Preparing for a lender call: the questions to expect

A short conversation with a lender can make the difference between a smooth, fast decision and a drawn-out back-and-forth for more information. A little preparation goes a long way.

Summary

• Lenders typically want to understand the purpose of the funding, the numbers behind the business, and who is behind it.
• Having bank statements, accounts and basic figures to hand speeds up the call considerably.
• Being specific and honest, including about any past issues, generally works better than vague or overly polished answers.
• A short list of your own questions shows you are assessing the lender too, not just hoping to be approved.

Why the purpose question comes first

Almost every lender call starts with some version of: what is this funding for? A specific, well-thought-through answer, such as "to buy an additional delivery vehicle to take on a new contract starting next month" lands far better than a vague "general working capital", even if some of the funds will genuinely be used flexibly. Lenders use the purpose to assess fit, since some products and lenders specialise in particular uses, and to gauge how carefully the request has been thought through.

The numbers you should know without looking them up

Be ready to speak confidently, without needing to check every figure, about your approximate annual turnover for the last complete year and the current year to date, your typical monthly cash position, roughly how much comes in and stays in the account, any existing borrowing, including rough monthly repayments across everything outstanding, and how long the company has been trading, as distinct from when it was incorporated if the two dates differ. You do not need to be precise to the pound, but a confident, roughly accurate answer signals you know your own business well.

Questions about the business itself

Expect questions about what the business does and who its customers are, how trading has changed over the last year or two, and why, whether income is steady, seasonal or dependent on a small number of large customers, and your plans for the business over the next year or two. These questions help a lender judge not just affordability today, but the stability of the picture going forward.

Questions about the directors

Lenders typically ask about each director's background and experience relevant to the business, and may ask about personal financial circumstances, particularly if a personal guarantee is expected. Being straightforward about relevant experience, even if it is limited, generally goes down better than overstating it.

Being upfront about anything that could come up in a check

If there is a CCJ, a history of late filings, a previous business failure, or an existing finance arrangement with another provider, it is almost always better raised by you, with context, than discovered by the lender during underwriting. Our guides to CCJs and business finance, and to business credit scores, cover how these are generally viewed, and context matters considerably in how a lender interprets them.

Documents worth having to hand

• Recent business bank statements, typically the last three to six months.
• Latest filed accounts, and more recent management figures if the accounts are more than a few months old.
• A rough breakdown of existing borrowing and its monthly cost.
• Details of the asset, project or purpose the funding is for, if applicable.

Having these ready, even informally, means you can answer questions with real figures rather than guesses, which speeds up any decision considerably.

Questions worth asking the lender

A good call works both ways. Worth asking: what is the total amount repayable, not just the rate; how is early repayment treated; what security or personal guarantee is required; how long will a decision, and then funding, actually take; and what happens if my circumstances change during the term. Our guide to reading a loan offer covers what to look for once an offer is actually in front of you.

Staying realistic and specific

Vague, overly optimistic answers tend to raise more questions than they answer. A specific, honest account of where the business is, including its weaker points, generally builds more confidence with an experienced lender than a story that sounds too smooth to be entirely believable.

Getting support before the call

If you are working with Lending Box, we will usually talk through likely questions and make sure your figures and documents are ready before any lender call, and can join or prepare you for the conversation itself. We are a broker, paid by the lender, not a lender ourselves, and any figures discussed beforehand are indicative only, subject to the lender's own assessment and approval.