Free acquisition worksheet
Acquisition sources and uses, on one page.
A sources-and-uses table puts the full purchase budget next to the money paying for it. Download the editable spreadsheet, work through an example, and see whether your funding covers your project costs.
No email or sign-up. Includes a blank worksheet, a worked example and an incomplete example. Version .
Budget beyond the price
Keep closing costs, fees and working capital visible alongside the business purchase price.
Keep unknowns visible
A blank amount stays incomplete. Enter zero only when you know a row does not apply.
See the funding gap
The sheet compares total sources with total uses and flags a gap or excess funding to reconcile.
What goes into sources and uses?
Uses are what the project costs. Sources are how those costs will be funded. A purchase price alone leaves out the other cash needed to complete the transaction and run the business afterward. Our sources-and-uses definition explains the basic structure.
- Uses: the project budget
- Business purchase price, closing and diligence costs, financing fees, working capital, and any separately funded debt payoff or other project costs.
- Sources: the funding plan
- Proposed bank financing, buyer cash, seller financing and any other borrowing or equity. The workbook separates a seller note proposed on standby from one with payments.
List each amount once. If inventory, equipment or debt payoff is already included in the purchase price, adding it again can overstate the project. If two sources refer to the same cash, your funding can look larger than it is.
A purchase price is only part of the project
Hypothetical acquisition · USD
| Uses | Amount | Sources | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business purchase price | $1,000,000 | Proposed bank financing | $950,000 |
| Closing and diligence | $25,000 | Buyer cash | $150,000 |
| Financing fees | $25,000 | Seller note proposed on standby | $50,000 |
| Working capital | $100,000 | Other sources | $0 |
| Total project uses | $1,150,000 | Total sources | $1,150,000 |
The business price is $1,000,000, but the project needs $1,150,000. The proposed sources cover those costs. That reconciles the budget; it does not establish whether a lender will accept the proposed structure or whether the business can support the payments.
If buyer cash falls to $140,000 with everything else unchanged, the workbook shows a $10,000 funding gap. If closing costs are still unknown, it shows Incomplete instead of treating the missing amount as zero.
How to use the spreadsheet
- Open “Your deal.” The other two tabs demonstrate a complete budget and one with missing information.
- Enter project costs in the blue amount cells. Use quotes and transaction documents where available. Leave unknowns blank and enter zero for confirmed unused rows.
- Enter each proposed funding source. Keep buyer cash, seller notes and other contributions separate. Describe any other cost or source in the guidance column.
- Read the totals and budget status. Reconcile missing amounts, negative amounts, a funding gap or excess sources. The loan amount remains your assumption; the workbook does not increase it automatically to force a balance.
- Check the payments next. A balanced budget is the starting point. Use the acquisition and cash-flow calculator to explore business and household coverage, including paying seller debt.
This original Precise SBA preparation aid is not an SBA-issued form. It does not determine eligible project costs, qualifying equity, standby terms, credit approval or your lender’s document requirements. Discuss those items with the lender before relying on a funding plan.
Questions worth settling before a lender review
Does seller financing count as my cash contribution?
Putting a seller note under sources describes how the purchase is funded. It does not automatically make that note qualifying equity. Terms and program requirements matter. See the equity and seller-note guide and have the lender confirm the proposed treatment.
Should I include money I already spent?
Keep a clear record of paid project costs, who paid them, and how they appear in your budget. Count each cost once. Ask the lender how documented prior payments should be shown in its closing and equity reconciliation.
Can I share or adapt the workbook?
Yes. Use it for your own planning or with clients, and share the original with attribution to Precise SBA. A link to this page helps readers find the instructions and current version. Do not describe it as an official SBA form or a lender-approved structure.
Sources and next steps
Prepare the supporting inputs with the add-backs worksheet and business debt schedule. Each download is free to use without opening a financing file.
The workbook’s examples and checks are original arithmetic illustrations. For program context, the SBA describes 7(a) uses and lender-led applications; its current origination SOP contains program requirements. The workbook does not encode those eligibility rules.
Continue with what belongs in a lender-ready request, or download the template and start with the information you have.
Get the free sources-and-uses template