Every financial expert will agree that getting your internal processes in place is one of the most important criteria for an entrepreneur to get external financing. Maybe, you might be out there and running with the wolves and this might be the last thing on your mind. Maybe, you feel that the balance sheets match and the orders are flowing in and that the investors will be smiling when they see the papers. But "God is in the details," said Mies Van Rohe. In short, put your house in order - but in exhaustive detail. The experts spell out their top five methods for entrepreneurs to achieve that goal:

Create formal hierarchies: "You need to match the two sides of levels of authority with their levels of responsibility. Give the employees the independence to operate within their framework and use their skills and imagination," said Edward Roderick, co-chairman and managing partner at Envestors MENA, a UK-based business angel network with an active regional presence in Dubai. "But they need to understand where their limits of authority stand and what to do in such situations. At the same time, they need to know when to refer decisions upwards and disseminate information to all their colleagues within the structure to keep the business on the same page." Those who keep their cards close to the chest and block information or overstep into the activities of other departments might create hidden detriments to the growth of the company. 

Be tough on assessment but fair on performance: The whole process of performance management is a difficult area for most entrepreneurs. Maybe, the staff that you hired at the inception of setting up business cannot keep up with the pace of the growth of the company. They might have set ways of functioning and need to seriously improve their performance. But the thought of giving feedback to the people who stood by you when no one else did and believed in your dream can seem like a very daunting situation. Even in a mature business. "It needs strength of character to tell someone that you want them to change what they do - this is a failing in many companies. This can operate at both personal and business levels," said Roderick. "On the personal level, the use of the key performance indicators is a real priority and managing people by the numbers removes the emotional part in business. However, you also do need to get a 360 side view to assess the engagement of the individual when it comes to working on the team. But this is not about winning a popularity contest. Sometimes, it is good to be tough but fair." 

Understand the performance matrix: On the business side, you need to understand the dynamics of your business, advices Roderick. "Each location should have an activity-based cost model in place. This way, you can ensure and understand when a particular contract is or is not making money and the reasons for the same. You need to find the balances between your fixed and variable costs, the impact of productivity and so on. Hence, the performance matrix allows you to adjust and control the levers of control within your business," he said.

Creating a comfort zone with banks: "If you have a good story but cannot tell that good story with conviction, the other person will not write out a check for you. They require the comfort from you that you can do this activity better than what they can do with their money," said veteran banker Suresh Kumar, and chairman at Values Group, which offers strategic advisory services, private capital and investment management services. "This is more important than just your financial ability to pay back the monies to the banks. Ultimately, the only comfort zone for all external lenders and investors is the ongoing performance of the business, which is provided by the numbers and regular reporting." 

Effective team presentation: Typically, some of these institutions will bring accountants and other experts to assess their business growth. "If, at that time, you can convince both the technical and financial experts that you are carefully and comfortably operating the business, steadily achieving the targets and sticking with the business plan, they will keep supporting you and not 'pull the plug," said Kumar. "However, if you are doing well but are unable to convince them because of the weak presentation or reporting skills of your team, you will lose valuable time in chasing these institutions or investors. Or they will be decidedly aggressive and difficult with you." Get the team act in place.

© Zawya BusinessPulse 2013