A useful readiness check does not attempt to predict approval. It asks whether the financing need is clear, whether the repayment case is credible and whether the supporting information tells a consistent story.

Those three questions can help an owner decide whether to begin a lender conversation, improve the application first, or avoid borrowing for now.

1. Define the need precisely

Finish this sentence:

We need S$[amount] by [date] to pay for [specific business purpose], and we expect the cash benefit or repayment source to arise by [date].

"More cash" is not a financing purpose. A supplier deposit for confirmed inventory, equipment needed for an awarded contract, or payroll during a temporary receivables gap can each be tested against dates and evidence.

Break the request into individual uses. Include deposits, taxes, freight, installation, professional fees and a justified contingency. Then subtract cash the business can contribute without threatening payroll, tax or essential operating expenses. The result is often smaller than the first estimate.

2. Determine whether the gap is temporary or structural

A timing gap occurs when cash leaves before sound sales turn into collected cash — paying suppliers before customers settle, or buying seasonal stock before the sales period.

A structural gap persists because the business does not generate enough cash from normal operations. Common causes include weak margins, high overheads, slow-moving stock, or prices that do not cover the true cost of delivery.

Financing may bridge a defined timing gap. It does not repair a business that loses money on each sale. If the forecast needs repeated borrowing merely to meet ordinary expenses, diagnose the operating model before adding repayment obligations.

3. Identify the repayment source

"Future sales" is too broad. Name the expected source: collections from existing invoices, cash from an awarded project, recurring operating surplus, or savings created by productive equipment.

Then put it on a dated timeline. The forecasting method every section below assumes is set out in full here: Build a rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast

Once the forecast exists, test a downside case:

• What if a major customer pays 30 days late?
• What if sales are 20% below plan?
• What if costs rise or the project starts later?
• Can the business still protect a minimum cash reserve?

If repayment works only when every assumption is favourable, the request may be too large, too short or too early.

4. Review existing obligations

A new instalment does not exist in isolation. Prepare one schedule covering current loans, hire purchase, leases, guarantees, tax arrangements and other committed payments.

Check when those obligations end, whether any rates can change, and whether early repayment or refinancing creates additional charges. A smaller facility with more headroom may be safer than the maximum amount offered.

5. Prepare evidence that supports the story

Document requirements differ by institution and facility. Preparation commonly begins with current business and ownership records, recent financial information, bank activity, existing debt details and evidence for the use of funds.

Before submitting anything, ask:

• Are all documents for the correct legal entity?
• Are the periods current and complete?
• Do revenue, bank inflows and receivables broadly reconcile?
• Are unusual transfers or one-off events explained factually?
• Does the requested amount match quotations, contracts or a working-capital calculation?

Send sensitive documents only through an authorised secure process. Do not place NRIC details, bank credentials, bank statements or identity documents in Fundwise's public enquiry form.

6. Understand the proposed facility

Readiness also means being prepared to assess an offer. Compare:

• net cash received after deductions;
• instalment amount and payment dates;
• rate basis and total financing cost;
• processing, annual and early-repayment charges;
• security or personal-guarantee obligations;
• floating-rate or review provisions;
• events of default and consequences of missed payments.

A lower monthly instalment can produce a longer and more expensive obligation. The lowest headline rate can still be attached to a structure that does not fit the cash cycle.

Readiness red flags

Pause and investigate if:

• the use of funds cannot be stated clearly;
• ordinary losses are being described as a temporary gap;
• repayment depends on one unsigned contract or uncertain receipt;
• current liabilities are incomplete or unknown;
• the downside case breaches payroll, tax or essential suppliers;
• the business needs new borrowing mainly to repay existing borrowing.

These signs do not mean the business can never borrow — they mean the decision needs better information first. Where they point to something more serious: When a business should not borrow

Readiness scorecard

Mark each item Yes, Partly or No:

1. The amount, date and use of funds are defined.
2. The cash gap is temporary or connected to a specific investment.
3. A dated repayment source is identified.
4. A downside cash-flow case has been tested.
5. Existing commitments are complete.
6. A minimum operating reserve is protected.
7. Current supporting information is available.
8. Security and guarantee obligations will be reviewed.
9. The proposed tenure matches the cash need.
10. The business has an alternative if the application is declined.

The scorecard is a preparation tool, not an approval predictor. Mostly "Yes" means the application is coherent, not that it will succeed.

Apply, prepare or pause

Apply for lender-specific assessment when the purpose, amount, repayment source, downside headroom and evidence are coherent.

Prepare further when the business case is sound but records, explanations or the requested structure need work.

Pause when debt would postpone an unresolved operating problem or place essential commitments at risk.

Sources

• MoneySense — Costs of borrowing: flat rate, monthly rest and EIR

Figures verified on 3 August 2026. Scheme parameters, rates and lender requirements change — check the primary source before relying on any figure.

Fundwise is an intermediary, not a lender. This is general information, not individual financial, legal, tax, accounting or credit advice. Financial institutions run their own eligibility and credit assessments and set all terms — we cannot guarantee approval, rate, amount or timing.

Read more about working capital loans, or get in touch to talk through your situation.