Preparing a client for a business funding conversation

You know your client’s numbers inside out. They may not. When an owner speaks to a lender for the first time, the conversation can go very differently depending on whether they can explain their own business clearly. A 20-minute preparation session with you can turn a hesitant, contradictory call into a confident, productive one. Here’s how to run it.

The four things every client should be able to say

Before any call, your client should be able to state, in plain words:

1. Purpose — “We need it to pay the quarterly BAS and cover wages while two large invoices are outstanding.”
2. Amount — “About $80,000. The forecast low point is $72,000, and we’ve added a small buffer.”
3. Term — “We expect to repay it within six months, as those invoices and the next quarter’s sales come in.”
4. Repayment path — “From normal trading; the forecast shows we can afford repayments of this size.”

The examples above are illustrative. If your client can’t fill in each line, that’s the work to do before they call. Our Link-up checklist builder helps frame the purpose and shows which loan types the numbers point to.

Rehearse the hard questions

Lenders ask some questions that make owners uncomfortable. Practising the answers with you means your client won’t be caught off guard.

Lender’s question	What a good answer looks like
Do you owe the ATO anything?	The exact balance, whether there’s a plan, and what caused it
Any defaults or credit issues?	What happened, when, and what’s different now
What other loans or leases do you have?	A complete list with approximate balances and repayments
Why did profit drop last year?	The specific cause, ideally confirmed by the accountant
What happens if sales slow?	A realistic fallback — cost cuts, savings, property
Who are your biggest customers?	Names, share of revenue, payment habits

Honesty matters far more than polish. A lender who discovers an undisclosed ATO debt on a portal statement will question everything else in the file. Our page on explaining red flags gives example wording.

Set realistic expectations

Clients sometimes expect a loan to be a formality, or alternatively expect rejection. Help them understand what actually happens:

• No credit check to enquire. The first conversation doesn’t touch their credit file. A check is discussed only once they choose to proceed.
• Documents will be requested. Which ones depends on the loan type and amount; business.gov.au lists ID, financial reports, forecasts and personal financial information among the common requests.
• Directors usually guarantee. Most business lenders ask for personal guarantees.
• Property may be valued. For secured loans, the lender will assess the property.
• No loan is guaranteed. Every application is assessed on its merits, and every facility is priced on the business’s circumstances.

Agree who answers what

Decide with your client which questions they’ll answer and which they’ll pass to you or another adviser. A simple split:

• Client: purpose, amount, business operations, customers, personal details, property
• Accountant: profit movements, add-backs, structure, tax returns
• Bookkeeper or BAS agent: reconciliations, debtors, BAS history, ATO account

Give the client a short written authority to send so the lender or specialist can contact you. See our owners’ page on letting the accountant talk to the lender for a form of words.

A 20-minute preparation agenda

1. (5 min) Confirm the four essentials: purpose, amount, term, repayment path
2. (5 min) Run through the hard questions and agree honest answers
3. (3 min) Explain what to expect: documents, guarantees, credit check timing
4. (3 min) Agree who answers what and sign the authority
5. (4 min) Complete the enquiry together, noting that you referred them

Help the client size the request properly

Clients often pick a round number that feels right rather than one the numbers support. Two common errors:

• Asking for too little. The client requests exactly the forecast low point with no buffer, then needs to come back a month later when a customer pays late. A second request so soon reads poorly.
• Asking for too much. The client asks for double the gap “just in case”, which raises repayments and can make the application harder to support.

A good rule: the forecast low point plus a modest, explainable buffer, over a term that matches when the money will come back. If the client wants headroom for future needs, a line of credit can provide it without committing to a large term loan.

Signs a client isn’t ready yet

Sometimes the preparation session reveals that the client should wait. Watch for:

• BAS or tax returns outstanding
• No clear idea of what the money is for
• A forecast that never recovers — a structural shortfall, not a timing gap
• An expectation that a loan will fix losses rather than bridge a gap

In those cases, helping the client get ready is the better service. Our guide on funding signals advisers notice covers what to watch for and when.

Send them in prepared

A prepared client makes for a better first call — and better outcomes. When your client is ready, complete the enquiry with them and note that you’re their adviser. There’s no credit check to enquire, their file is matched to one fitting lender rather than broadcast, and a real person calls them directly. Remind them to answer each question accurately so the first option they hear about genuinely suits. Start the referral.