Access to Finance in 2025: The Six Mistakes That Quietly Hold Founders Back - And How to Fix Them

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

If you’ve ever tried to apply for a business loan and felt overwhelmed, frustrated, or simply unsure whether your numbers were “good enough”… you are not alone.

Every week, I speak to founders who are running brilliant businesses — resilient, creative, deeply committed — yet they still struggle to secure the finance they need to grow. And almost every time, the issue isn’t the business. It’s not the idea. It’s not the potential.

It’s the numbers behind the scenes. And the truth is, nobody teaches you how to get lender-ready.

So this article is not about blame. It’s about clarity. It’s about lowering the pressure. It’s about helping you see the small but important things that make a big difference when lenders assess your business.

And most importantly, it’s about giving you tools to walk into that meeting with genuine confidence.

These are the six mistakes we see most often — and why fixing them changes everything.

1. Stale or incomplete data (and why lenders react so strongly)

Let’s start gently: your accounts do not need to be perfect. No one’s are. But they do need to be current enough that a lender feels you’re in control of today, not just last month.

If reconciliations are behind, or debtors and creditors aren’t updated, lenders see uncertainty — not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because they can’t clearly see how cash is moving right now.

And you deserve better than to be judged on outdated data.

This is why real-time visibility matters. Connecting your tools, keeping your numbers live, and working from one source of truth gives lenders reassurance and gives you peace of mind. Fresh data creates trust, and trust opens the door to finance.

2. Spreadsheet strain and the quiet anxiety it causes

I see this constantly: founders juggling three, five, sometimes ten versions of the “final” spreadsheet. Hidden formulas. Broken links. A file crash minutes before a meeting.

It’s stressful, and it’s not a reflection of your capability. It’s simply what happens when small teams carry too much on fragile tools.

Lenders feel that fragility instantly. When they see inconsistencies or versions that don’t match, they wonder whether the business has a reliable financial process behind the scenes.

Replacing that with a single, clean, auditable model isn’t just for them — it’s for you. It gives you control back, removes the worry of “what if something is wrong,” and makes conversations with lenders calmer and more grounded.

3. Over-optimistic forecasts — and the pressure founders feel to “look strong”

This one is emotional for many founders. I hear it all the time: “I didn’t want to show the downside; it felt like admitting weakness.”

But lenders don’t see it that way.

They want honesty. They want realism. They want to know you’ve thought about the tough moments and that you have the leadership maturity to face them.

Forecasts with perfect growth curves aren’t inspiring — they’re stressful, because you know they’re not the whole story. When we model a dip in revenue or a delay in payments together, founders often feel relief: finally, the numbers are telling the truth.

And that truth builds credibility far more than any optimistic projection ever will.

4. Inconsistencies across the financial statements

This is the mistake that catches even the most experienced founders. You can have a strong P&L, a compelling story, a brilliant pitch — but if your balance sheet and cashflow don’t match that story, lenders will pause.

Not because they doubt you. Because mismatched numbers usually mean you’re working alone without an integrated system, and that makes projections harder to trust.

When your model automatically aligns your P&L, balance sheet, and cashflow, everything starts to feel lighter. You stop firefighting formulas. You stop worrying about what you might have missed. And lenders see a coherent picture that reflects how you genuinely run the business.

5. Weak cash discipline — often a symptom of limited time, not limited skill

Many founders quietly tell me the same thing: “I know cashflow is important… I just don’t have the time to maintain it properly.”

This is so common. You are running teams, talking to customers, delivering products, solving problems. A 13-week cashflow isn’t always the first thing you can sit down to update.

But lenders care about cash more than anything, because cash is what repays loans.

Giving yourself a simple way to track liquidity, coverage ratios, upcoming repayments, and headroom is not about being “more financial.” It’s about protecting your business — and giving yourself breathing room in conversations with banks.

6. No scenario or contingency plan - and why this is completely understandable

Most founders are too busy surviving the current week to map out five different future scenarios. And when uncertainty feels constant, planning for every possibility becomes emotionally draining.

Yet this is exactly what lenders want to see: not perfection, but preparedness.

A scenario plan doesn’t have to be complex. It simply shows that if something unexpected happens — a client leaves, costs rise, payments slow — you already know your options. You’ve thought it through. You have a Plan B.

And that readiness reduces anxiety for both sides of the table.

A final thought on access to finance - from me to you

Access to finance is not a judgement on your leadership. It’s not a measure of worth. It’s not a verdict on your potential.

It is, fundamentally, a readiness exercise.

You can absolutely get your business lender-ready. You can absolutely tell a financial story that feels true to your journey. And you can absolutely walk into that meeting with clarity and confidence — not because everything is perfect, but because you understand the moving parts.

If you recognise yourself in any of these six areas, you’re not behind. You’re just early in the process.

And sherloc is here to make that process lighter, clearer, and more human — exactly as it should be.

Marie-Charlotte

Head of Research, Strategy & Ecosystem Engagement at sherloc