A complete file is a signed application, four consecutive months of full bank statements, a voided cheque or bank verification, and a short cover note explaining anything unusual. Complete and legible beats fast and partial — an underwriter who has to come back for a missing page moves your file to the bottom of the queue.
Underwriters work a queue. A file they can decide on without asking you anything gets decided; one with a gap goes back in the pile. That is the whole reason packaging matters.
| Item | Detail that trips people up |
|---|---|
| Signed application | Legal entity name matching the bank account, not a trading name |
| Four months of statements | Consecutive, most recent first, every page including blanks |
| Voided cheque or bank letter | Must match the account the statements came from |
| Cover note | Two or three lines on anything anomalous |
| Positions disclosure | How many, roughly what the remittances total |
Ask for something the statements support. A request at three or four times what the revenue carries signals you did not read them, and that colours everything else in the submission.
If the merchant wants more than the file supports, say so before submitting and explain why. An offer that comes back at half of what they asked for lands very differently when they were expecting it.
A signed application, four consecutive months of complete bank statements, a voided cheque or bank verification matching that account, and a short cover note explaining anything unusual. Disclosing existing positions up front belongs in the file too.
Four is the common requirement, consecutive and most recent first. Every page matters, including ones that appear blank — an underwriter counting pages will notice a gap, and a gap invites the assumption that the missing month was the bad one.
Partly because underwriters cannot decide without the missing piece, and partly because absence reads as concealment even when it is carelessness. Either way the file goes back in the queue, and files that need a follow-up get worked after files that do not.
Selectively, not indiscriminately. Sending one file to eight funders shows up and damages how each reads your future submissions. Better to know which funders take which industries, position counts and time-in-business floors, and place accordingly.
Something the statements support. Requesting three or four times what the revenue carries tells the underwriter you did not read them and colours the rest of the file. If the merchant wants more than it supports, say so before submitting rather than letting a halved offer surprise them.
We will tell you straight up if we cannot help you. No commission deals, no free trials, no chasing you for three weeks.