Funding Readiness
Funding readiness means a business has organized enough records, cash-flow visibility, governance evidence, and use-of-funds clarity to hold a serious financing discussion. It is preparation quality, not an outcome promise.
Why it matters: Banks, platforms, investors, and advisers usually need more than a business idea; they need evidence that the owner understands the numbers, risks, and next steps.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady uses funding readiness to turn broad goals into monthly tasks around records, cash flow, documents, and decision points while reminding users to verify important matters with qualified professionals.
Cash Flow
Cash flow is the movement of money into and out of the business over time. Profit on paper can look healthy while cash timing still creates repayment or growth pressure.
Why it matters: Funding conversations often examine whether the business can handle payroll, suppliers, inventory, rent, tax obligations, and repayment timing.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may prompt users to organize bank statements, revenue cycles, cost timing, and cash-flow assumptions, but it does not make a final lending or investment decision.
Working Capital
Working capital is the short-term money available to run daily operations after current liabilities are considered. It shows whether the business has breathing room for stock, salaries, suppliers, and unexpected delays.
Why it matters: SMEs often seek financing because working capital is tight, so owners need to explain the gap clearly before discussing facilities or growth plans.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may use working-capital gaps to suggest actions such as preparing debtor lists, supplier terms, inventory needs, and a practical use-of-funds note.
Debt Service Capacity
Debt service capacity describes whether operating cash flow appears able to support repayment obligations. It is a preparation lens, not a lender decision.
Why it matters: A business may qualify on documents but still struggle if repayments are not realistic against seasonal sales, margins, or existing obligations.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users prepare repayment assumptions and questions for advisers while avoiding approval predictions or credit decisions.
Management Accounts
Management accounts are internal financial reports prepared during the year to track performance before audited statements are available. They may include profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash-flow summaries.
Why it matters: Recent management accounts help reviewers understand current trading conditions rather than relying only on older annual reports.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may ask users to collect monthly or quarterly management accounts and identify missing revenue, cost, debtor, creditor, or margin information.
Audited Financial Statements
Audited financial statements are annual financial reports reviewed by an independent auditor where required or available. They provide a more formal picture of historical performance.
Why it matters: Many financing, investor, or listing-readiness discussions start by checking whether audited records are complete, consistent, and explainable.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may use this term to remind users to locate audit reports, note missing years, and prepare questions for accountants or auditors.
Use of Funds
Use of funds explains exactly how requested money will be spent, such as inventory, equipment, hiring, marketing, working capital, or repayment support.
Why it matters: A vague funding request can weaken confidence because reviewers may not see how money connects to growth, repayment, or operational improvement.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may turn a funding goal into a use-of-funds outline and document checklist, but users must verify final numbers and commitments themselves.
Business Profile
A business profile is a concise explanation of what the company does, who it serves, how it earns money, and what stage it is in.
Why it matters: Owners often know their business well but have not packaged the story in a way that outside reviewers can understand quickly.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help structure profile sections such as industry, products, customers, revenue model, team, milestones, and current challenges.
Company Governance
Company governance covers how decisions are made, documented, approved, and monitored inside the business. For SMEs, it can be as practical as clear ownership, responsibilities, approvals, and record keeping.
Why it matters: Weak governance can slow funding, investor, or listing-readiness discussions because reviewers may worry about control, accountability, and continuity.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may suggest governance preparation tasks such as documenting roles, approvals, shareholder structure, and board or owner decisions.
Board Resolution
A board resolution is a formal record of a decision made by directors or authorized decision makers. It can show that major actions were properly approved.
Why it matters: Financing, account opening, facility acceptance, or major strategic actions may require clear evidence that the company has authorized the step.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may remind users to ask advisers what approvals are needed, but it does not draft legal documents or decide legal validity.
Shareholder Structure
Shareholder structure shows who owns the company and how ownership is divided. It may also include related parties, founders, or investor stakes.
Why it matters: Reviewers may look at ownership to understand control, decision authority, dilution risk, succession, and conflicts of interest.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may prompt users to organize shareholder information and questions for professional advisers without giving legal or investment advice.
Investor Pitch
An investor pitch explains the business opportunity, problem, solution, market, traction, team, financial logic, and funding need. It should connect ambition with evidence.
Why it matters: Investors usually need a clear story and supporting numbers before deciding whether a deeper conversation is worthwhile.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users prepare pitch sections, traction evidence, and follow-up questions, but it does not contact investors or make investment recommendations.
Traction
Traction is evidence that the business is gaining market acceptance, such as sales growth, repeat customers, contracts, usage, retention, or partnerships.
Why it matters: Traction makes growth claims more credible because it shows progress beyond ideas and projections.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users list traction signals and gaps so the roadmap can prioritize proof, metrics, and documentation.
Revenue Forecast
A revenue forecast estimates future sales based on assumptions such as customer demand, pricing, capacity, seasonality, and conversion rates.
Why it matters: Forecasts influence cash-flow planning, repayment thinking, hiring, inventory, and growth readiness, so weak assumptions can create misleading plans.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users break forecasts into assumptions and monthly actions, but it does not certify forecasts or promise performance.
Gross Margin
Gross margin shows how much revenue remains after direct costs of producing or delivering goods or services. It helps reveal whether growth is profitable enough to support operations.
Why it matters: Funding discussions may look beyond sales volume to whether margins can support repayment, hiring, stock, and overheads.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may prompt users to calculate or organize margin information by product, service, outlet, or customer segment.
Debtor Aging
Debtor aging shows how long customers have owed money to the business. It separates recent receivables from overdue balances.
Why it matters: Slow collections can weaken cash flow even when revenue looks strong, especially for SMEs relying on customer payments to fund operations.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may use debtor aging to suggest collection review, customer concentration questions, and cash-flow preparation tasks.
Creditor Aging
Creditor aging shows how long the business has owed money to suppliers or other parties. It helps reveal payment pressure and supplier dependency.
Why it matters: Reviewers may consider whether delayed supplier payments signal cash-flow stress or operational risk.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users organize creditor schedules and prepare questions about supplier terms, repayment timing, and working-capital needs.
Inventory Turnover
Inventory turnover describes how quickly stock is sold and replaced. Slow-moving inventory can tie up cash and hide operational problems.
Why it matters: For retail, trading, manufacturing, and F&B businesses, inventory patterns affect working capital, margins, storage costs, and funding needs.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may ask users to identify stock categories, slow-moving items, seasonality, and reorder assumptions for a clearer roadmap.
P2P Financing
P2P financing is a form of alternative business financing where funding is arranged through a platform structure rather than a traditional bank facility. Requirements vary by country and platform.
Why it matters: SMEs may explore this route when bank financing is slow or unsuitable, but platform review still depends on records, risk, cash flow, and documentation.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help prepare business-profile and document-readiness questions, but it is not a funding platform, broker, or adviser.
Bank Financing
Bank financing refers to business facilities provided by banks, such as term loans, overdrafts, trade facilities, or working-capital lines. Each bank applies its own criteria.
Why it matters: Bank discussions often require organized financial records, repayment logic, collateral or security questions, and clear use of funds.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help owners prepare records and questions before bank conversations, but it does not represent banks or decide applications.
Angel Investment
Angel investment usually comes from individuals investing their own capital into early or growing businesses. It often depends on trust, growth story, founder quality, and evidence.
Why it matters: SMEs and startups considering this path need to prepare a clear pitch, ownership implications, financial assumptions, and risk discussion.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may support pitch preparation and readiness questions, but it does not arrange investors, recommend investments, or provide legal terms.
Venture Capital
Venture capital is investment from funds that typically look for scalable companies with strong growth potential. It is not suitable for every SME.
Why it matters: VC conversations often focus on market size, traction, unit economics, team, growth speed, and exit possibilities.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users understand preparation gaps for a growth-focused pitch while making clear that professional advice is needed for investment terms.
Public Listing Readiness
Public listing readiness means preparing a company for the discipline, governance, financial reporting, disclosure, and investor expectations of a public market.
Why it matters: Listing preparation can take years, so SMEs need staged actions rather than waiting until the company is already under review.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may frame monthly governance, finance, and documentation milestones, but it is not a listing sponsor or adviser.
SME Market Listing
SME market listing refers to a public-market route designed for smaller or earlier-stage companies in some jurisdictions. Exact rules differ by country.
Why it matters: It may be relevant for companies exploring long-term visibility and capital-market discipline, but readiness depends on governance, records, advisers, and market rules.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may use the concept to build a general readiness roadmap and remind users to verify local requirements with qualified professionals.
Growth Market Listing
Growth market listing refers to a public-market route often associated with higher-growth companies that are not yet at main-board scale. Country rules and names vary.
Why it matters: Businesses considering this path need stronger governance, financial reporting, growth evidence, and investor communication discipline.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users prepare questions and milestones for growth-market readiness without implying eligibility or admission.
Main-board Listing
Main-board listing refers to a major public market route for more established companies. It usually expects stronger scale, governance, reporting, and track record.
Why it matters: For ambitious SMEs, understanding this concept helps separate long-term readiness work from short-term funding preparation.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may use it to structure a multi-year preparation roadmap, not to provide listing advice or eligibility confirmation.
Document Checklist
A document checklist is a structured list of records, summaries, approvals, and supporting evidence needed for a funding, investor, or readiness discussion.
Why it matters: Checklists reduce confusion because owners can see what is available, what is missing, and who owns each item.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may generate planning checklists based on the selected goal and business stage, but users must confirm final requirements with the relevant reviewer.
Risk Disclosure
Risk disclosure means clearly explaining uncertainties, dependencies, and possible downsides rather than presenting only positive assumptions.
Why it matters: Transparent risk discussion can make planning more credible and helps owners prepare for difficult questions.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may prompt users to list operational, financial, market, governance, and execution risks for planning purposes only.
Milestone
A milestone is a defined progress point, such as completing accounts, preparing a cash-flow forecast, finalizing a profile, or reviewing governance documents.
Why it matters: Monthly milestones help SMEs move from broad goals to visible action, ownership, and follow-through.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady uses milestones to organize the roadmap into practical steps, but completing milestones does not mean external approval will follow.
Readiness Score
A readiness score is a planning signal that summarizes how complete or organized certain preparation areas appear. It is not a formal rating or decision.
Why it matters: Scores can help owners prioritize gaps, but they should not be treated as credit assessment, investment assessment, or listing eligibility.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may use scores to highlight weak areas and next actions while keeping the boundary clear that users must verify important decisions.
Professional Adviser
A professional adviser is a qualified person or firm such as an accountant, lawyer, licensed financial adviser, tax adviser, corporate finance adviser, or listing adviser.
Why it matters: SMEs often need advisers when decisions affect tax, legal obligations, investment terms, regulated financing, or public-market processes.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users prepare better questions for advisers, but it does not replace their judgment or regulated responsibilities.
Due Diligence
Due diligence is the review process used to examine records, assumptions, risks, ownership, contracts, finances, and operations before a major decision.
Why it matters: Funding, investment, acquisition, or listing conversations may slow down if documents are incomplete or inconsistent.
How RaiseReady uses it: RaiseReady may help users prepare for due-diligence questions and document gaps, but it does not perform formal due diligence or certify information.