My credit score is right around 640. Is that enough to make this worth starting, or will I just be wasting my time?

The guide's bar is a personal credit score of about 640 or higher, together with no delinquent federal debt, no prior SBA default, and no bankruptcy in the last three years. Its first phase pulls and repairs your credit profiles and runs the SBA eligibility screen before you build the package, so you get a clear verdict early instead of after weeks of work. If you are below that bar, the guide is honest that it cannot make a marginal credit profile acceptable.

Besides the loan itself, what will I need to pay for out of pocket?

Plan on roughly $3,000–$12,000 out of pocket, on top of the loan. That covers third-party pieces the guide budgets for — the appraisal, the environmental report, and legal and CPA work — which come up during underwriting and closing. These costs are separate from the loan amount and from any broker fee, and the guide walks you through the phases where they appear.

Do I need to hire an accountant or a lawyer, or can I put the package together myself?

You put the package together yourself: the guide walks you through recasting earnings, building three-year projections, and completing the personal financial statement step by step. Independent third-party costs — the appraisal, the environmental report, and legal and CPA work — are still part of the budget, because lenders require them. What the guide lets you avoid is paying a broker 1–3% of the loan to run the process for you.

My tax returns make my business look a lot weaker than it really is. Will that sink the application?

Not necessarily — showing real cash flow is exactly what the package phase is for. The guide walks you through recasting your earnings into true cash flow and building three-year financial projections, so the lender sees the real picture rather than only what the tax returns show. The honest limit is that the guide will not make a genuinely marginal credit profile acceptable.

Will I have to sign a personal guarantee?

The guide treats the personal guarantee as a term to be settled, not a surprise at the end. During underwriting it walks you through settling the personal guarantee and collateral terms with the lender, and through reviewing the commitment letter before you sign, so you know your exposure before you are committed. Exactly what you end up guaranteeing depends on what you and the lender agree there.

I'm leaning toward a conventional bank loan instead of an SBA one. Is this guide still useful to me?

No — this guide covers only the two SBA programs, 7(a) and 504. It explicitly does not cover conventional non-SBA financing, grants, or drafting your purchase agreement. If a conventional loan is the route you want, this is not the guide for you.

Get an SBA 7(a) or 504 loan approved

The right program and a lender that actually closes your size and industry are identified; the full application package (recast financials, projections, personal financial statement, use of proceeds, collateral evidence) is assembled; the credit and collateral objections are pre-answered; and the loan is taken through underwriting to funding, with covenants understood and post-closing compliance scheduled.

Fby Finito HQEchipa Finito

Created last monthUpdated 2 weeks ago

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Who it's for

Owners of established US small businesses and buyers of one, borrowing US$150,000–$5,000,000 for acquisition, real estate, or expansion, who have been declined once by their own bank and want to run the process themselves instead of paying a broker 1–3% of the loan.

About this playbook

This guide takes an established business owner — or the buyer of an existing business — from first eligibility check to funded loan, covering both SBA programs, 7(a) and 504. You will confirm you qualify, build a lender-ready package (recast financials, projections, personal financial statement, use of proceeds), pick a preferred lender that actually closes your size and industry, and steer the file through underwriting with the common objections pre-answered. Every step ends in a visible artifact: a verdict, a completed form, a signed term sheet. It does not cover grants, conventional non-SBA financing, or drafting your purchase agreement, and it will not make a marginal credit profile acceptable. From submission to funding, plan for roughly 60–90 days on a standard 7(a) and 90–120 on a 504.

What you'll do, step by stepFree preview

5 phases · 21 steps

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Phase 1: Confirm eligibility and choose the program
4 steps
Phase 2: Build the lender-ready package
6 steps
Phase 3: Select a lender and submit
3 steps
Phase 4: Survive underwriting
5 steps
Phase 5: Close and fund
3 steps

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Details

Estimated duration1 day 4 hours

Steps21

Estimated budgetUS$3,000–$12,000 out-of-pocket (appraisal, environmental, legal, CPA).

What you need first

A for-profit business operating in the US for at least two years (or a signed purchase agreement if you are buying one); two to three years of filed business and personal tax returns; a personal credit score of about 640 or higher; no delinquent federal debt, no prior SBA default, and no bankruptcy in the last three years; and the runway to close — roughly 60–90 days for a standard 7(a) and 90–120 for a 504.