Profit and loss
Show monthly or year-to-date revenue, cost of sales, gross margin and operating expenses. Explain material one-off movements rather than leaving the assessor to guess.
Balance sheet
Reconcile cash, receivables, payables, tax liabilities, loans, leases and shareholder/director balances. Old or unexplained balances can make the current position difficult to understand.
Aged debtors and creditors
Revenue is not the same as cash. An aged receivables report can show whether working capital is tied up in customers, while aged payables show pressure on suppliers.
Connect accounts to bank statements
Large differences between accounting records and bank activity should be understood before a funding discussion.
Use forecasts separately
Management accounts describe actual performance; forecasts describe what management expects next. Keep those concepts distinct and state forecast assumptions clearly.
General information only. This page does not constitute legal, tax, financial or credit advice. SME Capital Partners is in pre-launch and is not currently offering or approving credit through this website.