Why every business needs a separate bank account
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Partner Blog: Funding questions every business owner asks
23 October 2025
SME’s (Small to medium-sized Enterprises) and micro businesses often need some form of funding to help grow their business, whether it’s to buy stock, hire more staff or to help navigate increased running costs.
With the rise of alternative providers like Funding Circle and iwoca, business owners have many more options than just the high street banks when it comes to getting funding. In fact, at Funding Options by Tide, we work with a highly curated panel of over 80 providers, which has enabled us to find the best funding solution for over 17,000 UK businesses to date.
With that in mind, here are 3 handy tips to ensure your business is ‘funding ready’.
Set a clear funding goal
Think about the opportunity or problem you are hoping to solve, as this will help to
determine the right product for your requirements. Here’s a few examples of the products
that are available to small businesses, and how they’re commonly used to benefit our
customers;
- Short-term business loans - Bridge cashflow gaps or fund stock purchases.
- Invoice financing - Unlock capital by drawing on outstanding invoices and reduce payment delays.
- Long-term business loans - Fund larger-scale projects or strategic business investments.
- Asset financing - Purchasing of commercial vehicles or/or equipment.
- Property financing - Commercial property purchases or renovations.
- Merchant Cash advance - Access capital which is repaid via card transactions.
Having a clear goal will ensure you apply for the right product, as well as showing the lender
that you have strongly considered how the funding will be of benefit to your business.
Check your personal and business credit
Alternative funding providers will often review your personal and business credit information as part of their application process. Generally speaking, you are more likely to be approved for funding if you have a strong credit profile.
Limited credit, defaults or missed payments are likely to have a negative impact on your application, and may mean that you are declined - despite your business performing well.
Consider using providers like ‘ClearScore’ to gain visibility of your credit profile. These providers will also often offer tips or advice on how to improve your credit over time.
Check eligibility and gather your financials
In addition to your credit strength, alternative lenders will review your business
performance as part of the application process. Most providers require the following in order to proceed with your application, so it’s worth collating these prior to applying;
- 6 months of business bank statements
- The latest set of filed Company Accounts
We also highly recommend using ‘Open Banking’ if it’s available. Open Banking enables you to connect your bank accounts to finance providers, giving them ‘read-only’ access to your transaction history - you can read more about it here.
It’s quicker and more convenient while providing lenders with even further insight into the business. It’s also worth checking that you are eligible for a provider's products before you apply. This will often involve having a minimum annual turnover or trading time.
Final thoughts…
Accessing business funding doesn’t have to be complicated. If you think your business could benefit from some kind of financing but don’t quite know where to start, consider speaking to us.
At Funding Options by Tide, we’ll take the time to understand your unique business situation, as well as enabling you to continue focusing on your business while we apply to providers on your behalf.
You can apply for funding via Funding Options by Tide by accessing Caroola’s MyMarketplace.
Written by Stephen Hewitt, Partnerships Lead at Funding Options by Tide
