How to Get a Business Loan in San Rafael, CA: Steps for Sit-down Restaurants and Home Builders

Each funding partner keeps its own list, so the set below is a starting point, not a rule. An architecture or engineering firm that has these ready can answer a partner’s follow-up questions without a second round:

• Every page of the business bank statements, going back several months
• Business tax returns for the last two years, plus each owner’s personal returns when a partner requests them
• A current profit and loss statement and balance sheet, from the firm or its bookkeeper
• An accounts receivable aging report that shows which clients owe what, and for how long
• A debt schedule: every loan, lease and credit line with its balance, payment and end date
• Formation papers, the tax ID the business files under, and each owner’s share

For the purpose of the money, add the paper that shows it: the equipment quote, the purchase agreement for a buy-in, or the client contract behind a payroll gap.

In underwriting, a partner tests one thing from several angles: can this business carry another monthly payment? For a design firm it tends to follow the same order:

1. Cash flow: deposits, balances and any overdrafts in the bank statements
2. Profit: what the tax returns and the current statements show after expenses
3. Existing debt: what the debt schedule already takes each month
4. Credit: the owners’ personal credit, and in some reviews a business credit score
5. Collateral and guarantees: what secures the loan, and who signs personally
6. The decision: an offer with terms, a smaller or different offer, or a decline

One business score a partner may look at is the FICO Small Business Scoring Service score, or FICO SBSS, which runs from 0 to 300. Each partner decides which scores it uses and how much weight they carry.

If only three things can be pulled together this week, start with these: together they show cash flow, profit and the debt a business already carries.

Bank statements. They show how money really moves: retainer deposits, phase payments from clients, and the low points between them. A partner can see from them whether a monthly payment would have fit in each of the past months.

Tax returns. They show profit after expenses and depreciation, which can be lower than the bank balance suggests. A firm that had one unusual year can explain it on the call, before the partner asks.

The debt list. Plotter leases, workstation financing, a vehicle note and a credit line balance all take cash each month. Listing them up front shows the partner the full picture and avoids a surprise in the credit report.

There are no published minimums here, because each funding partner sets its own. The factors a partner can weigh are the same across business loan types: time in business, annual revenue, credit history, current debt, what the money is for, collateral, and whether an owner will sign a personal guarantee.

Two other trades named on this page show the same factors in different records. A sit-down restaurant’s revenue shows up as daily card deposits, and its costs as weekly supplier invoices and payroll. A home builder’s revenue arrives as progress payments tied to each job, so a partner can ask for the contracts and the draw schedule alongside the bank statements.

Small employers are the norm in this county: of the 10,049 employer establishments Marin County, CA counted in 2023, 6,211, or 61.8%, had fewer than five employees (CBP). A firm of three people may have no one on finance staff, so the owner gathering these records can start a week before the call.

The first step is a conversation. Phone (628) 301-6791, or use the request form: it collects contact and company details plus one range each for time in business, annual revenue and the amount sought. The purpose of the money, any quote and the dates involved get talked through by phone.

1. A call or the request form starts the request
2. On the call, the firm explains the need and which records it has
3. The request goes from Ravenview Advances to funding partners
4. A partner reviews the records and may check credit during its own review
5. The partner makes an offer with its terms, or declines
6. The owner compares the offer and decides; nothing is agreed until a contract is signed

No credit application is made by sending the request form; any credit check belongs to the partner’s own review. For which product fits the need, see the types of business loans, and for short answers on credit checks and EINs, the business loan FAQ.