Learn
SBA financing, explained straight.
Short, plain-English guides for owners and buyers. Examples use hypothetical numbers. Rules and lender policies change, so treat these as a starting point, and see the glossary for any term you do not know.
Programs
What the main SBA programs are, and how to tell which one you are really asking about.
SBA 7(a) Loans Explained in Plain English The SBA's most common program is flexible, but it is a bank loan with a government guaranty, not a government loan. Here is how it actually works. SBA 504 Loans Explained: Financing Buildings and Heavy Equipment The 504 program splits one project between a bank and a community-based lender, which is how it delivers a long fixed rate on the larger slice. It is built for owning real estate and equipment, not for working capital. SBA 7(a) vs. 504: Which One Fits Your Plan? Start with what you're buying, not the program name. The asset usually points to the answer, and sometimes the answer is both.
Acquisitions
Buying an existing business is its own kind of deal. These guides cover how the financing is put together.
Buying a Business with an SBA Loan: How the Financing Comes Together An acquisition loan is underwritten on the business you're buying, and on you. Here's how the pieces fit, in the order they usually come up. Equity Injection and Seller Notes in an SBA Business Purchase Two ideas drive the cash side of most acquisitions: how much of your own money goes in, and how the seller's financing is treated. The details changed with SOP 50 10 8.1, so confirm them before you negotiate. SBA vs. Conventional vs. Seller Financing to Buy a Business Most acquisitions are financed with some mix of a bank loan and seller financing, and the bank loan may or may not carry an SBA guaranty. Here's how the three compare, and why the right answer is often a combination. Using an SBA Loan for a Partner Buyout or Partial Change of Ownership Buying out a partner is a change of ownership, but not the same kind as buying a business from a stranger. The SBA rulebook treats owner buyouts as their own category, with different rules on equity, who must sign, and whether the selling partner can stay. How a Business Is Valued for an SBA Loan (and What If the Price Is Higher) In an SBA-financed purchase, the price you agree with the seller is only half the story. The lender's independent valuation decides how much of that price can be financed, and the rest has to come from you. Working Capital in a Business Acquisition: How Much and Who Funds It Buyers focus on the price and forget that the business needs cash to run the day after closing. Working capital is part of the deal: it can be financed, it affects how much cash you bring, and the purchase agreement decides how much comes with the business. Can the Seller Stay On? The Transition Period in an SBA Purchase Most buyers want the seller around for a while, and most sellers are willing. SBA rules set the shape of that arrangement, and they're stricter than many buyers and brokers assume.
Industries
What lenders look at when the business you are buying is a practice, a trade, a restaurant, a franchise or an online store.
Buying a Dental or Medical Practice with an SBA Loan A practice is a cash-flow business built around a licensed producer. Lenders underwrite the collections, the payer mix and you, and the rules on the selling doctor's role after closing shape the deal more than most buyers expect. Buying an HVAC, Plumbing or Home Services Business with an SBA Loan Trades businesses are some of the most-financed acquisitions in the SBA program and some of the easiest to get wrong. The questions that decide them: whose license is it, who are the technicians loyal to, and what does the slow season do to the payment? Buying a Restaurant with an SBA Loan: What Lenders Check Lenders do finance restaurant purchases, but they look harder at them than at most businesses. Three things decide most deals: the lease, the license, and whether the tax returns show the cash flow the seller describes. Buying an Existing Franchise (Resale) with an SBA Loan A franchise resale is two approvals stacked on top of each other: the franchisor has to approve you, and the lender has to approve the deal. The brand helps, but the loan is underwritten on this location's history, not the system's averages. Buying an Insurance Agency with an SBA Loan An insurance agency is almost all intangible: renewals, relationships and carrier contracts. That doesn't stop it being financed with an SBA loan, but it means the lender's analysis lives in the commission statements and the retention history. Buying an Accounting Firm or CPA Practice with an SBA Loan Accounting practices are traditionally sold on retention-based terms: the seller is paid on the clients who stay. That custom collides with SBA rules on contingent payments, so the structure needs thought before the letter of intent. Buying an E-commerce or Amazon Business with an SBA Loan Online businesses can be bought with SBA financing, but fewer lenders do them and the ones who do look hard at a few things: how dependent the business is on one platform, whether the earnings survive a close look, and what happens if a supplier or an algorithm changes.
Real estate
Owning the building your business operates in.
Underwriting
What a lender actually checks, and what to have ready.
How Lenders Calculate Cash Flow and DSCR, Step by Step From net income to a coverage ratio in five steps, with every number shown. This is the math behind most acquisition and expansion loan decisions. What SBA Lenders Look At: DSCR and Global Cash Flow in Plain English Lenders mostly ask one question: is there enough cash to make every payment, with room to spare? Answering it takes two views, the business and you. Documents You'll Need for an SBA Loan (and How to Get Them Ready) The paperwork is the part most owners dread. It's easier if you know what's coming and gather it once. The SBA Loan Underwriting Process, Step by Step Underwriting is where a lender turns your documents into a decision. Knowing what happens at each step, and what the lender has to write down, tells you what to prepare and where your deal is likely to get questions. How Long Does an SBA Loan Take to Close? The Stages in Practice Everyone wants a number. The honest answer is that the timeline is set by the slowest piece: third-party reports, the seller's records, a landlord, a license transfer, or the buyer's own paperwork. Here are the stages and what drives each one. What a Lender-Ready SBA Loan Request Looks Like A lender-ready request answers the underwriter's questions before they're asked. It's organized around what the lender has to write in its credit memo, and it shows the math instead of describing it.
Regional
Local guides. SBA rules are national; what changes is the property, the taxes and the local help available.
SBA Financing in Pennsylvania: What to Know Before You Buy, Build or Expand SBA rules are the same in every state. The deal around them is not. Here is what changes in Pennsylvania, and the checklist that follows from it. SBA Financing in Philadelphia: What's Different About Doing a Deal in the City The SBA rules are national. The deal is local. Here's what tends to come up when the business or the building is in Philadelphia. SBA Financing in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties Four counties, one set of SBA rules, and a lot of local variation in zoning, property, and who does the lending. Here's what to check, county by county where it matters.
Not sure where your situation fits?
Tell us what you're trying to do and we'll point you to the right option, even when it isn't an SBA loan.