Your accounts are a window into your company's financial health. Presenting them clearly and honestly is one of the most effective things you can do to strengthen a finance application.
Make sure your accounts are current
Accounts filed at Companies House are often several months old by the time a lender reviews them. Supplement filed accounts with recent management accounts — a simple profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet for the current trading period. Even a one-page summary produced by your accountant or your accounting software carries real weight.
Reconcile your bank statements
Most lenders will ask for three to six months of business bank statements. Check that the closing balance on each statement matches what your accounting records show. Unexplained large withdrawals or irregular patterns can slow a decision. A brief note explaining any one-off items — a tax payment, a property deposit, a director loan repayment — is worth including upfront rather than waiting to be asked.
Highlight positive trends
If revenue has grown quarter on quarter, or if a difficult period is now behind you, say so. A lender reading bare numbers may not spot the upward trajectory without context. A short covering note — two or three sentences — pointing to the trend makes their assessment faster and gives your application a human voice.
Be honest about liabilities
Existing loans, invoice finance facilities, or outstanding HMRC liabilities should be disclosed. Lenders routinely access credit reference data, so attempting to conceal a liability rarely works and damages trust. Showing that you are aware of and managing your obligations is a positive signal, not a red flag.
We lend only to UK limited companies and LLPs, and the loan is to the company with no director personal guarantee. As business finance outside the consumer-credit regime, it is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or FSCS.
See also: What lenders look at when you apply, Preparing a funding request for your business.