth and prosperity 1,480 SMEs.

As a lender of social impact, BCRS is also proud of the fact that its lending has helped create and safeguard over 10,000 jobs and has added an additional £236 million of value to the West Midlands economy.

To discover more about BCRS Business Loans visit www.bcrs.org.uk.