Broker Guide
August 12, 2025
8 min read

Broker's Application Checklist – What to Look For in Ari

Use this checklist to quickly evaluate a borrower's suitability based on insights surfaced by Ari. These checks will help you identify strengths, red flags, and reasons to proceed or dig deeper.

Quick Start Guide

Every application is different — Ari gives you 80% of what you need instantly. Use this checklist to validate the remaining 20% with the borrower before progressing to a lender.

1. Bank Statement Coverage

  • Are there at least 3–6 months of clean, consecutive bank statements?
  • Are the statements dated within the last 30 days?
  • Any gaps or missing months that could hide performance?

2. Average Bank Balances

  • Do average balances suggest cash stability?
  • Is there evidence of positive month-end balances?
  • Are balances above zero consistently?

💡 Ari highlights average balance trends — use this to assess liquidity and potential to support repayments.

3. Cash Inflows vs Outflows

  • Are inflows higher than or equal to outflows?
  • Do outflows include significant regular expenses (e.g. loan repayments)?
  • Does the net cashflow trend show growth or contraction?

💡 A healthy cash buffer is a good indicator of affordability.

4. Lender Repayments (Flags)

  • Are there any known lenders (e.g. Iwoca, Funding Circle) flagged?
  • Is there more than one active lender?
  • Are repayments regular or aggressive?

💡 Multiple loans can signal over-leverage — a key risk factor.

5. HMRC Activity (Flags)

  • Are there HMRC mentions (e.g. VAT, PAYE, CT)?
  • Is there any sign of arrears or late payments?
  • Are HMRC references frequent or recent?

💡 Frequent HMRC mentions without payment receipts could indicate tax pressure.

6. Bounced or Returned Payments

  • Are bounced payments flagged in the bank statements?
  • Are these recent or frequent?
  • Do they correspond to loan repayments or tax obligations?

💡 Even 1–2 bounced payments can be a deal-breaker depending on context.

7. Director Loan Mentions

  • Does the financial summary mention Director Loan Accounts (DLA)?
  • Is the DLA balance growing year over year?

💡 Director withdrawals in a low cash business = affordability concern.

8. Debtor/Creditor Concentration

  • Are any individual customers or suppliers making up more than 30–40% of trade?
  • Is there a diverse spread of revenue?

💡 High concentration is a risk if a key customer drops off.

9. Red Flag Keywords

  • Has Ari highlighted terms like: 'Overdue', 'Final demand', 'CCJ', 'Arrears', 'Declined'?
  • Are these found in multiple documents?

💡 Ari auto-detects high-risk phrases across uploads — these should always be investigated.

10. Summary & Narrative Review

  • Is the summary generated by Ari positive or cautious?
  • Are there any recommendations for further checks or enhanced insights?
  • Does anything seem missing or incomplete?

Optional: Enhanced Insights Upgrade

If you spot signs of a good business but want to dig deeper, purchase an enhancement to see:

  • Monthly cashflow graphs
  • Quantified HMRC payments
  • Repayment schedules
  • Bespoke financial metrics
🔁

Final Reminder

Every application is different — Ari gives you 80% of what you need instantly. Use this checklist to validate the remaining 20% with the borrower before progressing to a lender.

Key Takeaways

Use this checklist for every Ari analysis
Focus on red flags and concentration risks
Validate findings with the borrower
Use enhancements for deeper analysis

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