Five stages: the request, the documents, the partner's review, the credit check and the offer. Nothing is signed until the owner has read the terms.
Small business loan requirements, read from a Morton County, ND tavern's own file
Requirements differ by funding partner and by product, so the useful question is what the business's own file shows. A tavern owner can pull together answers to the points a partner looks at:
- Years the business has operated with today's owner at the helm
- Deposits month by month, as the business bank statements show them
- Every loan, lease or advance already running, with what each takes per month
- The owner's personal credit history, since a partner may ask for a personal guarantee
- The purpose and the amount, tied to a quote or an invoice
None of these is a pass-or-fail line set by Thistlepine Capital. Each funding partner weighs them its own way, and two partners can read the same file differently.
The document folder a Mandan, ND repair shop brings to a small business loan request
- Photo ID for each owner
- Proof the business is registered with the state, plus its EIN letter
- Business tax returns for the two most recent filed years
- Recent business bank statements
- Payroll reports, if the shop has employees
- A quote or invoice for the purchase the request covers
A folder assembled before the first call spares the owner a second trip through old files. A partner may still ask for more, such as a profit-and-loss statement for the current year or a list of open invoices.
Business loan underwriting process: what happens after a Mandan, ND request is sent
- Thistlepine Capital calls to confirm the amount, the purpose and the timing.
- The request and documents go to a funding partner that handles that kind of financing.
- The partner's underwriter may read the bank statements for deposits, balances and existing debits.
- The partner may check business and personal credit and ask follow-up questions.
- Any offer comes back as a written document naming the sum, what it costs, how long it runs and when each payment falls due.
The owner compares any offers side by side and can decline all of them. The business loan types explain what each structure costs and how it is paid.
When two offers arrive, line up the same points on each: the total of all payments, how frequently payments are taken, whether paying early lowers the cost, what is pledged as collateral and whether a personal guarantee is required. The lower monthly payment is not always the cheaper offer once the term is counted.
Business credit or the owner's credit: what a partner may check for a Morton County, ND owner
A partner may pull a business credit file, the owner's personal credit report or both. Which checks it runs, and at what stage, is the partner's choice, so it is fair to ask before documents go in.
The 2020-2024 American Community Survey found 9.1% of Morton County, ND's employed residents working in their own unincorporated businesses (margin of error 2.3 points) and 4.9% in their own incorporated ones (margin of error 1.6 points).
For an owner whose business is not incorporated, the owner's name may sit on both the business accounts and the personal ones, so it helps to have both sets of statements ready for the call.
What a partner may read in a Mandan, ND insurance agency's deposits, returns and commission statements
Bank statements show the pattern of deposits, ending balances, any overdrafts and regular debits to other funders. Tax returns show what was left after expenses. A partner may read both to judge whether a new payment fits.
An agency paid in monthly commission deposits shows a steady pattern; one large renewal deposit can make a single month look stronger than the rest, and a partner may look past it to the average.
Carrier commission statements are a third record. They show which carrier paid, for which month and on which policies, so a large renewal deposit can be traced to the business behind it. Having the last few statements ready answers that question if the underwriter asks it. More short answers are on the business loan FAQ.
By Thistlepine Capital ยท Updated