Capital · Nov 2025 · 6 min read
What lenders actually want to see in an SME's books.
A practical checklist of the reports, ratios and controls that separate fundable SMEs from the rest.
The three questions every lender asks first
Before they read the pitch, lenders check the same three things: can you evidence recurring cashflow, is the balance sheet legible, and are the numbers you show them the same numbers you run the business on. Everything else is negotiation.
Reports that unlock a real conversation
Monthly management accounts, a rolling 12-month cashflow, a customer concentration view, and a working capital cycle. Presented cleanly, these four move the meeting from suspicion to structuring.
The controls that quietly do the work
Bank reconciliations closed within five days, dual approvals over a threshold, and a supplier list that matches the ledger. Lenders read controls as a proxy for how you run the business when nobody is watching.
Takeaways
Three things to keep.
- 01Monthly close within ten working days is the entry ticket.
- 02Cash conversion beats revenue growth in a lender's model.
- 03Clean controls make the pricing conversation easier.
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