Home > Financing > The Business Loan Application

Business Loan Sample Application - Page 2

Business Email
We highly recommend that a business owner / partner at least register a domain name even if they don’t have a website up and running – this way they have the ability to acquire a few email addresses with the business domain name as the extension – john@atouchoftuscany.com sounds much better than joh232@aol.com!

Business Website
Needless to say that when applying for business loans, if you have an established website, even if it only a few pages, you look much more prepared and ready for business.  Even established businesses are able to denote their presence to underwriters and we recommend that setting up at least a basic web site is a very good investment for business owners / partners.

Primary Contact 
This is the point person that will handle all the inquiries about the business loan application.  Typically, this is the president, senior partner or a designated partner.

Secondary Contact 
As above this is the second in command that the bank will contact if they are not able to get in touch with the primary contact if they need something.

Business Address 
A lot of business owners / partners take this very important item of the application for granted and this is usually what lands a lot of them in trouble.  Be honest – if you are a home based business then put down your home address; if you have a shared office space that receives your correspondence that put that address down, if you have a P. O. Box at the post office, it will not work, it is probably better to put down your home office address.  We recommend that you discuss this aspect of your business loan application with the business banker who will be able to shed more light on how the bank views these items in the total application package.

Mailing address 
Here you should put down the address where your mail is delivered – if you are an ongoing business you may be asked to provide proof of location and a utility or telephone bill or lease is the most common document accepted.  Make sure that the mailing address coincides with the actual address on the mail you are submitting as supporting documentation.  One of the most common ways that underwriters catch dubious applications is when the address on the bank statements or tax returns does not match up with the mailing address specified in the application!

Own or Lease
A straight forward question – always remember that the bank can request supporting documentation for any information listed on the application.

Home based business 
Banks nowadays are cognizant of the fact that many small businesses and startups start from their home offices and accommodate for this in their underwriting models – check with your business banker.

Has the business changed name or guarantor in the past year?
Here the bank is looking to see continuity in the ownership of the company.  Very often when lending to existing businesses, they will look at corporate tax returns that show profit distributions to shareholders or partners.  If there has been a change, make sure you mention that and explain that with a cover letter to the file.

Legal structure of the business
This section of the application for business loans deals with the what kind of business entity you have – a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company, a sole proprietor, limited liability partnership, general partnership or non-for profit or an S-corporation.  You will put down whatever kind of business entity you are currently structured as of course but in the event you have not yet set up your business make sure you speak with a qualified Certified Public Accountant or tax attorney about the advantages and disadvantages of each type of business structure.

<  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  Next  >