Commercial due diligence
Understand the arrangement before approving the funding.
Assessment is not an obstacle placed in front of funding. It is the work that makes a funding arrangement sensible for everyone in it.
- Company
- Costs
- Cycle
- Contracts
- Documents
01 The principle
Funding starts with commercial assessment.
Before an arrangement proceeds, the commercial picture is reviewed: what the business does, what it expects to spend on workforce, how it is paid, how the contracts fit together and what documentation supports all of it.
The point is a shared understanding of the arrangement, so that limits, responsibilities and charges can be agreed on a factual basis rather than an optimistic one.
This is a commercial assessment. It is not described as regulated underwriting, a regulated credit assessment, a consumer credit decision or a credit-scoring process, and no such status or permission is claimed.
02 Assessment areas
What may be considered.
Not every area applies to every arrangement. These describe the kinds of information that may form part of a commercial assessment.
- 01
Company
Basic company information and the commercial structure of the business making the request.
- 02
Workforce cost
The nature and pattern of expected workforce-related expenditure the arrangement would support.
- 03
Payment cycle
How the business is paid by its own customers, and how that sits against workforce cost timing.
- 04
Contractual structure
The contractual relationships between the agency, umbrella, workforce and end clients.
- 05
Supporting documents
Documentation relevant to the arrangement, provided through an agreed method.
- 06
Commercial requirement
What the business actually needs funded, coordinated or administered, and over what period.
- 07
Financial information
Financial information where relevant to the commercial assessment being carried out.
Assessment areas describe the kinds of information that may be considered. They are not a scoring system, an approval formula or a guarantee that any particular arrangement will proceed.
03 How information is exchanged
Nothing sensitive through a public form.
Appropriate at enquiry stage
- Company name and company number
- Approximate workforce-related expenditure
- Current payment cycle in general terms
- Expected funding requirement
- Umbrella arrangement in outline
- Required start timeframe
Never through the public website
- Bank login or online banking credentials
- Payment card details
- Payroll or umbrella portal passwords
- Full payroll files or full bank statements
- Passports or identity documents
- Worker medical or sensitive tax information
Sensitive commercial and financial documents can be exchanged through an agreed secure method following initial contact.
Funding availability is not guaranteed. All arrangements are subject to commercial assessment, eligibility, agreed limits, contractual documentation and individual terms.
Next step
Start with the commercial picture.
A short conversation about your structure, costs and payment cycle is usually enough to establish whether an arrangement is worth assessing properly.