Finance & Cash Flow
Taking a loan is easy. Reading one is the skill.
A loan can fund growth or it can quietly take over the business. The difference is often in details that were in the paperwork: how interest is charged, what the fees are, what happens on prepayment, who is guaranteeing what. This session is general awareness for owners who may borrow, are borrowing, or have been told to.
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Most loan problems start with the paperwork nobody read.
Borrowers are often told the interest rate and little else. The fee, the insurance added to the loan, the rate that changes later, the charge for repaying early, the personal guarantee, the penalty for a late instalment: these matter as much as the rate and sit in a document most people sign without reading in full.
Reserve Bank of India rules now require lenders to give borrowers of retail and MSME loans a standard-format summary of key terms, called a Key Facts Statement, before the loan is taken. Knowing what to look for in it is the first step towards borrowing safely.
What the session covers
36 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts, from the kinds of loan to the signature.
Kinds of Business LoanMatch the loan to the need.6
- Term loans for machinery, premises or a one-time need
- Working-capital finance: overdraft, cash credit and similar, covered in its own session
- Equipment and vehicle finance
- Unsecured business loans, usually shorter and costlier
- Invoice-based finance, covered in its own session
- Loans under government-linked schemes, in outline
A short-term need paid for with a long-term loan, or the reverse, is a common mismatch.
What a Loan Really CostsThe rate is only one line.5
The session shows a made-up Key Facts Statement and reads it line by line. Real offers should be read the same way, with the lender's own document.
- Interest: fixed, floating or a mix, and what it is linked to
- Processing and documentation fees, and the taxes charged on them
- Insurance or other products bundled with the loan
- Charges for late payment, bounced instalments and part-payment
- The annual percentage rate, which RBI's Key Facts Statement shows, as the all-in figure
Collateral, Guarantees and SecurityWhat you are really putting at stake.5
- What counts as collateral, and what a lien or charge means
- Personal guarantees by owners and family members
- RBI rules on collateral for small loans to micro and small enterprises, which have changed recently
- Government credit-guarantee schemes protect the lender, not the borrower
- What happens to security if the loan is repaid, and how to ask for release
Rules and limits change; the session names the source for each, and every owner should confirm the current position with the lender.
Credit History and Credit ScoresYour record is read before you walk in.5
- The credit information companies recognised by RBI, in outline
- A free full credit report once a year, as RBI's rules provide
- How to read the report and dispute a mistake
- Why the owner's personal record often matters even for a business loan
- Habits that damage a record: late payments, many applications in a short time
Can the Business Carry the Repayments?A test owners can do themselves.5
A made-up example: with ₹80,000 a month left after costs and a repayment of ₹60,000, one slow month can break the plan. The exercise is to run the same test on the owner's own figures.
- The monthly repayment against the cash the business has left after costs
- What happens to the repayment if sales fall by a fifth
- Seasonal businesses and the month with the least cash
- The cash cushion that should remain after the repayment
- Why “the bank approved it” is not the same as “we can afford it”
Prepayment, Renewal and Penalty TermsThe clauses that matter later.5
- RBI's prepayment directions, for loans sanctioned or renewed from 1 January 2026, and what they say about charges
- The rules differ by type of lender and loan; check which applies to you
- Terms for renewal of working-capital limits, and the lender's right to reduce or recall
- What counts as a default, and the notice you should get
- Written confirmation of every verbal promise
Choosing a Lender, Checking One, ComplainingSafe borrowing, in practice.5
- Banks, small finance banks and RBI-registered NBFCs: how to check whether a lender is regulated
- Warning signs: fees demanded before disbursal, no written terms, pressure to sign today
- Apps and agents that promise approval without checks
- What to do when recovery agents behave badly
- Complaint routes: the lender first, then RBI's grievance channels
What participants work through
- A made-up loan offer read line by line, with a checklist
- The repayment test on their own figures
- How to get and read their own credit report
- A list of questions to put to a lender or CA before signing anything
What this session is not
- Advice to borrow or not to borrow
- A recommendation of any bank, lender, scheme or product
- A promise that any loan will be approved
- Legal advice on a particular loan agreement
How the session runs
Two to three hours. A banking or finance practitioner explains the structure of a loan offer using made-up documents, with the Key Facts Statement as the reference point. Participants then work through the checklist on a sample offer and run the repayment test on their own figures. Nothing is said about any particular lender, and nobody is asked to share their loan documents. The session gives general education, not advice on any individual loan, and owners are encouraged to check current terms with their bank and take their CA's advice before signing.
What your students leave with
- A map of the main kinds of business loan and what each is meant for
- A checklist of the charges and terms to read in any loan offer
- A working idea of the all-in annual cost of a loan, and where to find it in the paperwork
- An understanding of credit history, why it matters and how to check it
- A rough test of whether the repayments fit the business's own cash flow
- Where to complain, and how to tell a regulated lender from an unregulated one
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Read the whole offer. Do the repayment sum. Then decide.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.