8 Mistakes To Avoid When Applying For Small Business Loan

Published on
July 14, 2020
Written by
Marissa Saini
Writers@Aspire
Reviewed by
Episode #
8 Mistakes To Avoid When Applying For Small Business Loan
We have listed 8 mistakes to avoid when applying for small business loan. Get your loans approved and avoid these common errors in your loan application.
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Building a company is certainly not an easy thing. Many things must be prepared, starting from business ideas to capital. Building a company not only requires a brilliant idea, but enough capital must also be prepared. If you think realistically, no business can be started and expanded without financial flow. Do you know that many small business owners give up on their global changing idea because of financial difficulties?

However, there are currently many financial institutions that are ready to provide funds for brilliant entrepreneurial ideas. This does not mean that everyone can get funds easily. Banks do a thorough assessment for each submitted application. Unfortunately, many small business owners miss out on these loans and are refused because of the lack of explanation in the application. One reason is the thought that some parts of the small business loan application will not be examined by the lender.

To avoid such case, let's discuss some common errors in loan application that you should pay attention to.

8 Mistakes To Avoid When Applying For Small Business Loan :

1. Not Providing Updated Financial Records

This one mistake is common to small business owners when looking for a loan from any financial institutions. They do not invest more time to work on their financials so they can be submitted together with the loan application. The bank certainly needs this information so the bank can find out how stable your business is. It affects the decision whether the bank will risk the money in the business or not.

Even if you only intend to grow your business, any financial institutions still need to know the financial records. They want to know whether your business is able to repay the small business loan or sustain the business in the near future. In essence, every financial information must be detailed, without being under or overstated.

If you want to increase the chance of approvals, provide the honest balance sheets, cas flow statements, and other relevant documents.

2. Not Clear on the Use of Funds

Every loan needs a reason and a clear use. The lender must know and examine this matter carefully so the money they lend will not be misused. If you want to use the small business loan loan to increase production, the lender will easily accept your application and trust your business.

Unfortunately, this error often happens to small business owners who do not have a clear idea on how to allocate the funds. Most lenders will certainly reject such loan application. The money to be borrowed must be used to increase the revenues of the business so that loan can be repaid.

Banks want the money to be properly utilized to improve your current businessā€™ position. The lender wants to see the needs of your business and evaluate whether the fund is enough to improve the business.

To avoid this error, make your points solid. Explain all the benefits you can get after getting the loan briefly and clearly, so that lenders can have more confidence in your business.

3. Not Knowing Your Credit Ratings

It turns out that not knowing your credit ratings when applying for a loan can lead to rejection. Your credit ratings may have issues that you do not even realize. When applying for a small business loan, you have to include a credit report because this can clearly outline how reliable you are when it comes to payments of bills and debts. Just by looking at the numbers, lenders can tell whether you are a person who can be trusted with their money or not.

The solution is to always check your credit report regularly so you have a better chance to convince the lending institutions. The higher the credit rating you have, the greater the chances for your loan to be approved. Not only that, loans can also be approved faster than other applications with lower credit ratings.

4. Loan Application is Late

It is very important to apply for a small business loan in a timely manner. Many loan applications are rejected because of their timings. To avoid this, you should take quality time and determine the best loan institution so you will not make a wrong choice. This also aims to avoid any bad possibilities that may occur from not evaluating all available choices carefully.

You need to look for a lender whose offers match your needs. Think through to find the best option based on all the information you have. By doing so, you will also have time to gather all the information required by the bank and the loan process can go faster.

5. No Business Plan

This is very fatal for your business. Business plans are important for mapping your goals. You should describe clearly how you can run the business for growth purposes. Banks and other financial institutions certainly prefer someone who has ambitions, goals and a clear target market. If the business plan is clear, lenders will be willing to inject funds into the business.

6. Applying for the Wrong Type of Loan

Before applying, you should make sure that the chosen type of loan suits your business needs. Many small business loan applications are rejected simply because the type of loan is not suitable for the business needs. The borrower must think realistically, whether the loan can be repaid in the future. Every type of loan has different interest rate and length of repayment period.

7. Changing the Business Structure

Restructuring the business just days before submitting a loan application is a common mistake that many do. This can be perceived wrongly because the financial institutions may assume that something is wrong with the business. They also want to see how stable the business is in terms of vendors or structures.

8. Not Reading the Loan Terms

You have to read all the stated loan terms before signing the agreement. Do not wait until there is some sort of financial crisis to apply for a loan because it could make the crisis worse. It is always good to take your time and choose the best timing to sign the business loan. Do not rush and always make inquiries about the best type of loan for your business. Do not just accept all information you get from the lending institutions.

Those are some of the common mistakes that you must avoid in filling out a business loan application. By avoiding such mistakes, it is likely that your application will be accepted. You should also make sure that all important reports and documents have been verified in detail, so there will be no error during the application.

Psst... You may also be interested in:

What to Expect: Small Business Loan from Aspire
What to Expect: Business Loan from Aspire
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marissa Saini is a seasoned writer and an avid trendspotter across business finance, personal finance, travel and lifestyle industries. With writing history at SingSaver, INK, and ohmyhome, Marissa leverages her broad range of experiences to simplify finance and make readers financially savvy.
Marissa Saini
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Aspire is the all-in-one finance operating system for businesses. Our mission is to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs with the financial tools they need to realise their companyā€™s full potential.
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