What makes an established business “bankable” as opposed to perpetually seeking investor capital?
The standard suite of financials a bank looks for are pure data, such as the income statement, balance sheet, and AR-aging. These are backward-looking, based on past performance. However there are also a number of reports a client can create themselves that will help a bank grow comfortable with financing.
- Work In Progress (WIP) – this is a report with some standardized fields that will show current contracts a business is performing on. It is typical to include total value, % completed, and anticipated extensions
- Profit and Loss projections – for any business requiring capital for expansion, two years of projections are a MUST HAVE, preferably with the first 12 months broken out monthly. There should be detailed expense line items, and a list of assumptions. Pro tip: Don’t be too conservative as the bank will be conservative for you. It’s common to see high / low / mid scenarios with projections.
- Contract waterfall – specific to government contractors, this is similar to a WIP with some additional contract related fields
- Business plan – for a new venture or business expansion, this includes some details for what the business hopes to achieve. What business need will this solve? Who will the new customers be? What are the differentiators that make this company better than the competition? What are the risks associated with the venture?
In addition to helping justify debt service and cash flow, professional reporting can demonstrate that a business has competent management. In case your client doesn’t know where to go for assistance, we have many professionals within XPX able to help!