Explain the actual funds and transactions rather than automatically relabel every retained amount as a new contribution.
Keep the capital and operating accounts clear
Review lawful source/path, risk and the real business history. No universal investment minimum makes an inflated or unexplained capital total acceptable.
Funds and assets actually placed into the enterprise count: the purchase price paid, equipment and vessels acquired, leasehold commitments, inventory and working capital genuinely deployed. Diligence and professional review sit outside the purchase price: accounting review, business valuation, lease assignment work, licence transfers, escrow charges, and legal advice on the agreement. Keep professional fees and any government charges recorded separately from that capital, confirm official fees at the point each step is taken, and avoid transactions undertaken solely to reach a number someone quoted. A lower price is not automatically disqualifying, but money refundable at the investor’s discretion is not counted; a visa-contingent purchase can still qualify when the funds are held in escrow for release upon visa issuance. Substantiality is measured relative to the actual cost of the specific business, not against a fixed dollar figure, so keep money merely being discussed, money committed under signed terms, and money already spent clearly distinct from each other. 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.