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This engagement is designed to show you exactly how a bank will evaluate your business — before you apply, before you get declined, and before you lose leverage you can't get back.
Every bank application leaves a mark. Every decline costs you credibility with the next lender. And most business owners have no idea what a bank actually sees when it opens their file — because nobody has ever shown them.
Your CPA prepares your taxes. Your attorney handles your contracts. Neither of them has spent 20 years sitting in the chair where the lending decision gets made. I have.
I've underwritten thousands of deals. I've approved businesses that looked marginal on the surface but had the right fundamentals underneath. I've declined businesses doing $5 million in revenue because their financials told a story the owner didn't realize they were telling. The difference between approval and decline is almost never about whether the business is "good enough." It's about whether the financials present the way a lender needs them to.
This assessment shows you exactly what a lender will see — the strengths, the weaknesses, the deal-killers, and the opportunities — so you can walk into that conversation with full clarity and maximum leverage.
Who This Is For
This is for the business owner who's planning a capital move and wants to know exactly where they stand before they put their name on an application.
You're preparing to apply for a line of credit, SBA loan, or term loan and you want to know whether you'll qualify before you apply — not after a decline shows up on your record.
You were declined by a bank and nobody gave you a straight answer. You want to know exactly what they saw in your financials and exactly what needs to change before you apply again.
You're planning a major move in the next 6–12 months — expansion, acquisition, equipment investment, real estate purchase — and you want to position your business for the strongest possible approval and terms.
Your business is performing well and you want to establish financing relationships from a position of strength — not wait until you need capital urgently and lose all negotiating leverage.
You've never had anyone explain how a lender actually reads your financial statements. Your CPA optimizes for tax reduction. You need someone who can show you how that same tax return looks through an underwriter's eyes.
You want to know your realistic borrowing capacity — not a marketing estimate, but an honest number based on how banks actually calculate it.
If you're generating $600K or more in annual revenue and capital is part of your growth plan — or will be — this assessment tells you exactly where you stand.
What I Evaluate
I analyze your business the same way a commercial lender would — except I'm working for you, not for the bank.
Two to three years of business tax returns and financial statements
Revenue trajectory — is the trend working for you or against you, and how does a lender interpret the direction?
Profitability and operating margins — what's real, what's adjusted, and what survives underwriting scrutiny
Owner compensation structure and its direct impact on bankable cash flow — this is where most business owners unknowingly hurt themselves
Debt service coverage ratio under standard bank thresholds — the single number that determines most lending decisions
Balance sheet strength — working capital position, leverage, asset quality, and what they signal to an underwriter
Personal financial position and guarantor strength where applicable
Industry-specific factors that affect which banks will lend and at what terms
What You Receive
Within 7 business days of receiving your documents, I deliver a Written Bankability Assessment Memo — a clear, detailed analysis of how a lender will evaluate your business.
Your assessment will include:
Bankable cash flow calculation with identified adjustments — the number a bank will actually use, which is almost always different from what you see on your P&L
Debt service coverage analysis measured against standard bank requirements — and exactly where you fall relative to the thresholds that drive approval or decline
Specific identification of weaknesses or disqualifying factors — with no sugarcoating, because a bank won't sugarcoat them either
Strengths that improve your positioning — the parts of your financial profile that give you leverage, and how to present them
Estimated borrowing capacity range based on your current financials — what you can realistically access and under what terms
Recommended corrective actions with practical timelines — what to fix, what to adjust, and how long it takes before those changes show up in your financials
Strategic timing guidance — when to apply for maximum approval probability and best terms
A 20-minute follow-up call is included to walk through the findings and answer direct questions about your bankability position.
Why This Matters Financially
There are two ways to find out whether your business qualifies for financing. You can apply and hope — or you can know before you walk in.
Every bank application triggers an inquiry. Every decline creates a record. Multiple recent inquiries and declines don't just hurt your chances with the next lender — they change the dynamic entirely. You go from being a business owner exploring options to being a business owner who's been turned down. That costs you leverage, terms, and negotiating position.
But that's not even the biggest risk. The biggest risk is the business owner doing $3 million in revenue who has no idea that the way their CPA structured their tax return is making their business look unprofitable to a lender. Or the owner who's paying themselves $400,000 a year and doesn't realize that compensation structure is cutting their bankable cash flow in half. Or the owner sitting on a strong balance sheet who could qualify for a $2 million line of credit but has never applied because they assumed they wouldn't qualify.
These aren't edge cases. This is what I see every week. Businesses that are stronger than they think but present poorly — and businesses that look strong on the surface but have a single financial factor that kills the deal before it starts.
$1,500 gets you the full picture. What a lender will see, what they'll approve, what they'll question, and what you need to do about it. That's less than most business owners spend on professional fees that never tell them any of this.
What This Is Not
This is not a loan application or pre-approval. It's an independent assessment of your bankability. If you want to move forward with actual financing, loan placement is a separate service through LVRG Business Funding.
This is not ongoing advisory. It's a single engagement with a written deliverable and one follow-up call. Future assessments or expanded analysis require a separate engagement.
This is not tax advice or accounting services. I evaluate how your financials present to a lender — your CPA handles the tax strategy.
Engagement Terms
Payment of $1,500 is required before any work begins.
You provide two to three years of business tax returns and financial statements through a secure intake form.
The deliverable is a Written Bankability Assessment Memo plus one 20-minute follow-up call.
Your assessment is delivered within 7 business days of receiving complete documents.
Scope is limited to bankability assessment. Loan placement, bank introductions, and financing facilitation are separate services.
All sales are final. You're paying for professional financial analysis, which is delivered in full.
How It Works
Step 1: Complete your payment on this page.
Step 2: You receive a secure intake form. Upload two to three years of business tax returns, financial statements, and any prior loan documentation or decline letters.
Step 3: I analyze your financials from the perspective of a commercial underwriter — bankable cash flow, debt service coverage, balance sheet strength, and overall lending profile.
Step 4: Your Written Bankability Assessment Memo is delivered to your email within 7 business days of receiving complete documents.
Step 5: We get on the phone for a 20-minute follow-up call to walk through findings and answer your direct questions.
Who You're Working With
I'm Charles M. Barr, founder and CEO of LVRG Business Funding. I didn't learn bankability from a textbook. I learned it from 20+ years of sitting in the chair where the decision gets made — approving deals, declining deals, and telling business owners exactly what their financials say about their ability to access capital.
I've analyzed thousands of businesses across manufacturing, construction, healthcare, professional services, distribution, and every major operator-driven industry. I've built relationships with 25+ institutional lenders and regional banks. I know what each of them looks for, where their thresholds sit, and what triggers an approval versus a decline — because I've been on both sides of that conversation for two decades.
When I tell you a bank will see a problem in your financials, it's because I've seen that exact problem result in a decline hundreds of times. And when I tell you your business is stronger than you think — that's real too.
Disclaimer: This engagement does not constitute legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, or a formal loan pre-approval. All analysis is based on documents provided by the client and reflects the professional judgment of the analyst based on experience in commercial lending and underwriting. No guarantee of loan approval, specific terms, or financing outcomes is made or implied. This is a single engagement — not an ongoing advisory relationship, retainer, or open-ended commitment. Payment is required before work begins. All sales are final.