A 30-minute approval is realistic — when the file is complete. Nearly every delayed application is delayed for the same reason: a missing document. Here is the short list to have ready before you start.
A current driver's license or passport for every owner with 20%+ ownership. Used for identity verification — blurry photos are the most common resubmission request, so scan it flat and well-lit.
The last 3–6 months of business bank statements are the core of underwriting. Connecting your account through Plaid replaces the uploads entirely and lets revenue verification happen in minutes instead of days. If you upload instead, send complete statements, not screenshots.
Knowing what the file is judged on tells you what to prepare for. Reviewers are generally looking at:
None of these disqualify you on their own, and a few negative days in a seasonal business is normal. But if something in the last few months looks unusual — a large one-time deposit, a temporary dip, a lawsuit settlement passing through — say so upfront. An explained anomaly is a footnote; an unexplained one invites questions that cost days.
Articles of incorporation, LLC operating agreement, or a current business license — whatever shows the legal entity name matching your bank account. Mismatched names between documents are a silent application-killer.
The IRS letter (CP 575) or a filed tax document showing your Employer Identification Number. Sole proprietors can typically use their SSN, but an EIN speeds verification.
Confirms the funding account. It must be the business account — funds cannot be sent to a personal account, and swapping accounts late in the process restarts verification.
Short-term working capital rarely needs more than the five above. Larger amounts, longer terms and SBA files typically do:
That last one carries more weight than its length suggests. "$60,000 for a second delivery van, financed over 36 months, adding roughly 15 stops a day" reads very differently from "working capital," and it is the kind of specificity that moves a marginal file toward approval.
Most applications have something that does not fit the clean template. None of these are disqualifying, and all of them go better when raised upfront rather than discovered.
Multiple owners. Anyone at 20% or more generally needs to provide ID and sign. Gather everyone documents before you start — chasing a co-owner driver licence for two days is one of the most common causes of delay, and it has nothing to do with whether the deal is approvable.
Recent dip in revenue. If the last two months look weaker than the six before them, explain why in a sentence: a renovation, a lost contract since replaced, a seasonal trough. Underwriters see dips constantly; what they cannot assess is an unexplained one.
Existing advances or loans. Disclose them. Daily and weekly debits are plainly visible in your bank statements, so an undisclosed obligation reads as something you were hoping would not be noticed — and it changes how the rest of the file is read. Disclosed, it is just an input.
Multiple bank accounts. If revenue lands across more than one account, say so and provide statements for each. A single account showing only part of the revenue understates the business and can produce a smaller offer than you deserve.
Recently changed entity. New EIN, new LLC over an old sole proprietorship, or a name change means the paperwork trail and the bank history may not line up. Bring both sets of documents and be ready to explain the sequence.
The pattern is consistent: nothing here is about the strength of the business. These are administrative gaps, and every one of them is avoidable in the fifteen minutes before you start.
Fifteen minutes of preparation is the difference between a same-day decision and a week of email. Gather these five items, connect your bank rather than uploading, and let underwriting run at full speed.
And when something in the file needs context, give it before you are asked. A short, plain explanation attached to an application almost always moves faster than the same explanation extracted over three days of email.
