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SBA 7(a) loan calculator for buying a business

Can this business carry the loan? Type the asking price and the yearly cash flow. You see the monthly payment, the 10% down payment and whether the cash flow covers the loan by the 1.25 times lenders look for.

The deal

What the seller is asking for the business.

Seller's discretionary earnings: profit before the owner's own pay, as most listings report it.

Cash the business needs on day one, financed with the purchase.

Legal, valuation and lender fees, financed with the purchase.

What you need to take home. Lenders often set this aside before checking coverage.

Covers the loan: 1.60× See the estimate

The estimate

Covers the loan: 1.60× Lenders look for 1.25×. At this price the cash flow covers the payments with about $27,217 a year to spare.
Monthly payment
$6,519
Down payment (10%)
$54,810
Coverage
1.60×
SBA 7(a) loan
$493,289
Total project$548,099
Of which SBA guaranty fee$11,099, financed
Your 10% equity$54,810. Up to half ($27,405) can be a seller note on full standby; the rest is your cash.
Rate and term10.00% over 10 years
Loan payments a year$78,226
Cash flow needed for 1.25×$97,783 a year
Highest price this cash flow carries$649,000
  • Over a $350,000 purchase price, the lender needs an independent business valuation.

Take these numbers to a bank

The $99 Loan-Ready Packet works through this deal in full: sources and uses, the equity check with and without a seller note, coverage, a document checklist and a candid page on what is still missing. You see your readiness score before you pay.

Start a Loan-Ready Packet with these numbers

Optional and paid once. The calculator stays free.

An estimate from SBA rules as we understand them (October 2026), not a loan offer or approval. Humble Business Brokerage is not a lender, is not the U.S. Small Business Administration, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SBA. Your lender decides.

How the estimate is worked out

  • Total project. The asking price plus working capital and closing costs, plus the SBA's upfront guaranty fee, which most buyers finance. The fee is 2% to 3.75% of the part of the loan the SBA guarantees (85% of loans up to $150,000, 75% above), at the fiscal 2027 rates.
  • 10% equity. You put in at least 10% of the total project. A seller note on full standby (no payments for the life of the loan) can count for up to half of it.
  • The loan. The other 90%, repaid monthly over 10 years, the usual term for a business purchase without real estate.
  • The rate. The highest variable rate the SBA allows for the loan size: prime (7.00%, October 2026, an assumption) plus 3.00% for loans over $350,000, and up to 6.50% for small loans. Your bank may quote less.
  • Coverage. The yearly cash flow, less any pay you set aside for yourself, divided by a year of loan payments. Lenders look for at least 1.25 times on the business's past earnings; projections cannot carry it.
  • Highest price. The highest asking price that still covers 1.25 times with your other figures unchanged, or the price at which the loan reaches the SBA 7(a) limit of $5,000,000, if that comes first.

If the deal does not cover

Coverage is where most purchase loans stop. Buyers usually close the gap by negotiating the price toward the one the estimate suggests, by asking the seller to carry part of the price as a note (its payments count against coverage unless it is on full standby), or by putting in more than 10% so the loan is smaller. A lender also needs a valuation on every change of ownership, and an independent one when the purchase price is over $350,000.

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