Your Guide to Funding
Guides to help navigate the Approven Funding Process.
Find your route
What are you trying to do?
Start with the situation. We’ll work out the product.
“Money’s tight between paying out and getting paid.”
“My customers are slow to pay and it’s holding me back.”
“I need a piece of kit and don’t want to pay for it all at once.”
“There’s an opportunity in front of me and I need to move on it.”
“A commercial property deal has a deadline and my capital is tied up.”
“Something needs sorting and I don’t know what I need.”
What we’ll ask you for
A short form to start, then the documents a lender needs before we submit your case.
A 3 minute form
We will ask you to complete a short enquiry form, which takes about three minutes. You are not required to submit documents at this stage. They will be needed before we approach a lender, so attaching them to the application will speed the process up.
The usual two
Six months of business bank statements and your most recent accounts, if you have not sent them already. As a rough guide that is enough for a realistic view of what is achievable. Some lenders ask for more, and we will tell you before they do.
One thing for your route
An aged debtor report for invoice finance, asset and supplier details for asset finance, or the property and your exit plan for bridging. We will tell you which applies once we know what you need.
What people ask before they start
What does it cost me?
Nothing directly. You do not pay us a broker fee. If your funding completes, the lender or funder pays us a commission, which can vary. We will tell you about it. Read how we are paid and how commission can affect the overall cost.
Will this affect my credit file?
Approven does not carry out credit searches. A lender may carry out soft or hard searches, depending on the lender and product. Soft searches can leave a record, but do not normally affect your credit score; hard searches may affect it. We will explain the proposed route and obtain any required authority before your information is submitted.
How long does it take?
It depends on the lender, the product and how quickly the information comes together. We will give you a realistic picture at the start rather than a number we cannot stand behind.
What if you cannot help?
We will tell you, quickly, and explain why. We would rather say so early than keep you hanging.
How it works
From enquiry to decision
Four steps. Here is what happens at each one, what we need from you, and what you will hear from us — including at the step where the answer might be no.
Enquire
Tell us about the business and what the funding is for. A short form, and you do not need documents to start.
What happens
You complete the enquiry form, which takes about three minutes. We read it, run basic checks on the public record, and come back to you to talk it through.
What we need from you
Just the form. If you have six months of business bank statements and your latest accounts to hand, attaching them now saves time later, but you do not need them to start.
What it costs
Nothing. There is no charge for enquiring, and you do not pay Approven a broker fee at any stage.
Review
We work out what the money is for, what your business can support, and which routes actually fit.
What happens
We go through what the funding is for and how the business trades, and work out which products and lenders on our panel could realistically consider it. That tells us where the case should go. It is not a credit or affordability assessment — that is the lender’s job.
What we need from you
Usually six months of business bank statements and your most recent accounts, plus one thing for your route: an aged debtor report for invoice finance, asset and supplier details for asset finance, or the property and your exit plan for bridging.
If we cannot help
We will tell you, and why, rather than keep you waiting. If another broker may be able to help, we will name the firm and ask your permission before passing anything on. That firm may pay us a referral fee; you still pay Approven nothing.
Options
We explain which option we consider most commercially appropriate, and why. You decide.
What happens
We set out the route or routes that fit, what each one involves, and which we consider most commercially appropriate for your business, and why. Where more than one could work, you see the trade-offs, not just one answer.
How we are paid
Before you agree to anything, we will tell you how we are paid on your case, including how that can affect what you pay. The full position is under How we’re paid on our About page.
Your decision
You choose whether to go ahead and which route to take. Nothing goes to a lender until you have agreed, and you will know which lender we are approaching and why.
Decision
We take the case to the lender. The lender makes the funding decision, not us, and we will tell you either way.
What happens
We submit the case to the lender you agreed and help you deal with any questions it raises. The lender runs its own checks, which may include a credit search, and makes the decision. We do not make it, and we cannot promise it.
If it is a yes
The lender sends you its offer. The agreement is between you and the lender, on the lender’s terms, so read them carefully before you accept. The lender releases the funds once you accept and its conditions are met.
If it is a no
We will tell you, explain what we know about why, and say honestly whether another route is worth trying. We will not keep sending your case around the market.
Approven is a finance broker, not a lender. We arrange funding solely for business purposes, subject to eligibility, provider assessment and approval. We do not make the lending decision, and you do not pay us a broker fee — where funding completes, the lender pays us.
BUILT FOR BRITISH BUSINESS
Commercial finance for established UK businesses, prepared properly before it goes to a lender.
Enquire Today