When most people think of business loans, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is inevitably brought up.
To clear up a common myth or misconception is that the SBA does not directly provide financing with the exception for their Disaster Loan. What the SBA does provide is provide a guarantee to the bank that if the business owner defaults, the bank will recover a portion of the money that was borrowed. The guarantee to the bank varies depending on the program but is typically between 50% – 85% of the loan.
Another misconception of SBA loans is that they are cheaper than conventional loans. Think of the SBA loan as an insurance policy that is backed by the Federal government and as with any insurance policy there is a cost associated with it. The costs to the borrower include typically slightly higher interest rates than conventional loans on top of fees for the guarantee which vary depending on the amount borrowed:
Typically, a bank is going to want an SBA guarantee if they see some risk in the project like insufficient collateral or equity. While the SBA does make more capital available for small businesses through taking some of the risk away from the bank, the business must not only meet the underwriting requirements of the bank but also SBA’s stringent requirements. Another thing to note as one would expect anytime the government gets involved, there will be a great amount of paperwork and can add several months to get approval, depending on the program. On the plus side however, you can get a longer term and lower the monthly payment.
There are a few ineligible types of businesses and the most common ones include:
There are a few SBA guarantee programs that fit a wide variety of businesses.
The SBA Advantage Loan 7(a) is the SBA’s primary business loan program, as it applies to a wide variety of businesses and projects, both startup and expansion. The 7(a) program can be used for working capital, refinancing machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures and the purchase and/or renovation of a building. There is a limit to the size of an SBA loan of $5 million, with the SBA guaranteeing 75% or $3.75 million. Loan terms can be for up to 7 years for working capital, 10 years for equipment and up to 25 years for real estate.
To be eligible for an SBA Advantage Loan 7(a) a business must be considered as small by the SBA (which is actually pretty generous) This link will provide the SBA Size Standard List by industry.
7(a) loans can be fixed or variable, and the bank decides the rate it will offer, however the SBA limits the lender to how much they can put on top of the loan’s base interest rate. For loans under 7 years the bank can only mark up the loan by 2.25% and longer terms by 2.75%.
To see the paperwork the SBA is going to ask for here is a link for the loan application checklist.
SBAExpress is a subset of the 7(a) program that is for loans under $350,000. The benefit of the SBAExpress program the lender can use most of their forms and procedures for processing, resulting in less overall paperwork. Typically, a response from SBA will be provided within 36 hours.
The guarantee percentage is reduced to 50% and SBA does not require collateral loans for up to $25,000, however that is up to the lender.
Another program, the 504 Loan Program is primarily for larger projects involving major assets. These programs are a little more complex where the SBA guarantees 40% of the total project costs, the lender providing 50% and the business owner investing the remaining 10%.
Funds from a 504 loan can be used to refinance or expand a business through the purchase, construction or renovation of buildings or to purchase land or machinery. Inventory or working capital may not be used in a 504 loan.
The maximum amount of a 504 loan is $5.5 million, and can be set up to 10 or 20 year terms.
SBA also offers programs for businesses exporting or planning to export. If your business falls into this category, there are some good reasons to consider these programs. Exporting by U.S. businesses is a priority from the federal government and offer some benefits over the SBA Advantage 7(a). These programs are typically best suited for existing businesses that have their domestic operations under control.
To see if your business qualifies here is a list of U.S. Export Assistance Centers.
SBA loans under export program include:
The International Trade Loan Program provides loans for fixed assets and working capital for up to $5 million.
This loan is for businesses in a position to begin marketing to or expanding into new export markets. This loan can also be used for businesses that have been negatively impacted by import competition.
Funds can be used to acquire, construct, renovate, modernize, improve, or expand facilities and equipment to be used in the United States to produce goods or service involved in international trade and to develop and penetrate foreign markets. Funds also may be used to refinance an existing loan. Any lender that can do SBA Advantage 7(a) loans can also provide the International Trade Loan. This program, while more beneficial to a business than the 7(a), is not used as often and lenders sometimes will overlook it. If your business can qualify for it, be sure to ask.
The SBA Export Express Loan Program offers financing up to $500,000 and like the SBAExpress, a response is typically given in 36 hours.
A business has to have been in operation (not necessarily exporting) for over 1 year, unless the owner’s experience would suggest they have expertise in exporting.
Funds can be used to improve the company’s ability to export for such things as foreign trade show expenses, marketing, inventory for export orders, expansion of facilities, equipment and real estate.
The Export Working Capital Program is a program that not all SBA lenders are able to provide, but it provides advances of up to $5 million to fund export transactions from purchase order to collections. Benefits to this program are low guarantee fees and quick processing time.
Funds can be used for suppliers, inventory, accounts receivable and back up to a letter of credit for export related activities.