Business funding readiness

Get Your Business Funding-Ready Before You Apply

Funders back businesses whose numbers they can trust. We prepare the company records, tax compliance and financial statements that show what your business is worth and what it can afford to repay.

Take the 20-question readiness check

Revenue Bridge is a firm of accountants. We prepare your records; we do not arrange funding or recommend funders.

Revenue Bridge is not a Financial Services Provider (FSP) or credit broker. We simply provide financial readiness packages.

Why business funding applications stall

Good businesses are turned away when their paperwork cannot support the story. The most common gaps are:

No current financial statements or management accounts.
SARS returns outstanding, or no compliant Tax Compliance Status PIN.
CIPC annual returns behind, putting the company's legal standing at risk.
Profit that does not comfortably cover existing and new repayments.
No clear funding amount, purpose or cash flow forecast showing how it will be repaid.

Each of these can be fixed before you apply. That is our work.

What lenders typically ask for

Requirements differ between funders, but businesses are usually asked for:

Annual financial statements for the last two to three years
Management accounts that are less than three months old
6 to 12 months of business bank statements
A compliant Tax Compliance Status PIN
CIPC documents: registration certificate, MOI, directors and shareholding
A cash flow forecast and an explanation of how the funding will be used

We prepare or update every financial document on this list and make sure they agree with one another.

How we get your business funding-ready

Step 1
Assess
We review your bank statements, SARS profile and CIPC status.
Step 2
Map
We set out what is missing and what each item will take to fix.
Step 3
Reconcile
We bring your books up to date and separate business from personal spending.
Step 4
Prepare
We compile financial statements, management accounts and a 12-month cash flow forecast.
Step 5
Submit
We file outstanding returns with SARS and CIPC and hand you a complete document pack.
Step 6
Respond
If a lender asks questions about your financials, we help you answer them.

The three areas we fix

Company compliance

CIPC annual returns, beneficial ownership filings, company reinstatement and complete company records.

Tax compliance

Outstanding ITR14, VAT and PAYE returns, SARS debt and audits resolved, and a compliant Tax Compliance Status PIN.

Accounting and bookkeeping

Cloud accounting on Xero, Sage or QuickBooks, monthly reconciliations, age analyses and management accounts.

See all our services

Which route fits you?

Route	Your situation	What we do
A: Submission Pack	Compliant, with current financials	Compile your financial statements, forecast and document pack
B: Accounting Cleanup	Records are behind or incomplete	Reconcile and rebuild your books, then prepare the pack
C: Compliance Overhaul	CIPC or SARS backlogs	Restore company and tax compliance first, then routes B and A

Score your readiness

Business Funding Readiness check

20 questions in five areas. Takes about 4 minutes. You'll get a score out of 100 and your top gaps.

1. Company compliance

Is your business registered as a company?

Are your CIPC annual returns up to date?

Is your beneficial ownership register filed with CIPC?

Do you have your MOI, share certificates and director resolutions on hand?

2. Tax compliance

Do you have an active Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN?

Are your income tax returns for the last two years filed?

Does the business owe SARS money?

Are VAT and PAYE returns up to date (if registered)?

3. Bookkeeping

How are your books kept?

Are your bank accounts reconciled every month?

Does the business have its own bank account?

Can you produce a debtors and creditors age analysis?

4. Financial performance

Do you have annual financial statements for the last two years?

Do you produce management accounts?

Was the business profitable last financial year?

Do you have a 12-month cash flow forecast?

5. Banking and governance

How long has the business been trading?

How has the business handled credit repayments?

Have you defined how much funding you need and what it is for?

Are the directors' personal tax affairs in order?

Your details

Full nameBusiness nameEmailMobile number

I agree that Revenue Bridge may contact me about my enquiry and process my information under POPIA.

Calculator results included: 0 of 3. To add yours, use the calculators further down the page and tick "Include these results".

Email me a copy of my results, including the calculator results I chose to include. I agree that Revenue Bridge may contact me to arrange a consultation.

This check helps us understand your accounting, tax and compliance position. It is not a credit assessment or a business valuation, and Revenue Bridge does not arrange funding.

Know your numbers

Funders' questions usually come back to three things: what the business is worth, what it can afford to repay, and what it owes against what it owns. Use these calculators to see where you stand.

Sell now, in 5 years or in 10 years?

Include these results in my readiness check submissionFree cash flow this year (R)Expected growth, years 1 to 10 (% a year)Discount rate (% a year)Exit multiple (× free cash flow)Long-term growth after year 10 (% a year)

Sell now

R4 800 000

value in today's Rands

Sell in year 5

R7 257 060

value in today's Rands

Cash collected R4 422 708 (today's value) + sale price R7 052 775 in year 5

Sell in year 10

R8 707 929

value in today's Rands

Cash collected R7 034 273 (today's value) + sale price R10 362 840 in year 10

Highest value on these inputs

Value of keeping the business (DCF): R9 963 172

Free cash flow is the cash the business generates after operating costs, tax and reinvestment. The discount rate is the yearly return you or a buyer would expect for the risk; owner-managed businesses often use 18% to 25%. The sale price uses your exit multiple of that year's free cash flow.

How much funding could your profit support?

Include these results in my readiness check submissionAnnual sales (R)Annual operating profit (EBITDA) (R)Existing loan repayments (R a year)Interest rate (% a year)Term (years)Cover target (× repayments)

Profit margin: 15.0%
Current repayment cover: 7.50×
Room for new repayments: R100 000 a month
Estimated funding capacity: R4 419 831

Profit means operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Many lenders want profit to cover all loan repayments about 1.25 times or more. Business lending rates are usually above prime.

What the business owes versus what it owns

Include these results in my readiness check submission

What the business owes

Suppliers, overdraft and other short-term debt (R)Long-term loans (R)SARS and other tax owed (R)

What the business owns and is owed

Cash and bank balances (R)Money customers owe you (receivables) (R)Stock (R)Equipment, vehicles and property (R)

Debt-to-equity: 1.32×Under 1× is generally seen as conservative; above 2× as highly geared.

Current ratio: 1.73×Short-term assets ÷ short-term debts. 1.5× or more is a common comfort level.

Quick ratio: 1.40×Cash and money owed to you ÷ short-term debts. Below 1× means you rely on selling stock to pay bills.

Total owed: R1 650 000
Total owned and owed to you: R2 900 000
Net worth (equity): R1 250 000

Estimates only, based on common lender guidelines. Lenders apply their own affordability assessment under the National Credit Act, their own rates and fees. This is not a credit assessment or an offer of finance. These figures are not a formal business valuation.

Find out what to fix before you apply

Frequently asked questions

What does "funding-ready" mean?

It means your company records, tax compliance and financial statements are complete, current and consistent, so a funder can assess your business quickly and without gaps.

How is a small business valued?

Common approaches are a multiple of profit or free cash flow, and discounted cash flow, which values the cash the business will generate in future. Our calculator shows both as estimates. A formal valuation is a separate engagement.

What is debt-to-equity, and why does it matter?

It compares what the business owes with its net worth. A high ratio means the business already relies heavily on borrowed money, which funders weigh when deciding how much more it can carry.

Do funders need a Tax Compliance Status PIN?

Most do, and public-sector funders and many corporate clients require it as well. We resolve outstanding SARS items so you can obtain a compliant PIN.

Will you find funding for my business?

No. We are accountants, not credit providers, brokers or financial advisers. We prepare your records. You choose where to apply.

How long does it take to become funding-ready?

It depends on your route. A business with current financials and clean tax (Route A) needs far less work than one with SARS or CIPC backlogs (Route C). We give you a timeline after the readiness check.

Revenue Bridge is not a Financial Services Provider (FSP) or credit broker. We simply provide financial readiness packages.

Revenue Bridge provides accounting, tax and company compliance services. We are not a registered financial services provider or credit broker, and we do not recommend funders or funding products. Calculator results are estimates, not a formal valuation. Any funding decision is made by the funder under its own criteria. Being funding-ready improves the quality of your application but does not guarantee approval.

Know what your business is worth before a funder tells you.

The readiness check scores your business out of 100 across five areas and shows you what to fix first.

Start the readiness check