The Australian Bankers Association has launched a new website to help small businesses make loan applications and prepare business plans.financingyoursmallbusiness.com.au was developed in conjunction CPA Australia and with the support of the Council of Small Business Australia and the New South Wales Business Chamber.ABA chief executive Steven Münchenberg said the ABA had worked with COSBOA and CPA Australia over the past couple of years to better understand the issues faced by small business."We realised that small businesses would benefit from guidance on how to present information in a loan application that goes beyond just providing the company accounts," Münchenberg said.The website explores common mistakes small business make when preparing a loan application, such as asking for more funds than required, inflating the value of the business assets or mis-reporting cash flow.The ABA also released a research report on finance issues in small business sector, showing that 30 per cent of small businesses have no debt do not borrow. About 25 per cent have access to a credit card but no other debt.Excluding credit cards, about 45 per cent of small businesses have a loan facility. The proportion of businesses with a loan facility increases with turnover, so that more than 60 per cent of businesses with turnover between A$1 million and $5 million have a loan facility.The most common forms of small business finance are overdrafts, used by 24 per cent of small businesses, term loans (15 per cent) and mortgages over property (14 per cent).Based on a survey by DBM Research, the ABA said 89 per cent of small businesses do not see access to finance as an issue for their business and the majority of small businesses that seek finance are successful.Banks' total loan outstandings for loans under $2 million (small business loans) were $261 billion at the end of last year. In 2015 $88 billion of small business loans were approved - about 414,000 loans.Small business loan outstandings have grown at an average rate of four per cent a year in recent years. Most small business loans are for amounts under $100,000.Reasons for seeking finance are to maintain cash flow and ensure the viability of the business.