Questions owners actually ask

What documents do you need to apply for business funding?

For most revenue-based funding it is shorter than people expect. Here is the standard list, what gets asked for next, and what nobody should be asking you for.

The standard file for working capital, revenue-based financing or an advance is four things. Not a business plan, not projections, not a pitch deck.

Three to six months of business bank statements. Complete PDFs, every page, all accounts that revenue touches.
A signed one-page application. Legal entity name, EIN, address, ownership, time in business, monthly revenue.
Driver's licence for each owner with 20% or more.
A voided check or bank letter for the account being funded.

What gets asked for next

These come up on larger amounts, longer terms or specific products, not on every file:

Merchant processing statements, if the advance is priced against card volume.
A recent business tax return, usually above roughly $150,000, and for term loans.
A profit and loss statement or balance sheet, more common with banks and term lenders than with revenue-based funders.
An accounts receivable ageing report, for factoring.
An equipment quote or invoice, for equipment financing. The vendor supplies it.
A copy of the lease for the operating location, on larger files.
Proof of ownership or entity documents if the name on the statements does not match the application exactly.

What nobody should be asking you for

Be careful here. A legitimate funder does not need:

Your online banking username and password. Read-only verification through a service like Plaid is normal and is not the same thing. Handing over credentials is not.
An upfront fee to "release" or "secure" your approval. Advance-fee demands are the oldest tell in this business.
A gift card, wire to a personal account, or crypto for anything, ever.

The one thing that decides the outcome

Of that whole list, the bank statements do the work. Everything else is administrative. The statements set how much you are offered and at what price, which is why it is worth understanding what an underwriter is reading in them before you send them.

Questions owners ask

Do I need a business plan?

Not for revenue-based funding. Your bank statements are the business plan. Banks and SBA lenders are a different matter.

Do I need tax returns?

Usually not on smaller revenue-based files. They come up on larger amounts and on longer-term products.

Can I use personal bank statements?

Generally no. Funders want to see revenue running through a business account. Mixing personal and business banking is itself a common reason for a decline.