The Credit Readiness Audit — Ziyon Capital Advisory

I · What the Audit Is

The diagnosis, the evidence, and the order to fix it in.

“What exactly is wrong with my file, why, and in what order do I fix it?”

That is the question the Audit answers. Most SME funding applications fail before the meeting — decided in the file by an analyst the founder never meets. The Audit reads your file the way that analyst will: across the five lenses a credit committee applies, against the ratios that decide the outcome, with every rating evidenced from your own documents.

It is not coaching and it is not brokerage. It is the credit committee's read of your business, delivered to your side of the desk first — while there is still time to act on it.

II · The Three Tiers

Scoped to where the business actually is.

Each tier answers a bigger question than the last. The scoping call confirms which one fits — and if none does, we say so.

Tier I

Essentials

from £500

5 business days

“What exactly is wrong, why, and in what order do I fix it?”

You receive

Scored five-lens scorecard — Strong / Adequate / Weak / Insufficient information — with the evidence behind each rating
Key ratio analysis with the numbers shown: DSCR, gearing, Net Debt to EBITDA, interest cover, current ratio, EBITDA margin
Red flags and inconsistencies identified across your document set
Prioritised remediation action list, sequenced by impact
Preliminary view on the borrowing level your file can support
One walkthrough call through the findings

Written report · 8–12 pages · One call

You provide Last two years' accounts · six months' bank statements · summary of existing borrowing · funding objective note · current-year management accounts · aged debtors and creditors · facility agreements · business plan, if one exists

For founders who need the institutional read before deciding next steps.

Book the scoping call

Most engaged

Tier II

Standard

from £1,500

10 business days

“Build the file with me — convert my numbers into the form the committee reads them in.”

You receive

Everything in Essentials
Financial translation and normalisation adjustments
Sources-and-uses statement constructed for your specific funding ask
Committee-style credit memo summary of your file — the document a lender's analyst would otherwise write, written first on your side
Document review call early in the engagement; findings call at handover

Detailed report · Two calls

You provide The Essentials set, plus: last four VAT returns · 12-month forecast or budget · detailed debtor book · group or ownership structure · director loans and related-party balances

For founders three-to-six months from a meaningful funding ask.

Book the scoping call

Tier III

Premium

from £3,000

15 business days

“Make this file deal-grade for the institutions I am approaching.”

You receive

Everything in Standard
Where the business operates or is funded across borders: a cross-border documentation pack covering counterparty, FX, group structure and compliance footprint
Lender-fit analysis of your file against the institutions you have selected
Committee Preparation Session: a structured challenge against the questions a lender's credit function is likely to ask — trading performance, serviceability, working capital, downside risk, concentration, security, funding purpose and forecast assumptions — testing whether you can answer each from the file

Comprehensive report · Two calls · One Committee Preparation Session

You provide The Standard set, plus: key customer and supplier contracts · where the business operates or is funded across borders, a cross-border flow and FX exposure summary · compliance documentation · the application requirements of each institution you intend to approach

For files with complexity to present: cross-border operations or funding, a group with more than one trading entity, facilities with more than two lenders, an existing covenant breach or waiver, or a funding ask above £1,000,000. Absent these, Standard is the right tier.

Book the scoping call

Upgrading from a lower tier later? Document sets are cumulative — you only ever send the difference. All prices are “from”: the exact fee is confirmed on the scoping call, before anything is signed.

III · How the Engagement Runs

Four steps. No surprises.

From scoping call to handover, you always know what comes next — and what it costs — before you commit to it.

01

Scoping call

Twenty minutes. We confirm which tier fits your position and funding ask, and agree the exact scope and fee. If the Audit is not the right move yet, we say so.

02

Engagement letter

Issued the same day, incorporating our Standard Terms. You sign, pay 50% of the fee, and send the document set for your tier. The clock starts when both are in.

03

The work

Your file is read the way a credit committee will read it — scored, evidenced, and reconciled across every document. Standard and Premium tiers include a document review call early in the engagement.

04

The handover

The written report, walked through on a findings call: the verdict, the evidence, and the order to fix things in. The balance of the fee is due on delivery.

Already commissioned a Credit Snapshot? The £150 is credited in full against any Audit tier commissioned within 90 days of delivery. You never pay twice for the same read.

IV · Where the Line Sits

What the Audit deliberately is not.

The boundary is what keeps Ziyon on your side of the desk rather than the lender's.

i.

We do not arrange the finance. No brokerage, no lender introductions, no success fees. The approach to lenders is yours — made from a file built to survive it.

ii.

We do not select your lenders. In the Premium tier, the lender-fit analysis is performed exclusively against institutions you have named. You select; we analyse fit.

iii.

We do not guarantee approval. The lender decides. What the Audit changes is whether your file gives them a reason to say yes — and removes the reasons to say no.

iv.

We do not provide regulated financial advice. Ziyon Capital Advisory provides credit-readiness advisory and document preparation only, and operates outside the FCA regulated perimeter.

V · Straight Answers

Before you book

Which tier is right for my business?

That is what the scoping call decides. As a rule of thumb: Essentials if you need the institutional diagnosis before deciding next steps; Standard if you are three to six months from a meaningful funding ask and the file needs building, not just reading; Premium where the file carries complexity that must be presented, not just diagnosed: cross-border operations or funding, a group with more than one trading entity, facilities with more than two lenders, a covenant breach or waiver, or an ask above £1,000,000.

I paid for a Credit Snapshot — do I pay twice?

No. The £150 Snapshot fee is credited in full against any Audit tier commissioned within 90 days of delivery. The Snapshot simply becomes the first step of the larger piece.

How does payment work?

Every Audit is contracted under an engagement letter incorporating our Standard Terms of Business: 50% on signature, 50% on delivery. The scope and fee are confirmed on the scoping call before anything is signed — no work begins, and nothing is owed, until you have both in writing.

Do you arrange the finance or introduce lenders?

No. Ziyon does not lend, broker or arrange finance, introduce or recommend lenders, negotiate terms, or take success fees. We prepare your file to the standard a credit committee applies; the approach to lenders — your choice, your relationship — is yours.

VI · Book the Scoping Call

Twenty minutes. Then the work begins.

The scoping call is step one of the engagement, not a sales conversation: we confirm the tier, the scope, and the fee, and the engagement letter follows the same day. Come with your funding ask in mind.

Book your audit scoping call

Or write directly to hello@ziyoncapital.co.uk