Ask a bank how much your business can borrow and the answer usually starts with your credit score, security and two years of financials. Ask an unsecured business lender and the conversation is different: they want to know what moves through your bank account each month. This guide explains how those lenders size a loan, the rough multiples they work to, and what you can do in the weeks before you apply to be offered more.
The number lenders start with: monthly turnover
Unsecured business loans in Australia are repaid from cash flow, so lenders size them from cash flow. The core input is your average monthly revenue, read straight from three to six months of business bank statements. Profit matters less than you would expect at this stage; a lender can see deposits, they cannot see your margin, so deposits are what they size against.
From there, most lenders apply a multiple. The exact figure is their own secret sauce, but across the market the pattern is consistent enough to plan around:
| Time trading | Typical loan size | Common ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 12 months | Half to one times monthly revenue | Around $150,000 |
| 1 to 2 years | Roughly 0.8 to 1.5 times monthly revenue | Around $300,000 |
| Over 2 years | One to two times monthly revenue | $500,000 and above for strong files |
A café turning over $40,000 a month after 18 months of trading is therefore looking at offers somewhere between $30,000 and $60,000 from most lenders, not $200,000. A plumbing business doing $120,000 a month with three years behind it could reasonably expect $120,000 to $240,000. Our borrowing power calculator applies these same bands so you can see your range before you talk to anyone.
What pushes you to the top or bottom of the range
Bank statement conduct
This is the single biggest lever after turnover. Lenders read your statements like a credit report. Dishonours, overdrawn days, gambling transactions and a balance that hits zero before every pay run all pull you toward the bottom of the band or out of it. Steady deposits, a buffer that never drops below a few thousand dollars and no returned payments push you toward the top. Three clean months are worth more than a long history with blemishes.
Existing commitments
Lenders subtract what you already repay each month to other lenders, including equipment finance, a line of credit and buy-now-pay-later arrangements for the business. If a third of your monthly turnover already goes out in loan repayments, the new offer shrinks accordingly. A single existing loan is rarely a problem; stacking a third and fourth is.
Industry and seasonality
Some lenders apply a lower multiple to industries they see as volatile, such as hospitality and construction subcontracting, and a higher one to recurring-revenue businesses. Seasonal businesses are sized on the trough months, not the peak, so a landscaping business that applies in winter will usually be offered less than it would in spring.
Credit history, in the background
Credit score is not the starting point, but it is not ignored. Recent defaults or a current court action will narrow the panel of lenders willing to look at you. A score in the fair range with clean statements still gets funded; it is the combination of a poor file and messy statements that closes doors. If this is you, read our guide on getting a business loan with bad credit.
Three worked examples
- Online retailer, 9 months trading, $25,000 a month, clean statements. Most lenders will size this at $12,000 to $25,000. The short trading history is the limit, not the turnover. Reapplying at 12 months with the same conduct typically lifts the ceiling.
- Transport operator, 3 years trading, $90,000 a month, one existing truck loan. The turnover supports $90,000 to $180,000. The truck repayment trims it, so realistic offers land around $100,000 to $140,000.
- Medical practice, 5 years trading, $200,000 a month, no debt. Comfortably in the top band. Offers of $300,000 to $400,000 unsecured are achievable, and this is also where secured options start to become cheaper.
How to be offered more
- Run all revenue through one business account for at least three months before you apply. Money that lands in a personal account is invisible to the lender.
- Keep a floor in the account. Even a $3,000 to $5,000 buffer that is never breached changes how your statements read.
- Clear small debts first. Paying out a $400-a-month arrangement can unlock far more than $400 of monthly repayment capacity.
- Time the application. Apply after your strongest quarter, not before it.
- Ask for what you need, not the maximum. Lenders approve a $60,000 request on $50,000 of turnover more readily than a $100,000 one, and you can usually top up later.
The honest caveat
Everything above describes how most lenders behave most of the time. Individual lenders break the pattern in both directions, which is exactly why applying through a panel rather than to one lender matters: the same statements can produce a $40,000 offer from one and $75,000 from another. The only way to know your real number is to let lenders look.
Find out in 60 seconds
Start with the borrowing power calculator for your range, then run a free eligibility check. It takes about a minute, does not affect your credit score, and shows you what lenders on our panel would actually offer rather than what a rule of thumb suggests.
This article is general information, not credit advice. Multiples and examples are indicative of common lender practice and are not a quote or an offer of credit. Credit assistance is subject to lender approval and eligibility.