Trigger: the bank asked
Your lender asked for a forecast before approving the line of credit
There is a date on this one. The bank does not want your bookkeeping, it wants a forward view it can underwrite: a forecast, a debt service coverage calculation, and statements that agree with each other.
What is needed
What a bank actually asks for
Underwriters are not looking for beautiful reports. They are looking for a small number of specific things, and a package that is missing one of them goes to the bottom of the pile.
A forward view they can underwrite
Twelve months out with stated assumptions, showing the loan serviced out of operations rather than hope.
Debt service coverage, calculated their way
Including the facility you are applying for, not just the debt you already carry. If your math and theirs disagree, theirs wins.
Numbers that agree with each other
Profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow that tie to one another and to the tax return. Underwriters check this first.
The schedules and the follow-ups
Debt schedule, AR and AP aging, and answers to the questions that come back after the first submission.
Straight answers
Questions owners ask at this point
What does a bank want to see for a line of credit?
Typically two to three years of financial statements, the most recent tax return, interim statements for the current year, a debt schedule, AR and AP aging, and a forward forecast showing the facility can be serviced. Most declines are missing documents or statements that do not agree, not weak businesses.
What is debt service coverage and why does it decide the loan?
Debt service coverage compares cash available for debt payments against the payments themselves. Lenders set a floor and calculate it their own way, including the facility you are applying for. If your model and theirs disagree, theirs wins, so it is worth calculating it their way before you submit.
How fast can a lender package be built?
If the books are current, days. If the books are behind, the cleanup drives the timeline and that gets said out loud before anything starts. The 30-day Financial Clarity Sprint is the usual container when both are needed.
Do you talk to the bank directly?
Yes, if the owner wants that. Answering an underwriter's follow-up questions is usually faster and cleaner than relaying them, and it keeps the momentum after the first submission.
There is a deadline on this
Get the number right the first time.
One call, 30 minutes, no cost. Tell me the deadline and what the other side has asked for, and you will get a straight answer on what it takes.