The E-2 filing still needs documented financial and operating records regardless of the business's prior informal practices, so records may need to be reconstructed or formalized before the filing can be properly supported.
Request formal records even for an informally run business
Ask what financial documentation exists, such as tax filings or bank records, and use those to reconstruct an accurate operating picture if formal statements were not previously prepared. An informal local business practice does not reduce the evidentiary standard for the filing.
Provide a subscription ledger by cohort, the deferred revenue balance at each month end, bank statements matching those receipts, and a schedule of service costs still to be incurred. Filed tax returns and financial statements for several years, the payroll record, current customer contracts and occupancy data, the lease or title, and the terms of any management agreement. Receipts and agreements for the lease, software, federal broker bond and insurance; U.S. bank statements showing the operating account funded; and a trace from the Canadian source to each payment. Include source documents, transfers, escrow or closing instructions, acquisition documents, ownership records, operating permits, lease or premises records, and a plan tied to real prices.