It’s more common than you’d think: the business is trading well, but the accounts are a year behind. Maybe the accountant retired, maybe it was a flat-out year, maybe the books got messy after a bad patch. Whatever the reason, the bank wants financial statements you don’t have yet.
You don’t necessarily need them. Here’s how lending without financials works.
Why do banks want financials?
Banks assess business loans mainly by looking backwards: two or three years of profit, balance sheet strength and debt ratios. Their credit systems are built around that. Without recent financial statements, the application often can’t get through the system at all — regardless of how the business is actually going.
Non-bank lenders solve the same problem in different ways.
How do you get a business loan without financials?
Property-secured loans. When a loan is secured by a first or second mortgage over New Zealand property, the lender’s main comfort comes from the equity in the property. No financials or tax returns are needed for the initial assessment. The focus is on the property’s value, what’s owing on it, what the money is for and how you plan to repay. Loans run from $20,000 to $1m.
Cash-flow-based unsecured lending. Unsecured business loans and lines of credit are sized to your turnover as shown in recent business bank statements. The bank statements are the evidence — deposits, outgoings, balances, conduct. Annual accounts are secondary. Businesses usually need to be trading 6+ months.
What do lenders use instead?
- Bank statements. Three to six months, for every account business money flows through. Our guide to what lenders look for in bank statements explains how they’re read.
- GST returns. If you’re registered and they’re filed, they’re independent evidence of turnover.
- A short explanation of the business. What you do, who your customers are, how long you’ve been going.
- An exit plan. How the loan gets repaid — trading surplus, a contract payout, a sale, or refinancing once the accounts are caught up.
- Property details, for secured loans.
Why are your accounts behind? Say it plainly
Lenders aren’t shocked by overdue accounts. They’re put off by vagueness. A one-line explanation is enough:
- “We changed accountants in 2025 and the FY25 accounts are being finalised now.”
- “I was running jobs six days a week and fell behind on admin; the bookkeeper is catching up.”
- “Last year was a loss because of a bad debt, so I’d rather show current bank statements.”
Our guide on how to explain a bad year to a lender has more on framing this.
Is a no-financials loan more expensive?
Every loan is priced on the individual situation. The factors that matter most are the security, the loan-to-value, the purpose and your repayment plan — not the absence of a document on its own. We compare options across our lending partners and put the sharpest one available for your circumstances in front of you.
Use the loan to fix the underlying problem
A smart way to use no-financials funding is as a bridge back to the mainstream:
- Borrow what you need now against property or turnover.
- Get the accounts and tax returns up to date.
- Clear any IRD arrears (a property-secured loan can include paying these out).
- Refinance to a bank once the paperwork supports it.
If that’s your plan, tell your specialist on the first call so the loan is structured for it, including what happens if you repay early.
What about IRD returns?
If GST or income tax returns are overdue, file what you can — even if you can’t pay the tax yet. Inland Revenue can estimate assessments when returns aren’t filed, and those can be higher than the real amount. A lender will want to know what’s owed, and filed returns make that clear. Our answer on paying a big IRD bill covers the options.
Start with a conversation
Ring the Hotline and tell a specialist where the accounts are at. They’ll tell you straight whether a property-secured or bank-statement-based loan fits. Or request a call back.