A company loan can create several layers of exposure: the business's promise, pledged assets, owner guarantees, and restrictions on future operations. Review those layers together with the cash needed to keep trading.
Build one row for each borrowing arrangement
| Field | Record to capture |
|---|---|
| Borrower and lender | Exact legal names, servicer, and contact with authority to discuss a workout. |
| Structure | Term loan, revolving line, equipment loan, card, public-program loan, or another borrowing arrangement (facility). |
| Cash commitment | Payment, frequency, interest basis, fees, maturity, and any large final payment (balloon). |
| Collateral | Named assets, accounts, inventory, property, and claimed lien priority (the ranking of competing rights against the assets). |
| Guarantees | Signer, amount limit, trigger, duration, and release conditions. |
| Contract promises (covenants) and defaults | Financial reporting, borrowing limits, ratios, defaults triggered by another obligation, and chances to fix a default. |
Keep unused availability separate from current borrowing. A line that is undrawn today may have renewal or availability conditions; do not budget it as cash already in the account.
Show the lender the business after the proposed change
Prepare current financial statements, a list of unpaid customer invoices and supplier bills grouped by how long they have been outstanding, cash balances, and a week-by-week cash forecast. Separate a temporary timing gap from a business that cannot cover ordinary operations even before debt service.
A useful proposal states the cause of the shortfall, requested payment or maturity change, funding needed, expected recovery date, and evidence supporting that recovery. Show payroll, taxes, critical suppliers, rent, and other existing lenders in the same forecast.
Ask how deferred interest, missed principal, fees, collateral, and guarantees would change. A lower payment can leave a larger balloon or longer obligation. A new loan can also add security or personal exposure even where the monthly cost appears lower.
If credit is denied or reduced, preserve the notice record
Regulation B section 1002.9 has business-credit notification branches affected by preceding fiscal-year revenue and by trade credit, credit incident to factoring (financing tied to selling invoices), and similar credit. The right route can differ from a standard consumer denial notice.
Save the application, information requests, completion dates, decision, and any request for specific reasons. A notification duty is not a promise that a lender must approve a loan, renew a line, or accept a workout. If the stated reason appears wrong, respond with the particular record that corrects it.
Use the actual public-loan or asset-finance program
Small Business Administration (SBA) and disaster loans are not one uniform account type. The SBA payment guidance distinguishes loans serviced through its portal from loans requiring contact with the lending institution. Confirm the program and present servicer before following payment or assistance instructions.
Commercial property, farm, franchise, and trade facilities can carry specialized terms; equipment financing also requires reviewing the asset and any sale restrictions. Obtain a dated payoff before a sale or refinancing and written conditions for collateral and guarantor release.
If the business may close or cannot meet essential obligations, obtain qualified restructuring and legal advice before distributing assets or signing new guarantees. Preserve the company's and each guarantor's records separately so a business resolution does not leave personal exposure unexplained.
Sources and further reading
General educational information. The original evidence, dates and recorded qualifications are available in the optional archive below.