Business loan for startups

New businesses use finance to help get them off the ground. Prioritising the basics; the money can be used for property, staff, equipment, stock or product. The funding is also helpful with marketing and technology infrastructure setup costs. 

It can be challenging to get approved for business loans when your credit history has been impacted, but it’s not impossible. The first step is understanding your credit score and then taking the proper steps to improve it. If you need a loan urgently, then you will likely need to put up an asset (e.g. property) as security.

Identification  

If you already bank with us, we won’t need your individual ID again if we already have it on file.  

If you are new to the bank, we will need to see ID, such as your driver's licence or passport. We may also need to see your business registration documents.  

Financial statements 

Most businesses will need to show:  

• Annual financial statements or a copy of tax returns  
• Interim financial statements, as required 
• A copy of the latest full tax portal report.  

In some cases, we may need more information, such as:  

• Business Activity Statements or cash flow statements  
  
• Recent management information appropriate to the risk and complexity of the loan (e.g. cash flow forecasts, management accounts, working asset statement etc.)  
  
• Projected financial information.  
  

Proof of individual income 

We may also want to know your personal income if you are a director and/or shareholder of a company. We’re likely to ask you for your most recent individual tax returns.  

If you earn other income unrelated to your business, or not shown in your tax return, you may want to provide this information as well. For example, you could show income from a rental property if you have one.  

Expenses 

We will want to know your expenses to ensure the loan repayments can be paid. Expenses include things like bills, living expenses, current loan repayments and credit card limits. We may also require financial statements that detail business expenses to help us determine whether your business can meet your future repayments.

A business loan for startups can have a repayment term of up to 5 years.

We won’t ask you to provide specific asset security, such as property, to secure your loan. For corporate borrowers, director guarantees may be required.

If you choose to offer security for your business loan, you will typically pay a lower interest rate than if you choose the unsecured business loan option. The interest rate is lower because we secure the loan using a pre-agreed asset, which we can recover against if you are unable to repay the loan.