Two lenders can look at an identical set of accounts and arrive at borrowing figures that differ by a third. That is not an error. It is a difference in policy about which parts of a business’s money count as your income.
Retained profit
If you are a company director who leaves profit inside the business, some lenders will count your share of it and some will look only at salary and dividends. For a deliberately tax-efficient director, that single policy difference is often the whole decision.
Add-backs
Depreciation, one-off costs and certain non-cash charges reduce your stated profit without reducing what you have to live on. Lenders vary in which of these they will add back, and in whether they need your accountant to confirm it.
Trading history
Two years of accounts is the common requirement, but a minority of lenders will work with one year plus a projection, particularly where you were doing the same work as an employee immediately beforehand.
