Unfortunately, COVID has reaped havoc on many people’s finances. Not just individuals, but businesses as well. A lot of businesses have even had to go as far as to close their doors for good. While this is truly troubling, it is all possible that it could have been avoided. How, you might ask? Well, with the securing of a loan. It is true that many lenders aren’t simply handing out loans free and clear these days, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other options. That also doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that one can’t do to enhances their chances of getting a loan. Just taking a few days to prepare might be the difference between you securing a loan and not securing it. This is even true during this trying pandemic.

Get Those Statements In Check

This one probably seems so obvious that it isn’t even worth mentioning, but you’d be surprised at the number of people that aren’t prepared when they enter the lender’s office. They don’t even have the first piece of paperwork that identifies them as a business or property owner. Needless to say that this is a mistake. You’ll likely not be taken seriously right from the get-go. A company or individual needs to have detailed year-to-date financial records. It would be recommended to review these statements for accuracy before heading to the lender office. This will also give you a good overlook of your past and future financial performance.

It doesn’t even hurt to include an analysis of the two different time periods. This will not only help the lending officer, but it might help you see where you can improve or cut costs.

Measure Free Cash Flow

There really is no sense in taking out a loan if you can’t afford to pay it back. How do you know if you can and how much you can afford to pay back? The only way to know this is by measuring your free cash flow. And, that is exactly what you are going to be doing here. Now that you have your financial statements in hand, this should make the process a little easier. You’ll need to be able to explain the sources of free cash flow that will be used to pay back any loan. That’s what measuring your free cash flow will help you do. Once you calculate your company’s current ratio and divide those assets among your liabilities, you’ll know just how much free cash you’ll have on hand to pay back for a loan.

Just remember most experts from budgetable.com will tell you to leave yourself a little to sock back into some kind of savings account, as you always need an egg to fall back on.

Extenuate Your Sales Growth

How does a company get ahead each year? What is the main goal of a company? To grow! Anyone that goes into business for themselves or as a corporation wants to grow to point of where they are making more money than they are spending. This is how a company ends up making a profit. Heck, it is what companies have to do in order to stay active. That being said, some companies grow more than others. Some grow faster. Some grow further. Whatever the situation is, the point it to grow, and your lender will want to see where and how your company has grown over the years. Most lenders like to see at least a 10 percent revenue growth year over year.

Lenders, obviously, like companies that are growing, as it shows the ability to repay the loan. If you’ve recently hit a hard patch and this is why you are in need of the loan, you’d best be ready to show this and explain why the snag. Just the fact that you were growing in the past might be enough to help secure the loan anyway so don’t just discount yourself immediately.