Section B · Read it like an assessor
The lender's-eye view
What a credit assessor actually checks, in what order, and what your numbers look like from the other side of the desk. No rates, no jargon.
How to use this section
These pages are written from the other side of the desk. They describe what a credit assessor opens first, which lines they circle, and which combinations of documents make a file easy to approve or slow to move.
Read the overview first, then the page on whichever document worries you most. None of it needs interest rates or jargon: the tests are about room, consistency and evidence.
What lenders look for
What lenders look for in a business loan application, as seven questions an assessor answers from your file: who, trading, cash, tax, debts, credit, purpose.
Open the page → B 02First ten minutes
Walk through the first ten minutes of a business loan assessment: what is opened first, what gets checked, and how to arrange your pack to match the order.
Open the page → B 03Statements, marked up
See what a loan assessor circles on business bank statements: deposits, overdrawn days, dishonours, transfers and lumps, and how to prepare yours first.
Open the page → B 04Serviceability, plainly
Serviceability explained without jargon or rates: how a lender judges whether your business has room to carry a new repayment, and how to check yours.
Open the page → B 05The three-way match
How a loan assessor reconciles BAS turnover, bank deposits and your financial statements, why small gaps are normal and how to explain the big ones.
Open the page → B 06ATO debt, lender's view
How a lender reads an ATO balance or payment plan on a business loan application, what makes a plan look healthy and how to present yours with evidence.
Open the page → B 07Credit file, assessor's view
What an assessor sees on the credit files behind a business loan application, how defaults, arrears and enquiries read, and how to get your own copy free.
Open the page → B 08Security cover, plainly
LVR and security cover explained simply: how a lender compares a loan with the property behind it, what equity means and how to estimate yours sensibly.
Open the page →Quick answers
Do all lenders assess the same way?
The broad questions are similar: who is borrowing, how the business trades, what cash does, whether tax is in order, what is already committed and what the money is for. Weighting differs by lender and by product.
Why does my credit file matter for a business loan?
In a small business the owners' personal credit conduct is often read alongside the business's. The page on the credit file explains what is seen and how to get your own copy free.
Is serviceability about interest rates?
No. It is the room left after normal costs and existing repayments. Pricing is worked out for your individual circumstances once the facts are known.
Ready to lodge? Start with a free enquiry
Tell us the amount, the purpose and the state you trade in. It takes about a minute, leaves your credit file alone, and goes to a person who will read it properly.
No credit check at the first step
No spray and pray
One real person