Enter the cash you can put in. The calculator applies the SBA rules in force from October 1, 2026 and tells you the biggest purchase price that cash supports, what the loan and payments look like, and how much profit the business needs for a bank to say yes.
Start with the cash you can put in. Under the SBA rules in force from October 1, 2026, the bank needs at least 10% of the price from you. A seller note on full standby can cover up to half of that.
These are planning numbers. On the call we look at your real situation and tell you honestly whether this is your next move.
Book a free 15-minute callPlanning tool, not a loan offer. Rules reflect SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 for a first-time acquisition (10% buyer cash, standby seller note up to half, 1.25x coverage on historical profit, $5M maximum loan, 10-year amortization). Every lender adds its own requirements, closing costs and working capital change the numbers, and no financing is promised or arranged by us.
Banks check one number first: does the business's profit cover the loan payments with room to spare? From October 1, 2026 the bar for a first-time buyer is 1.25x, measured on the seller's actual numbers, not projections.
Have a real deal in front of you? Bring it to the call and we will take it apart with you.
Book a free 15-minute callPlanning tool, not a loan offer. Rules reflect SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 for a first-time acquisition (10% buyer cash, standby seller note up to half, 1.25x coverage on historical profit, $5M maximum loan, 10-year amortization). Every lender adds its own requirements, closing costs and working capital change the numbers, and no financing is promised or arranged by us.
For a first-time acquisition, the bank needs at least 10% of the total price from you, and from October 1, 2026 that 10% cannot be reduced. So the biggest business your cash supports is roughly your cash times ten. If the seller agrees to carry part of the price on full standby (no payments while the bank loan is outstanding), that note can cover up to half of your 10%, and your cash stretches to roughly twenty times.
| Rule | October 1, 2026 (SOP 50 10 8.1) |
|---|---|
| Your cash in | At least 10% of the total project cost. Cannot be reduced for a first-time buyer. |
| Seller note on standby | Counts toward your 10%, up to half of it. Must stay on full standby for 36 months before it can be refinanced. |
| Coverage bar | Profit must cover loan payments 1.25 times over, on historical numbers, not projections. |
| Maximum SBA loan | $5,000,000 |
| Loan term | 10 years for a business purchase. Up to 25 for the real estate portion. |
| Interest rate | Variable, capped at Prime + 3% for loans over $250,000. WSJ Prime is 7.00% as of September 2026, so the cap is 10.00%. This tool plans at 9.75% (Prime plus 2.75%). |
Most SBA calculators stop at the monthly payment. That number is only useful if the business can pay it. Banks require the business's yearly profit, after paying you a market salary, to cover all loan payments 1.25 times over. So we show you the profit a business needs to clear that bar at the price your cash supports. When you look at listings, that is the number to compare against the seller's real tax returns.
