After a business finance call: what to write down, what to confirm and what to do next

A good finance call covers a lot of ground in a short time: options, costs, security, timelines, documents. By the end of the day, half of it has blurred into “they said something about a fee”. By the end of the week, you’re comparing a written offer with a hazy memory.

Five minutes of notes, straight after you hang up, fixes that. Here’s what to write down, what to confirm in writing, and how to use it all to decide.

Why write notes straight away?

Three reasons.

Memory fades fast. Within a day, most people remember the gist of a conversation but not the numbers. And with finance, the numbers are the point.

You’ll need to compare. If you’re weighing up more than one option — a loan versus a line of credit, one lender versus another, borrowing versus a payment plan — you need the details side by side.

It protects you. business.gov.au’s guidance on managing debt recommends documenting conversations with creditors. The same habit is just as useful when you’re taking on new finance. If the written offer doesn’t match what was said, your notes let you spot it and ask.

What should I write down?

Use the same headings every time. Here’s a template you can copy:

Heading	What to note
Date, time, who you spoke with	Name and business
What you asked for	Amount, purpose, deadline
Options discussed	Each option, and why it was or wasn’t suggested
Total cost in dollars	For each option, over the period you’d use it
Fees mentioned	Establishment, ongoing, legal, valuation, discharge, early repayment, late payment
Security	What’s secured — property, equipment, business assets, nothing
Guarantees	Who guarantees, limited or unlimited
Early repayment	Allowed? Cost? Saving?
Late repayment or late exit	What happens, what it costs
Documents requested	Exactly what, in what form
Next step	Who does what, by when
Anything that felt unclear	Questions to follow up

Don’t worry about neat sentences. Dot points are fine. What matters is getting the figures and commitments down while they’re fresh.

If you haven’t had the call yet, the pre-call routine sets you up for it, and you can request your call-back here.

Which points should I confirm in writing?

Before you sign anything, ask for these in writing — usually in the offer, loan contract or a covering email:

1. The total cost in dollars, with each fee broken out.
2. The security being taken, including anything registered on the Personal Property Securities Register.
3. The guarantees required, and whether they’re limited or unlimited.
4. Early repayment terms, including any minimum interest period or break fee.
5. What happens if a repayment is late, and any default charges.
6. For short-term loans, what happens at the end of the term if your exit runs late.
7. Any conditions you must meet before or after funding.

If something you were told on the call isn’t in the written terms, ask about it. There may be a good reason — the assessment turned up something new — but you should understand it before you sign. Our page on the total cost of a business loan explains how to get these figures on a like-for-like basis.

How do I compare options fairly?

Put them side by side on the same basis:

	Option 1	Option 2	Option 3 (do nothing / payment plan)
Amount received
Period you’d use it
Total cost in dollars, all fees in
Repayment and frequency
Security
Guarantees
Early repayment
Risk if things go wrong

Include the “do nothing” or “alternative” column. Missing a deadline has costs too — ATO charges, a lost contract, a failed settlement — and sometimes a payment plan or supplier arrangement beats any loan. The comparison should show that honestly.

What should I watch for in my notes?

When you read your notes back, a few things deserve a second look:

• Blank cells. If you couldn’t fill in the total cost or the security, that’s a question to ask.
• Vague answers. “Fees are standard” or “don’t worry about early repayment” should become specific numbers.
• Pressure. If your notes say “must sign today”, ask why. Genuine deadlines exist, but pressure to skip reading is a warning sign.
• Requests that don’t fit. A request for banking passwords, or a fee to “release” funds, is a red flag. Our page on business loan red flags explains why.

What protections apply to small business loans?

Some, and it’s worth knowing they exist. ASIC notes that small business contracts for financial products and services, including business loans, are covered by unfair contract term protections where at least one party has fewer than 100 employees or turnover under $10 million and the upfront price is $5 million or less. A term found to be unfair can be declared void.

If you later have a dispute with a lender, ASIC’s guidance on disputes about commercial loans sets out the steps, beginning with the lender’s own complaints process. Your notes from the first call can be genuinely useful at that point.

None of this replaces reading the contract. It’s a safety net, not a substitute.

What do I do with the notes next?

• Share them with your accountant, if you have one. A one-page summary gets you a quick, informed opinion. Our guide on whether your accountant should join the call covers when to involve them.
• Gather the documents requested, and send them the way you agreed.
• Diary the next step and any deadlines — finance clause dates, settlement dates, ATO due dates.
• Follow up on the gaps. Send a short email with the questions you didn’t get to.

An example, filled in

Here’s how a completed set of notes might look, for an illustrative café owner (no real business):

1 October, 10:40am. Spoke with a Loan Hotline specialist. Asked for: about $30,000 for a replacement coffee machine and grinder; supplier needs payment by the 18th. Options: equipment finance secured on the machine; unsecured facility sized on turnover. Cost: asked for total dollars on both — will come in the written proposal. Security: equipment finance secured on the machine; unsecured option needs a director guarantee. Early repayment: allowed on both; fee details to confirm. Documents: recent bank statements, supplier invoice, ID. Next step: send documents today; proposal expected after review. Follow up: confirm guarantee is limited; ask about a balloon on the equipment option.

Short, specific and useful. That’s all it needs to be.

How should I store what I’ve written?

Keep it simple and in one place:

• One folder per finance conversation, on your computer or in your email, with your notes, the offer, the contract and any correspondence.
• Name files by date and lender, so you can find them quickly later.
• Save the final signed contract as a PDF, alongside the offer it replaced.
• Diary key dates — the first repayment, any interest-only or pause period ending, the loan’s end date and any balloon.

This matters more than it seems. If you want to refinance in a year, the new lender will ask for the current loan’s details. If a dispute arises, your notes and the documents together tell the story. And if your accountant needs to review your borrowing at tax time, it’s all there.

A final tip: when a loan ends, keep the discharge or closure letter. It’s the proof that the debt is paid and any security released, and it’s surprisingly hard to get a copy years later.

Ready for the first call?

Notes make a good call even better. And at Loan Hotline, the first call comes without a credit check, your details stay with one team rather than being sent to a crowd of lenders, and the specialist has read your situation before ringing.

Please answer the request accurately — amount, purpose, state and any property you own — so the options you write down afterwards are the right ones. Request your call-back and pick a window.