3 Documents You Need to Get Funded

Securing growth capital requires a clear, compelling case. Lenders need to see a stable business with a predictable path to repayment, and the way you present that information matters.

This guide breaks down the three essential materials every SaaS founder needs and what lenders expect to see in each.

1. Your Pitch Deck: How to Tell a Story

Your pitch deck does more than share your vision; it proves your business model works. While a VC deck often focuses on a massive, winner-take-all outcome, a pitch deck needs to tell a story of stability, predictability, and smart growth.

Lenders are betting on your ability to repay the loan, not just on a potential 100x return.

What should I include in my pitch deck?

Focus your narrative on post-product-market fit traction. Your goal is to show lenders a well-oiled machine, not just a big idea.

Emphasize these key areas:

  • Traction and Revenue: Showcase consistent Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) growth. Include charts that demonstrate a clear upward trend. A cohort analysis showing customer retention and net revenue retention (NRR) is highly effective here.
  • Unit Economics: Lenders want to see profitable growth. Clearly present your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio. A healthy ratio (ideally 3:1 or higher) shows your customer acquisition strategy is sustainable.
  • Use of Funds: Be specific. How will this capital help you grow? Instead of saying “for marketing,” explain that “a $2M loan will allow us to hire three new account executives and increase our ad spend by 40%, which we project will add $4M in new ARR over 18 months.”
  • The Team: Highlight the experience of your leadership team. Lenders are investing in your ability to execute your plan.


Founder Tip:
A pitch deck should feel less like a lottery ticket and more like a business plan. Ground your big vision in real-world metrics that prove your company is a reliable bet.

Learn more in our guide on building a winning pitch deck.

2. Your Historical Financials: How to Prove Your Business Is Healthy

While your pitch deck tells the story, your historical financials provide the proof. Lenders will closely analyze your past performance to predict future stability. Providing clean, accurate financial statements shows professionalism and gives them confidence in your operations.

You will need to prepare your last 2–3 years of financial records.

What do growth capital lenders look for in my financials?

Lenders dig into three main documents:

  1. Income Statement: This shows your profitability over time. They’ll look for strong and consistent gross margins, a key indicator for SaaS companies. They also want to see a clear path to operating profitability, even if you aren’t there yet.
  2. Balance Sheet: This provides a snapshot of your assets, liabilities, and equity. Lenders check for a healthy cash balance and manageable debt levels. Red flags include a high accounts receivable balance (which sometimes indicates customers aren't paying on time) or significant existing debt.
  3. Cash Flow Statement: For many lenders, this is the most critical document. It shows how cash moves through your business. They will analyze your operating cash flow and burn rate to confirm you can manage your cash effectively and afford new debt service costs.

Founder Tip: Send these documents in an organized, formula-driven Excel format, broken down by month and summarized by quarter and year. Messy or incomplete financials are one of the fastest ways to get a “no” from a lender. Using accounting software like QuickBooks or working with a fractional CFO can ensure your books are always ready for review.

3. Your Pro Forma Model: How to Map Your Path Forward

A pro forma is a financial forecast that shows how the capital will impact your business. It combines your historical performance with a set of well-reasoned assumptions to project your future income, balance sheet, and cash flow. This is where you connect the loan directly to your growth milestones.

Creating a credible financial model for investors is about showing that your projections are based on sound assumptions and a clear understanding of your business, not just optimistic growth numbers. It’s about demonstrating that you have a realistic plan.

What makes a financial model credible to lenders?

Your model should answer the question: “With this capital, how will your business grow sustainably and repay its debt?”

A strong pro forma includes:

  • Clear, Defensible Assumptions: Every projection should be tied to a specific driver. For example, don’t just project 50% revenue growth. Base it on concrete plans, such as hiring new sales reps with specific quotas or increasing marketing spend with a target CAC. Document these assumptions so a lender can follow your logic.
  • Multiple Scenarios: One of the best ways to build trust is to model different outcomes. Lenders know that plans change. Show them a base case (your expected plan), an upside case (if things go better than expected), and a downside case (if you hit challenges). Your downside case is especially important, as it shows you’ve planned for adversity and can still manage the business.
  • Cash Runway and Covenants: The model must show exactly how the loan extends your cash runway. It should also demonstrate that you can stay within any loan covenants (financial performance metrics you must maintain), like a minimum cash balance.

Founder Tip: Your pro forma model is a test of your strategic thinking. A thoughtful downside scenario shows a lender you are a responsible steward of capital, which increases their confidence far more than an overly optimistic forecast.

Have your materials ready? Apply for funding today!


Founder FAQs



1. Do I need audited financials to apply for capital?

Not always. Many lenders will accept reviewed or management-prepared statements, as long as they are clean, accurate, and consistent. However, audited financials do increase credibility and can speed up the approval process, especially for larger loans.

2. How detailed should my pro forma model be for lenders?

It doesn’t need to be a 50-tab spreadsheet. What matters is clarity and defensible assumptions. A good model shows how the loan impacts cash flow, repayment ability, and growth milestones, plus it includes base, upside, and downside scenarios.

3. What’s the biggest mistake founders make when presenting to lenders?

Focusing too much on vision and not enough on predictability. Growth capital isn’t about pitching a unicorn outcome, it’s about showing stability, a clear repayment path, and thoughtful use of funds. Ground your story in hard numbers and realistic assumptions.

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