Preparing for a Working Capital Assessment

Assessments are rarely delayed by the strength of the business. They are delayed because information arrives piecemeal. The following sets out what is required, and the purpose each item serves.

The receivables ageing

This is the centre of the whole exercise, and the one document worth preparing properly. A buyer-wise ageing showing what is outstanding in each bucket, current through thirty, sixty, ninety and beyond, says more in a single page than a year of financials.

Present it by buyer rather than as one blended total. The blend hides exactly what we are looking at, which is who converts reliably and who does not. If a balance is old for a known reason, write the reason on the sheet. An explained ninety day item raises no questions. An unexplained one raises several.

GST returns and bank statements

GST filings confirm the sales are real and let the invoice trail be checked against something independent. Bank statements show the other half, which is when money actually landed. Read together they establish payment behaviour as fact rather than as a claim.

Twelve months of each is the usual ask. Partial periods invite follow-up questions, which is the main thing you are trying to avoid.

Financial statements and existing facilities

The last two years of audited financials give scale and direction. Just as important, and frequently forgotten, is a plain list of what you already have. Every existing limit, who it is with, what is drawn, and what security sits against it.

Existing facilities are not a mark against you. Being vague about them is. Put the full picture on the table at the start.

Buyer and supplier details

For invoice discounting we need the buyers you want funded: who they are, how long you have supplied them, the agreed terms, and what share of turnover each represents. For purchase financing we also need the supplier side, meaning who we would be paying and against what order. Have the purchase orders or supply agreements to hand.

What materially shortens the process

• State the amount and its application. A defined requirement tied to a specific use is considerably easier to assess than an open-ended request.
• Disclose adverse items in advance. A dispute, a stretched buyer, a weak quarter. Raised early these are context; identified later they become a credibility issue.
• Submit as a single set. Documentation arriving across three weeks causes the assessment to restart three times.

None of this guarantees an outcome, because every facility remains subject to credit assessment. It does mean the assessment is made on an accurate picture of the business, which is the most useful thing in your control.

General information only, not financial advice. Documentation requirements vary by facility and are confirmed during the formal application process.