No blanket exclusion applies to all borrowing. Assess actual lawful source, security, commitment and risk; enterprise-secured financing is a distinct limitation.
Use the real documents
A general rule about loans should not replace review of the actual transaction.
Identify which costs are actually part of the investment analysis and which are unrelated preparation expenses, and review refund and cancellation terms rather than assuming every dollar spent helps eligibility. Funds actually paid or irrevocably committed toward buying and operating the business count; contingent deposits, seller financing secured on the business, and personal moving costs do not. Substantiality is assessed proportionally: the amount invested is compared with the total cost of establishing a business of this kind, and the proportion must be high enough to show the investor’s financial commitment and the likely success of the enterprise. Build a dated review file around the acquisition price, start-up invoices, working-capital schedule, escrow terms, source records, and current fee instructions. Business spending — lease, equipment, inventory, payroll, working capital — belongs to the enterprise; immigration preparation expenses are a separate category whose treatment should be reviewed on the actual facts rather than assumed. Keep the family budget distinct from the enterprise’s working capital, and evaluate any proposed owner compensation using realistic forecasts rather than the account’s headline balance.