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To maximise the chances of your financing application being successful it is important that you carefully plan your application and get well prepared to answer questions about your business and yourself.

Traditionally bankers look at the four criteria when assessing the risks associated with lending you money:

• Character - involves collecting personal details about who you are. It includes details about your business skills, professionalism, you knowledge and experience within the industry, and your ability to manage a business.

• Credit - involves collecting details about your credit history

• Collateral - involves determining the assets that can be used as security for your loan.

• Cash flow - Your ability to pay back the loan

A well prepared business plan and a collection of your personal information regarding these criteria can significantly support your loan application as it demonstrates the amount of thought you have put into your business.  To further contribute to the application of your loan you should have information about the following:

• Finance Required: Determine how much you require to start the operation of your business. Consider in your calculation amounts for operating costs for the first few months of business operation, equipment purchases and business start-up.

• Business Type: This entails describing your business and providing details about the market you will be selling too, associated market research, pricing structures, business goals as well as proposed products and services your business is going to sell.

• History: When raising debt financing you need to ensure you address your past character (previous experience, skills, etc), credit history and any collateral you possess.

• Usage of Finance: This involves justifying the amount of investment your business requires. To do this you should project budgets into the coming years, prepare cash flow statements and profit and loss statements as well as a list of current and intended creditors.

• Finance Repayment: This involves clearly establishing how the investment will be repaid, in what timeframe and to what conditions. A list of personal assets that could be used as security for the loan should also be included.