Be tidy, organized and clear

All the documentation that is prepared by you needs to be printed with the same typography and in the same paper unless you need to fill pre-printed forms. If possible try to include all documentation in the same paper size. Especially when appending photocopies, you should avoid unclear prints or stained ones.

This may sound irrelevant to you, but tidiness and organization speaks of you and your business. It tells the lender that chances are that you are well organized and tidy at managing as you are at preparing documentation.

Always resort to professional accountants

Let your figures be prepared by professionals, they know exactly what the bank is looking for and will present those numbers in the best possible way. Youll also avoid making unintentional mistakes that may result in your loan application to be declined due to inaccuracies.

Review, review, review

There are never enough reviews; you need to check that there are no mistakes in your statements as many times as possible. Experience shows that even statements prepared by the most skilled professionals cease to have errors and typos after the third review with any luck.

Watch the dates

Be specially careful when you date your statements, numbers and statistics. Any inaccuracy on this particular detail can result in serious misinterpretation of the information by the bank or financial institution that can lead to a decline on your application.

Be conservative

Even if you are confident on the future performance of the company, keep your projections in reasonable ranges. Being conservative tells the lender that you are a reliable person that foresees the possibility of future difficulties and is prepared to face them by not pushing the budget too far.

Reliability is an essential quality any lender looks for in a borrower, if you show you are not cautious about your projections, theyll tend to think that youll make unnecessary expenses jeopardizing the companys performance by venturing into uncertain businesses.

You need to remember that the lender is worried about recovering the money he has lent and thus, he needs you to show him youll be able to repay the loan by guaranteeing at least with your watchful behavior that the company will keep expenses under control.

This doesnt mean that you dont have to show ambition, on the contrary, you need to show that even though you are ambitious, you always make sure you risk the least possible while at the same time trying to maximize the profits. Make the lender feel comfortable with his decision of lending you the money you need for your business, show him that there is a minimum or no risk and that youll be able to repay the loan without hassles.