Firleaf Lending Group, a small-business funding broker in Bowling Green, Kentucky, lists the documents lending partners usually request: bank statements, tax returns, financial statements, debt schedules, entity records and quotes. Many Warren County businesses are very small or unincorporated, and the list changes with business type and request size. Partners decide what they need.
Why the list depends on your business
In Bowling Green, KY, 4.7 percent of employed residents are self-employed in an unincorporated business and 2.5 percent in an incorporated one (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates). Across Warren County, 12,938 businesses had no payroll in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024), and 45.1 percent of employer establishments had fewer than five employees in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). Many owners will be applying as sole proprietors or single-member LLCs, and that changes what partners ask for.
Almost every request
- The business's last few months of bank statements, every page
- Government-issued ID for each owner
- Your EIN or, for some sole proprietors, your Social Security number on the application
- A short description of what the money is for
Larger or longer requests
- Business tax returns for recent years
- Personal tax returns for owners
- A year-to-date profit and loss statement and balance sheet
- A schedule of current debts, leases and advances
- Accounts receivable aging, if customers pay on terms
By business type
| Business type | Partners may also ask for |
|---|---|
| Sole proprietor | Schedule C from personal returns; any assumed-name paperwork |
| LLC | Articles of organization, operating agreement, current state record |
| Corporation | Articles of incorporation, bylaws or resolutions, current state record |
The occupational license records checklist covers local records that may also be requested.
By request type
- Working capital: bank statements and the size of the gap; see working capital.
- Equipment: the dealer quote with make, model and price.
- Build-out or expansion: the lease, contractor quotes and a plan.
- Merchant cash advance: card-processing and bank statements. An advance is not a loan; see how advances work.
Gaps partners notice
- Bank statements with missing months or pages
- Deposits that do not match reported sales
- Debts on the credit report that are missing from your debt list
- A business name on the bank account that differs from the state record
- Tax returns not yet filed for the most recent year
Fixing these before a partner looks avoids follow-up questions. Local records come into it too; the Kentucky loan checklist covers the state side.
Organizing the folder
Make one folder, digital or paper, with sections for bank statements, tax returns, financial statements, debts, entity and local records, and quotes. Name files by date. When a partner asks for something, you send it the same day, and that responsiveness itself helps a review move.
What not to send by email
Never send full Social Security numbers or bank login details by ordinary email or text. Partners have their own secure upload routes, and you should use them.
Getting started
The Firleaf request form needs your name, email, phone and business name plus three range picks, and no documents. How it works explains when documents are requested. The Firleaf blog has the other Warren County articles.
By Firleaf Lending Group · Updated