Documents needed for business funding, product by product

The fastest route to a clear answer on business funding is a complete file. Funders price what they can verify, and every missing page is a question that sits in someone's queue. What they need depends on the product and the size of the deal. Here is the list, product by product, and how to send a file that does not come back with questions.

The core documents almost every funder asks for

Velocity Capital Group's published process for merchant cash advances is a good example. It lists a completed funding application, “3 of the most recent bank statements for the business,” the owner's driver's license or another legal form of ID, and a voided check. Fenix Capital Funding asks for “3 last bank statements and application,” and Merit Business Funding asks for its “3-4 most recent business bank statements.”

• Application. Business legal name, EIN, address, ownership, time in business and the amount you want.
• Business bank statements. The main evidence of your revenue for revenue-based products.
• Photo ID for each owner who will sign or guarantee.
• Voided check from the business account, which gives the funder the routing and account numbers for your deposit and payments.

The list grows with the deal. Velocity notes that for advances above $150,000, funders may also ask for work in progress reports and accounts receivable records.

Why Openbook asks for 4 months of statements

Our process starts with an online application that takes about 3 minutes. There is no SSN and no bank login at that step, so it does not affect your credit. A funding specialist then reviews it and asks for the last 4 months of business bank statements through a secure upload.

Published minimums vary: 3 months at some funders, 3 to 4 at others, and 3 to 6 for some equipment financing. One upload of 4 months meets the most common requests and shows whether a slow month was a one-off. That lets Openbook match your file to funders whose published criteria fit, and name every funder to you before anything is submitted.

If your business is seasonal, say so up front and point to the months that show it. A landscaper's January or a beach shop's February reads very differently with one sentence of context.

Documents by product

If you take cards, add your processor's monthly statements. They show card volume and chargebacks, and they matter if a funder proposes collecting a share of each card batch instead of a bank debit.

A few specifics from published sources. One MCA funder states “there is no requirement for a personal guarantee or tax returns” for its advance, while a lender's term loan page says “bank statements and recent tax returns may be required” and its SBA page says “full documentation, tax returns must be provided.” Lenders can verify tax returns directly with the IRS through its Income Verification Express Service, using Form 4506-C with your consent.

For SBA loans, the agency says “the contents of the loan application vary depending on the size of the loan and the lender's processing method,” and your lender will tell you which documents you need. SBA Form 1919 is completed by the business applying for a 7(a) loan, and SBA uses Form 413 to assess applicants' finances across several programs. See our SBA loans page for how the program works.

A factoring company uses your aging report “to determine the size and quality of your invoice portfolio,” as one factor puts it, and also runs commercial credit checks on your customers. Equipment lenders want the deal itself: one asks borrowers to get “a quote, invoice, or VIN from the seller/vendor” before applying. More on each at invoice factoring and equipment financing.

How to prepare a clean file

1. Use the exact legal name everywhere. The application, the bank account and the voided check should all match.
2. Send full statements as PDFs from your bank, every page, including the months with bad days. Screenshots and edited files slow everything down.
3. Flag deposits that are not sales: transfers between your own accounts, owner injections, loan or advance proceeds and refunds.
4. List every existing advance or loan with the funder, balance, payment and frequency. It will show on your statements anyway.
5. Explain one-offs in a sentence, such as a returned item, a negative day or a slow month after a closure.
6. Keep the current month ready. Funders often verify recent account activity before they fund.
7. For loans, have tax returns and a year-to-date profit and loss statement ready before the lender asks.

Our guide to MCA underwriting explains what funders look for on the statements themselves.

Check these before you upload

• A missing page, or a month skipped in the middle of the range.
• Statements from a personal account instead of the business account.
• A business name on the statements that does not match the application.
• Large deposits with no note explaining what they were.
• An expired ID.
• A voided check from a different account than the statements.

Sharing bank access safely

Some funders verify statements through a software connection rather than paper. That can be legitimate, and it is part of the contract Velocity describes. What is not legitimate is anyone asking for your online banking password in an email, a text or a phone call.

Openbook does not ask for your SSN or a bank login when you apply. If a funder later offers a connection for verification, confirm it through the contract and a phone number you looked up yourself.

What happens after you choose an offer

With Openbook, you choose an offer or walk away, with no obligation. The funder you choose then runs its own verification, which may include a credit check, and sends the contract. Funding typically lands 1 to 2 business days after signing, depending on the funder and the bank.

Velocity's published process shows what verification can look like. The contract offers 2 or 3 ways to verify the statements and ledgers you sent, from manual checks to a software connection. The underwriter then calls you for a short interview about the business, and a final call confirms the advance details before funding. See verification call in our glossary.

Keep your documents safe

Bank statements and IDs are exactly what fraudsters want. The FTC advises small businesses to ask questions and insist on answers in writing before sharing confidential data, and not to click links in unsolicited emails. It also warns that an unexpected call or text asking for personal or financial information is a sign of a scam.

When you are ready, the application takes about 3 minutes, and you can have your 4 months of statements ready for the upload step.