A possible loan belongs in a scenario until it is available
The application looks promising
Imagine a lender asks for the final documents on a finance application. The business has a large supplier payment approaching, and someone adds the expected loan to next week's forecast. The balance now looks positive, although no funds have been made available.
Keep the proposed funding visible, but distinguish it from confirmed cash. The forecast should show what the business can do if the funds arrive and what happens if they do not.
Write down the actual funding stage
Record whether there is an enquiry, application, conditional offer, signed agreement or confirmed drawdown. Identify the information still required and the person handling it. Avoid using “approved” as a catch-all description for several different stages.
Ask the lender to clarify unresolved conditions and timing. Do not assume that submitting the final form means all conditions have been satisfied or that the money will arrive on your preferred day.
Use a clearly labelled alternative view
business.gov.au says estimated cash-flow figures should be identified and explained. Apply that discipline to proposed finance by showing its amount, assumed timing and unresolved conditions in a separate scenario.
Keep the current position available alongside it. If the base position is short, the scenario should reveal the dependency rather than make the shortage disappear from the discussion.
Include what comes out as well as what comes in
Check whether the proposed amount is the net cash available after relevant fees or other payments. Put the repayment commitments into later weeks using the actual proposed terms, with uncertainty labelled where necessary.
Ask your accountant or adviser to review the full effect. New borrowing can change the timing of a cash problem without fixing a loss-making job or an unreliable collection assumption.
Set a decision point before the payment is due
Work backwards from the business commitment. Identify when you need a reliable funding answer and which options require advice if it is delayed. Do not promise a creditor payment based only on a hopeful application update.
Keep any proposed extension or alternative funding separate until confirmed. A chain of unapproved possibilities is not the same as an available payment plan.
Explain the dependency plainly
Bring the lender correspondence and both forecast views to your adviser. State the first payment that cannot be met without the funding and the date by which an answer is needed.
If that dependency exposes broader debt pressure, CRP can discuss the business position. Use the contact form below with the amount and timing of the gap. Do not wait for a funding rejection before seeking advice about an already urgent shortage.