A loan package is, in reality, the formal request submitted to a lending institution from the buyer to obtain the loan requested.

In order for this to occur, the bank approving the loan must provide a lender the “justification” to approve the loan. One of the major reasons for not getting the loan requested is submitting an inadequate loan package.

The five pieces of information contained in a loan package are the following:

1. Information on the borrower
The loan package must include professional and financial information about the borrower or buyer. The professional information requirement is met by providing a Curriculum Vitae. The financial information requirements are satisfied by presenting prior year tax returns and a personal financial statement. The personal financial statement lists the assets and liabilities of the borrower in order to determine net worth and discloses his/her income and certain expenses.

This is where a credit score comes in as an important focus. Too often, many young veterinarians think that their business credit and personal credit are separate. Nothing could be further from the truth. Their business credit is built upon their owner’s personal credit. Most veterinarians buying a practice have not established business credit history. Lenders, suppliers, and drug companies will use their personal credit history to determine their business credit. Their personal credit report determines how they will be perceived by potential lenders. They should know what appears on their credit report because they may find errors that can affect the credit score. These errors need to be corrected.

2. Business Environment
This loan package must include a general overview of the business environment. A demographic study is the primary source of the environment overview. The results of the study should be interpreted as they relate to the practice. Although the practice location is addressed by the demographic study, a discussion about the intangible aspects of the location and facility should also be included.

3. Practice Philosophy
The loan package must convey philosophy. It is conveyed throughout the loan package in its language and supporting documents.

A practice’s philosophy is made up of its medical philosophy and management philosophy. The medical philosophy pertains to the type of medicine to be practiced and services to be performed. The type of medicine to practice determines whether the practice will be a small animal practice, an emergency practice, a surgery practice, etc. The loan package should explain the rationale behind this discussion as it pertains to profitability. The type of service to be performed has a direct correlation to the type of medicine practiced. The types of services fall under the general categories of preventative care, elective care, and acute care.

A practice’s management philosophy covers a broad expanse of topics from staffing policies, training policies, continuing education policies, operating policies, etc. The only facet of management philosophy formally addressed in the loan package is the portion of the operating policies related to hours of operation. The hours of operation must be addressed in order to derive the Professional Revenue and Payroll Schedules. Obviously, the decision to be open five, six or seven days a week will have a major impact on the professional revenue projections.

4. Proforma Projections
The most important piece of the loan package is the proforma projections. The two documents that must be included in the proforma projections are the Cash Flow of Revenue Expenses (CFRE) projection and Quarterly Cash Flows (QCF) projection.

The CFRE projection is by far the most encompassing. The first step in developing the CFRE projections is to generate professional revenue projections. This is accomplished through a detailed Professional Revenue Schedule. After completing the Professional Revenue Schedule, a Payroll Schedule is projected based on the expected revenue and growth of the practice. In addition to the two supporting schedules listed above, many assumptions must be made to generate the CFRE projection.

The QCF projection encompasses the information generated in the CFRE projection. In addition, it identifies any other cash outlays in order to determine total cash flow for the time period projected.

5. Loan Proposal
The loan proposal consists of the actual loan request, a description of how the loan proceeds will be used, and the source of repayment. The loan request is based primarily on the results of the Proforma Projections.

The source of repayment describes how the loan will be repaid. Unless the loan is guaranteed outside the practice, the Proforma Projections must provide proof that the loan can be repaid from operating cash flow.