Business loan without an accountant

Why do lenders like accountants?

An accountant is an independent professional who has looked at your numbers. When they prepare financial statements or write a letter confirming income, the lender borrows some of their credibility. That’s the whole value: a second set of eyes the lender trusts.

If you don’t have an accountant, the lender needs that credibility from somewhere else. The good news is that the most trusted sources don’t involve an accountant at all. They’re your bank and the ATO.

What can you gather yourself?

Evidence	Where to get it	What it replaces
Business bank statements	Internet banking, as PDFs	Accountant-prepared income figures
Lodged tax returns and notices of assessment	myGov (sole traders) or Online services for business	Accountant-supplied copies
Lodged BAS and ATO account statement	ATO online services	BAS summaries and tax position letters
Profit and loss, balance sheet	Your accounting or invoicing software	Formal financial statements
Assets and liabilities statement	Written and signed by you	Balance sheet
Card or platform settlement reports	Payment provider dashboard	Sales summaries

The ATO says individuals, including sole traders, can review and print lodged returns, notices of assessment and activity statements from 2010 onwards through online services linked to myGov. Companies, trusts and partnerships use Online services for business, which needs a myID with Standard or Strong identity strength, linked to the ABN through RAM. Our page on ATO online records walks through what to download.

How do you make self-prepared evidence believable?

Lenders accept owner-prepared evidence when it lines up with independent evidence. A few habits make a big difference:

• Reconcile first. If your software’s profit and loss matches the deposits in your bank statements, it’s credible. If it doesn’t, it isn’t.
• Send the full statement. Every page, every account, straight from the bank. Screenshots and cropped pages raise questions.
• Label estimates. “Approximate” next to a figure on your assets list is fine. A number that later proves wrong isn’t.
• Keep it short. A clear one-page summary of what the business does, who pays it and what the money is for helps a credit analyst more than a thick folder.

The guide to software reports lenders read covers which reports to run and how to check them.

When is professional help still worth it?

There are times when a qualified professional genuinely helps:

• Your tax affairs are behind. Overdue returns and BAS need to be lodged, and a registered tax or BAS agent can do it properly and may give you a later lodgement due date.
• Your figures need explaining. If your taxable profit is low because of depreciation or one-off costs, an accountant can explain the add-backs. See when your tax return shows a loss.
• The structure is complex. Trusts and multiple entities are easier for a lender to follow with an accountant’s summary.

If you engage someone, check them on the Tax Practitioners Board Register. The TPB encourages people to check registration, and registered practitioners can display a symbol showing their registration type and number.

Illustrative example: a tradie who does his own books

Illustrative only; not a real business.

A plumber has run his business for four years, keeps his own invoicing app up to date and lodges BAS himself online. He’s never had an accountant; a family member helped with his early tax returns. He wants $45,000 for a new van and pipe-inspection camera.

He downloads twelve months of business statements, his last four BAS and his most recent notice of assessment through myGov, and exports a profit and loss from his app. The invoice totals line up with the deposits. There’s no accountant’s letter, and there doesn’t need to be.

Which loan types suit?

For unsecured, cash-flow and line-of-credit options, typically $5,000 to $500,000 and sized on turnover and bank statements, the evidence above is often enough on its own. See bank statement business loans.

For property-secured loans, $20,000 to $5,000,000 by first mortgage, second mortgage or caveat, the equity carries most of the weight, and professionally prepared accounts are rarely the deciding factor.

A do-it-yourself evidence pack in one afternoon

If you’re gathering everything yourself, this order works well and avoids doubling back:

1. Internet banking first. Download six to twelve months of PDF statements for every account the business uses. Save them in one folder.
2. ATO next. Log in through myGov or Online services for business and download your last four lodged BAS, your latest notice of assessment and an account statement.
3. Software reports. Reconcile the latest months, then export a year-to-date profit and loss and a balance sheet.
4. Assets and liabilities. List what you own and owe on one page, with loan balances and repayments. Sign and date it.
5. A short cover note. Three or four sentences: what the business does, how long it has traded, what the money is for and anything a lender should know upfront, such as an overdue return.

That pack, with photo ID and your ABN, is the core of most low doc applications. A lender may ask for one or two extra items, but you’ll be starting from a strong position.

No accountant? Start anyway

You don’t need a professional in your corner to find out what your business can borrow. Tell us about your business in about 60 seconds. There’s no credit check at this stage, your details go to one team rather than a crowd of lenders, and a real person calls to talk it through.

Be as accurate as you can with turnover and debts on the form. It means we can point you to the right lender straight away. Get started.