Quick answer
For unsecured business cash, lenders read your recent business bank statements to see average deposits, how steady they are, repayments to other lenders, dishonours and overdrawn days, GST and PAYE payments to Inland Revenue, and money moved to personal accounts. Steady deposits, few dishonours and a short explanation of anything unusual help an application move quickly.
Key points
- Deposits set the rough ceiling; consistency decides how comfortable a lender feels.
- Existing repayments and cash advances reduce room for new borrowing.
- Dishonours and overdrawn days signal pressure.
- Explain one-offs before you are asked.
- Provide every business account, not just the tidiest one.
Think of your statements as the business telling its own story in numbers. A lender sizing unsecured cash has no building to value, so the account is the main witness. It shows who pays you, how often, how much you spend, whom else you owe and whether you keep your promises. Knowing how it will be read puts you in control of the story.
The first things a reader checks
How much arrives
Total deposits per month, after stripping out transfers between your own accounts, loan drawdowns and refunds, give the rough scale of the business. This is the starting point for how much might be offered.
How even it is
A lender prefers a trickle that never stops to a flood twice a year. A café banking $40k every month is simpler to assess than a contractor banking $10k, then $90k, even if the totals agree. Uneven is fine. Unexplained is the problem.
Which way it is heading
Rising deposits support a request for working capital. Falling ones raise a question, and it is far better that you raise the answer first.
The second layer
| What is examined | What it reveals | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Debits to other lenders | Existing commitments | They reduce what a new repayment can safely be |
| Daily or weekly advance debits | Possible cash strain | Several at once is a concern |
| Returned payments | Moments the account ran dry | A pattern is worrying; one with a reason is not |
| Days overdrawn | Tightness | Shows how much margin there is |
| GST, PAYE, provisional tax | Tax discipline | Shows whether obligations are met |
| Transfers to personal accounts | Owner drawings | Hints at what the business can afford |
| Spending unrelated to the business | Mixed money | Can prompt questions |
No single line settles the matter. The assessor weighs everything together.
Wondering what your account would support? Start the 60-second enquiry and a person will ring you.
Spots that raise eyebrows, and how to answer them
Several advances running together
Repeated debits to advance providers signal pressure and eat into capacity. A consolidation can swap them for one calmer facility; the cash advance alternatives page shows how.
A returned payment or two
If a customer paid late and a direct debit bounced, say so, and show that it hasn’t happened since.
A sudden dip in deposits
Seasonality, a closure or a delayed customer all explain a dip. A single sentence, plus a longer history if it helps, answers the question.
Tax owing to Inland Revenue
Owing tax is not automatically disqualifying, especially inside an arrangement you keep. Mention it plainly. Regular arrangement payments are visible on statements anyway, so explaining them earns trust.
Income going elsewhere
If some takings land in a second account or an online payment platform, send that statement as well. Otherwise the lender sees only part of the business and may size the offer too low.
Presenting statements so they are easy to read
- Send every business account for the entire period requested.
- Use the lender’s secure retrieval option if offered; it is usually quicker than files.
- Add a short note on anything out of the ordinary: an asset sale, an insurance payout, a quiet fortnight.
- List loans and advances you are repaying, with approximate balances.
- Flag internal transfers so they aren’t mistaken for income.
Preparing in the weeks before you apply
Last month can’t be rewritten, but you can improve the next one:
- Bank all takings in the business account.
- Keep personal spending out of it, and keep tax money in its own account.
- Check balances before large debits to avoid returned payments.
- Keep GST and PAYE paid or inside an arrangement.
- Hold off on new daily-debit advances right before applying for a cleaner facility.
What else could be requested
Smaller unsecured requests often need little more than statements, ID and business details. Larger ones may add:
- recent GST returns
- financial statements or tax returns, typically exported from Xero or MYOB
- an Inland Revenue statement of account
- a description of the purpose and the source of repayment
Owners with property can take a property-backed route, which leans on security and the exit and less on statements, helpful when trading history is short.
A model cover note
A few lines can pre-empt a day of back-and-forth. For example:
“Monthly deposits run at about $45k. March dipped because we closed ten days to refit the kitchen, and the $18k deposit in June was an insurance payout rather than sales. We have one equipment loan costing around $1,200 a month, and GST has been paid in full every period. Takings go into this account and a second one used for online orders; both statements are attached.”
Illustrative only. Keep it factual and brief. You are helping the reader see the account as you see it.
A self-check before sending
| Question | Your answer |
|---|---|
| Average monthly deposits, excluding transfers? | |
| Months that stand out, and the reason? | |
| Returned payments in the period, and why? | |
| Loans and advances being repaid, and the amounts? | |
| Are GST and PAYE payments visible? | |
| Monthly transfers to personal accounts? |
If every line has a ready sentence, you are prepared.
Why clean statements speed things up
Complete, readable statements do more than help approval; they help timing. Same-day funding is possible for smaller unsecured amounts largely because clean statements can be verified fast. Missing months, unexplained transfers and a forgotten second account are the usual culprits when a quick application stalls. The quick business cash page lists the other accelerators.
One more habit worth building
Keep a running folder of statements, updated monthly, with a one-line note beside any month that looks odd. When the day comes to apply, you won’t be reconstructing events from memory, and your explanations will be accurate rather than approximate. Lenders notice the difference. The same folder is useful for your accountant at year end, so the effort pays back twice.
A worked example
Illustrative only. A hair salon in Wellington asks for $30k to refit two stations. Its account shows roughly $42k of deposits each month with little movement, one equipment loan, no returned payments and GST paid on time. One dip last year is explained by a two-week renovation closure, noted in a line. The file is simple to assess, and the money is advanced quickly.
Let the account speak for you
If your business banks reliably, your statements may support more than you expect. The way to find out is to ask. The enquiry takes about a minute, asking does not involve a credit check, and your details stay with one team rather than being scattered. A real person who reads statements all day will review yours and call you.
Honest figures for monthly turnover and for any loans or advances are the quickest route to a realistic answer.
Frequently asked questions
How many months of bank statements do lenders want?
It depends on the lender and the amount. Many unsecured lenders ask for several recent months and some want six or twelve. A specialist can tell you what your application needs before you begin.
Can I share statement data instead of sending PDFs?
Often, yes. Many lenders use secure, read-only retrieval services that pull your statements from the bank with your permission, which can be quicker than emailing files.
Will one bad month ruin my application?
Not usually, particularly when there is a clear reason such as a January closure, a large one-off cost or a customer paying late. Explain it upfront.
Do lenders count cash takings?
Only cash that is banked into the business account. Lenders cannot count money they cannot see, so banking all takings strengthens an application.
What if the business uses more than one bank account?
Provide statements for all of them. Lenders need the full picture, and transfers between your own accounts can otherwise look like income or spending.