To lease a car for business, IVF usually asks for business bank statements, your latest accounts, company details and, where the funder needs it, photo ID for directors. A company that has not filed accounts yet can send draft or management accounts and an opening statement of affairs. We confirm the list; you email documents to us as secure files.
Key facts
- IVF usually asks for business bank statements, your latest accounts, company details and, where the funder needs it, photo ID for the directors.
- Before a company files its first accounts, we usually ask for draft or management accounts and an opening statement of affairs.
- Documents go to IVF by email as secure files once your specialist has confirmed the list, never through the public enquiry form.
- A private company’s first accounts are normally due 21 months after incorporation. That is a filing deadline, not a funder’s evidence timetable.
- Subsequent private-company annual accounts are normally due nine months after the financial year ends.
- Company accounting records normally need to be kept for six years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, and longer in specified circumstances.
- A limited company is a separate legal entity: its banking must be kept separate from personal banking.
- Directors remain legally responsible for company records and accounts even when an accountant helps prepare them.
What IVF usually asks for
These are the documents we usually ask for on a business lease application. Each funder sets its own requirements, so your IVF specialist confirms the exact list for your application before you send anything.
- Business bank statements for the company’s own account, covering the period your specialist confirms.
- Your latest filed accounts, if the business has them.
- Draft accounts or management accounts if your first accounts are not filed yet, or if trading has moved on since the last filed period.
- An opening statement of affairs for a new company: a dated summary of what the business owns and owes as it starts trading.
- Company details: the registered name, company number and registered address, plus your VAT number if the company is VAT registered.
- Photo ID for the directors, such as a passport or driving licence, where the funder asks for it.
Some funders ask for more, such as a cash flow forecast or evidence of signed contracts for a new business. If you traded as a sole trader before incorporating, your earlier records can help explain your history. The matrix below sets out why each item matters and who normally supplies it.
Starting out or recently incorporated? Our new business car leasing page explains how funders look at a company without filed accounts, what a director guarantee involves and the likely next step for your situation.
Not sure what applies to your business? Talk it through with a specialist before you gather anything.
Start with the legal applicant, not a bundle of attachments
A business name on a website is not enough to identify the applicant. Establish whether the agreement would be taken by a limited company, partnership or sole trader. For a company, use the registered legal name and company number and explain any different trading name. A director’s personal history and the company’s own records are different kinds of evidence.
Intelligent Vehicle Finance can discuss the vehicle and business requirement. An initial enquiry can give a non-sensitive overview: the legal structure, how long the business has traded, the type of vehicle, expected mileage and timing. Do not attach bank statements, passports, driving licences or detailed accounts to the public enquiry form.
The matrix below explains why a document might be relevant. It does not say every applicant must supply every item. Your IVF specialist confirms the funder’s requirements for your application and how to send the documents securely.
Why each document matters
| Evidence item | Identity, authority or affordability purpose | Company supplies | Director supplies | Source and recency | Safe next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company registration details | Identifies the legal applicant | Registered name, number, address and trading details, plus the VAT number if registered | Explains their role where requested | Current Companies House record; correct discrepancies | Confirm which entity will sign before collecting financial evidence |
| Filed annual accounts | Shows historic business performance and position | The latest filed accounts if available | Clarifies any change since that period | Companies House or accountant; period requested by funder | Explain if the first filing deadline has not arrived |
| Draft accounts | Shows a completed period before the accounts are filed | Draft accounts for the latest period, clearly marked as draft | Confirms the figures reflect the business fairly | Accountant or company records; say whether figures may still change | Send with a note of the period covered |
| Management accounts | May explain more recent trading | Dated internal profit-and-loss and balance-sheet information if maintained | Authorises release through the agreed route | Accountant or company records; scope and cut-off to be confirmed | Check whether draft or final figures are required |
| Opening statement of affairs | Shows what a new business owns and owes as it starts trading | A dated summary of assets, liabilities and capital introduced | Explains any money or assets the directors have put in | Company or accountant; dated at or near the start of trading | Ask your IVF specialist whether the funder needs one |
| Business bank statements | May support assessment of trading and cash movements | Statements for the correct company account, if requested | Does not substitute personal banking without an explicit request | Bank-issued evidence; period and format confirmed by your IVF specialist | Email as secure files once the request is confirmed |
| Forecasts and supporting contracts | May explain expected trading rather than completed results | Assumptions, forecasts and relevant supporting evidence if requested | Explains assumptions and uncertainty | Company or accountant; distinguish estimates from actuals | Ask what the funder will consider; no acceptance is implied |
| Identity and authority evidence | May confirm the person and their right to act | Authorised signatory details and authority evidence if requested | Only the identity evidence specifically requested | Current documents as requested; your IVF specialist confirms what is accepted | Verify recipient and purpose before any transfer |
| Earlier sole-trader records | May explain business history across a change of legal structure | A clear account of incorporation and continuity | Relevant previous records only if requested | Records belong to a different legal applicant or period | Ask whether the particular funder will consider them |
First accounts and current trading answer different questions
A newly incorporated company may not yet have reached its first accounts filing deadline. That does not mean it has no accounting records, and it does not establish that a funder will proceed without evidence. Equally, a filing deadline must not be presented as a minimum trading-age rule for a lease.
Keep the distinction between filed accounts, management accounts and forecasts clear. Filed accounts describe a completed reporting period. Management accounts can describe more recent actual trading, subject to how they were prepared. A forecast describes expectations and assumptions. Mark each document accordingly rather than presenting projected revenue as money already received.
Where an accountant has prepared the material, ask them to identify the reporting period, whether it is final or provisional and any material change since the cut-off date. A company that has stopped one activity and started another should explain that change. The purpose is a coherent account of the applicant, not a longer pack.
For example, a company before its first filing date would usually send IVF its draft or management accounts, an opening statement of affairs and business bank statements. The funder then decides what it will consider: those documents do not replace filed accounts with every funder, and no single minimum trading history applies across the market.
Statements: confirm the period and format before sharing
Bank evidence may help a funder understand the company’s trading and cash movements. A screenshot of a balance, an incomplete statement and a bank-issued statement covering a requested period are different records. Ask which format, account, date range and pages are required before preparing a file.
There is no single statement period that every funder uses, so your IVF specialist confirms the period for your application. Do not assume a fixed number of months, that a personal account can stand in for company banking, or that an account balance by itself shows affordability.
Check that the account holder matches the applicant and that all pages in the requested period are present. If information is unavailable, explain the gap and ask what evidence can be considered. Do not alter a bank-issued record or omit material information while presenting it as complete.
Authority and identity are separate from affordability
A person can be a director without being the person authorised to sign a particular agreement. Confirm who is making the application, who will sign and what authority the recipient needs to see. Directors remain responsible for company records even when professional advisers help maintain them.
An identity request is about confirming a person; a financial request is about assessing the business or other relevant applicant. Neither proves the other. Supply only the personal evidence requested for the stated purpose, by secure email. Funders differ on which identity documents they accept, so your IVF specialist will tell you what is needed.
A personal guarantee would create a separate responsibility from acting as a company signatory. Whether a funder asks for one depends on the application, and our director guarantee explainer sets out what signing one means. If one is raised in a specific proposal, read the wording and understand the obligations before deciding whether to proceed.
Sending your documents to IVF securely
Once your IVF specialist has confirmed what the funder needs, email the documents to us as secure files. Your specialist will confirm the email address to use and anything else you need to know before you send them. The public enquiry form is only for a short overview and a callback request, so please do not attach bank statements, accounts or identity documents to it.
Before sending anything, check that the request has come from your IVF specialist through a contact you already know, and send only the items on the confirmed list. If a request looks unusual, or asks for more than you expected, call us on 01752 429950 before you send it.
Keep a record of what was requested, the versions you supplied and the date you sent them. If the recipient changes, or someone asks for material beyond the agreed list, confirm the new request with us first. Do not treat a logo, a familiar display name or a link as proof that a channel is secure.
What IVF needs for the first conversation
Prepare a short summary of the legal applicant, trading history, intended vehicle use, expected mileage and preferred timing. Explain which types of financial evidence already exist and which are not yet available. You can describe that position without sending the documents themselves.
Your IVF specialist then confirms the documents the funder needs, usually from the list above, with the period each should cover and how to email them securely. Where trading history crosses from a sole trader to a company, explain the change of entity so that the request is made on the correct basis.
After that, the assessment and decision depend on the particular application and the funder’s criteria. An acknowledgement, document review or request for more information is not a funding decision, and we cannot promise acceptance or a decision date.
This is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Take questions about your own company records, authority and financial position to your accountant or legal adviser before submitting evidence you do not understand.
Useful next steps
Your questions answered
What documents does IVF usually ask for?
Business bank statements, your latest accounts, company details and, where the funder needs it, photo ID for the directors. If the company has not filed accounts yet, we usually ask for draft or management accounts and an opening statement of affairs.
What can a new company supply before its first accounts are filed?
IVF usually asks a new company for draft or management accounts, an opening statement of affairs and business bank statements. The funder decides what it will consider, so these do not replace filed accounts with every funder.
What is an opening statement of affairs?
A dated summary of what a new business owns and owes as it starts trading, including money or assets the directors have put in. Your accountant can help you prepare one, and your IVF specialist will tell you if the funder needs it.
When are a new company's first accounts due?
A private company’s first accounts are normally due 21 months after incorporation. A funder may need information before that deadline; the filing timetable does not determine its application requirements.
Why might a funder request business bank statements?
They may help the funder assess trading and cash movements for the actual applicant. Confirm the account, period, format and purpose before preparing a submission.
How recent must the statements be?
There is no single rule across funders. Your IVF specialist confirms the period and end date the funder needs before you send anything.
When are management accounts useful?
They may help explain actual trading after the last filed period or before first accounts exist. Confirm whether the funder needs them, the reporting cut-off and whether provisional figures are acceptable.
Who is authorised to apply for the company?
Confirm the intended applicant, authorised signatory and any evidence of authority required. Being a director and being authorised to sign the particular agreement are related but separate questions.
Why might directors be asked for identity evidence?
Identity evidence may be requested to confirm the individual and their role. It does not replace assessment of the company’s financial evidence. Send only what your IVF specialist asks for, by secure email.
Can an established sole trader's records support a new company?
They may be relevant background if the particular funder asks for them. Explain the change of legal entity; earlier sole-trader trading is not automatically the new company’s own history.
Where should financial documents be sent securely?
Email them to us as secure files once your IVF specialist has confirmed what the funder needs. Do not attach bank statements, identity documents or accounts to the public enquiry form.
What happens after IVF reviews the available evidence?
Your IVF specialist sends the application to the funder, which may ask for more information. A review or acknowledgement is not a funding decision, and we cannot promise acceptance or a decision date.
Primary sources
Sources checked 22 September 2026. Read the current guidance and ask your adviser to apply it to your circumstances.
Intelligent Vehicle Finance is a trading name of XLCR Vehicle Management Ltd. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 315268. We are a credit broker, not a lender, and we may receive a commission from lenders for introducing you to them. All vehicle finance is subject to status and individual funder criteria.
Editorial responsibility: Stacey Smith, Brand Director, Intelligent Vehicle Finance.
Last updated: September 2026
