Every route below is a real, published program or product type. Rates, timelines, and approvals are the lender's — they are not quoted here, because they are not ours to quote.
SBA 7(a) loan
The workhorse — general purpose
What it is: The SBA's primary business loan program. A private lender makes the loan; the SBA guarantees part of it — up to 85% of loans of $150,000 or less, and up to 75% of larger loans. Maximum loan amount: $5 million. Terms up to 10 years for working capital/equipment, up to 25 years for real estate. Rates are negotiated with the lender, subject to SBA maximums.
Who it fits: An operating, for-profit small business in the U.S. that needs working capital, equipment, real estate, refinancing, or a business purchase — and can show the financing isn't available on reasonable terms elsewhere.
Prepare: Business and personal tax returns, financial statements, a business plan, proof of collateral where available, and a personal guarantee from owners of 20% or more.
Honest trade-off: Longer terms and a government guarantee, but a fuller file and a slower process — commonly 30–90 days from application to funding. Not a fast fix.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loans — sba.gov, read Nov 10, 2026.
SBA 504 loan
Fixed assets — buildings & major equipment
What it is: Long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets. Maximum loan amount: $5.5 million. Typically split three ways — a senior lender provides about 50%, a Certified Development Company (CDC) provides up to 40%, and the borrower contributes at least 10%.
Who it fits: An established business buying, building, or renovating the building it operates in, or buying long-life machinery and equipment (useful life of 10 years or more).
Prepare: Project cost and quotes, financials, the same lender file as 7(a), plus a CDC application. The business must meet SBA size standards and job-creation goals.
Honest trade-off: Fixed rate and long terms (10, 20, or 25 years) for big assets — but it cannot be used for working capital or inventory, and it is not for speculation or rental real estate.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 504 loans — sba.gov, read Nov 10, 2026.
SBA microloan
Small amounts — startups & growing businesses
What it is: Loans up to $50,000 through nonprofit, community-based intermediary lenders. The SBA reports the average microloan is about $13,000. Maximum repayment term: 7 years. You apply through an intermediary, not directly to the SBA.
Who it fits: A small business that needs less than $50,000 to start or grow — working capital, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, machinery, or equipment — especially a newer business a bank may not yet serve.
Prepare: A simple business plan, basic financials, and a conversation with a local intermediary lender, who makes the credit decision and sets the terms.
Honest trade-off: Smaller, more reachable, often with hands-on help from the lender — but the cap is $50,000, and proceeds cannot be used to pay existing debts or to purchase real estate.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Microloans — sba.gov, read Nov 10, 2026.
Business line of credit
Flexible — draw only what you need
What it is: A revolving credit account with a set limit. You draw funds as needed, pay interest only on what you draw, and as you repay, the credit becomes available again. The SBA's CAPLines program is the SBA-backed version of this idea, for seasonal, contract, builder, and general working-capital needs, with terms up to 10 years.
Who it fits: A business with ongoing or seasonal cash-flow gaps — inventory, payroll, a slow month — that needs a reserve it can tap and repay, not a one-time lump sum.
Prepare: Revenue history, bank statements, and a clear picture of the gap the line is covering. Lenders look at cash flow first.
Honest trade-off: Fast and flexible, usually faster to fund than an SBA term loan — but it generally costs more for that speed, and an unused line still needs discipline: it is not free money, and it is not a fix for ongoing losses.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) / CAPLines program pages — sba.gov, read Nov 10, 2026.
Equipment financing
Buy the tool, keep the cash
What it is: A loan tied to a specific piece of equipment — machinery, vehicles, or technology. The equipment itself usually serves as collateral, which often makes approval easier than unsecured financing. You repay in fixed monthly installments and own the equipment outright when the loan is paid off. SBA 7(a) and 504 loans can also be used for equipment.
Who it fits: A business that needs a specific asset to do the work — and would rather spread the cost over the equipment's useful life than drain working capital to pay cash up front.
Prepare: An equipment quote, financial statements, and time-in-business documentation. The lender will also want to know the equipment's value and useful life.
Honest trade-off: The asset secures the loan, so terms can be more reachable — but if you default, the lender can repossess the equipment, and the term should match the equipment's useful life, not outlive it.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan pages — sba.gov, read Nov 10, 2026.
Revenue-based financing
Fast, flexible — and the most expensive to get wrong
What it is: A provider advances a lump sum and collects repayment as an agreed percentage of your future revenue, until a fixed total agreed at the outset has been repaid. Payments rise in strong months and fall in slow ones. There is usually no fixed interest rate quoted — the cost is the difference between the advance and the total repaid, plus fees.
Who it fits: A business with steady, trackable revenue and healthy margins — e-commerce, subscription, or retail with consistent card volume — that needs capital fast and can carry the cost.
Prepare: Revenue history and bank/card statements. Read the contract line by line: what counts as revenue, whether payments are a true percentage of actual revenue or a fixed withdrawal with a later "true-up," and what happens if revenue stops.
Honest trade-off: Speed and flexibility — but federal rules generally do not require these providers to quote an APR, so the true cost is easy to underestimate. The FTC has warned that some merchant cash advance providers did not carry out promised reconciliations when sales fell. This is the route where reading the contract, and getting counsel to review it, matters most. We will not push you toward it.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, Small Business Financing staff perspective (Feb 2020) — ftc.gov; Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, via Fundox, read Nov 10, 2026.
Grants — the straight answer
Real, but narrow — and never "free money"
What it is: The SBA itself says plainly: "SBA does not provide grants for starting and expanding a business." Its grants go to nonprofits, resource partners, educational groups, and state governments. The real federal grant paths for a for-profit business are narrow: SBIR/STTR research grants (reauthorized through 2031), the SBA STEP program for exporting (usually through a state office), and specific state, local, or private programs. Grants.gov is the official federal list, and searching it is free.
Who it fits: A business doing scientific R&D with commercial potential (SBIR/STTR), or a business starting or expanding exports (STEP) — or a business that matches a specific state or private grant's purpose.
Prepare: A SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (UEI) for federal grants, and a specific project that matches the grant's purpose — not a general "we need money" ask.
Honest trade-off: Grants don't have to be repaid — but they are competitive, slow, and purpose-specific. Anyone charging you a fee to "find" a government grant, or promising a grant for general business costs, is a red flag. There is no application fee for a legitimate government grant.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Grants — sba.gov; Grants.gov; SBIR/STTR reauthorization (Public Law 119-83, April 2026), read Nov 10, 2026.
Community lenders & CDFIs
Local — for businesses banks pass over
What it is: Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and nonprofit community lenders — including SBA microloan intermediaries — lend in their own communities, often to businesses that don't fit a big bank's box, and often with hands-on coaching alongside the loan.
Who it fits: A newer, smaller, or underserved business — including women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses — that needs a smaller loan and a lender who will actually talk to them.
Prepare: The same honest file as everywhere else: what the money is for, what the business earns, and what you can repay. A community lender will still underwrite you — they just start from a different place.
Honest trade-off: More personal, more coaching, more reachable — but smaller amounts, local coverage only, and still a loan that must be repaid.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, Microloans (intermediary lenders) — sba.gov, read Nov 10, 2026.
Real estate investor funding
Fix-and-flip & rental holds — not SBA money
What it is: Two different tools, for two different jobs. Fix-and-flip runs on a hard-money / bridge loan: a short-term, asset-based loan secured by the property, not by your income or credit history. The lender underwrites the property's value — its current value and its after-repair value (ARV), commonly 65–75% of ARV — and releases renovation money in draws as work is completed. Terms are commonly 6–18 months, interest-only during the term, with the full principal due at maturity (a balloon payment) from the sale or a refinance. Rental holds run on a DSCR loan: a long-term investment-property loan that qualifies on the property's rental income, not your personal income. DSCR = monthly rent ÷ monthly debt obligation (PITIA — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, association dues). A ratio of 1.0 means rent exactly covers the payment; above 1.0 means rent beats it. Most lenders set a qualifying threshold at or above 1.0x, commonly 1.20–1.25 for the best pricing, and thresholds, credit, down-payment, and reserve rules vary by lender and program — there is no single industry-wide minimum.
Who it fits: An investor with a real project — a distressed single-family or multi-family property to buy, renovate, and sell inside the loan term (fix-and-flip), or a stabilized rental whose rent covers its payment with a cushion (DSCR hold).
Prepare: For a flip — purchase price, renovation budget with a scope of work, ARV with comparable sales, an exit strategy (resale or refinance), and your track record on prior flips. For a rental — the rent the lender will recognize, the full PITIA payment, reserves, and the property's condition. For either: the numbers first, the story second.
Honest trade-off: Speed and access cost more. Hard money is short — 6–18 months is common — and if the renovation runs over, or the property does not sell or refinance before maturity, you face extension fees, a higher rate, or a forced sale, and the lender can foreclose. Cost overruns eat the margin first. A DSCR loan can clear a lender's ratio and still be a weak deal after vacancy, management, maintenance, and capital expenses — the lender's ratio is not your cash-flow analysis. This is the route where the exit strategy is not optional, and where getting counsel to review the contract matters most. And the SBA split, straight: SBA 7(a) and 504 loans cannot be used for passive real estate investment or rental property. Federal regulation 13 CFR 120.110(c) makes passive businesses owned by developers and landlords ineligible, and SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 states businesses "primarily engaged in owning or purchasing real estate and leasing it for any purpose are not eligible." The bright line is owner-occupancy: your operating business must occupy at least 51% of an existing building (60% for new construction) and may lease the rest. The one real SBA path for a holding company is an Eligible Passive Company (EPC) under 13 CFR 120.111, leasing 100% of the property to an eligible Operating Company.
Source: SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 (effective Oct 1, 2026) and 13 CFR 120.110(c) / 120.111, via sbaloanshq.com, statementsready.com, legalclarity.org; hard-money guides (RE Investor Guide, GoBankingRates, AmeriSave, Hard Money Company); DSCR guides (Michael Ryan Money, Hard Money Home, Beancount, InstaLend) — read Nov 10, 2026. No rates quoted: third-party rate ranges found in search were deliberately not used — they are lender-, deal-, and experience-dependent.
No lender, partner, or program on this page has endorsed KLJJ365, and no logo of any lender appears here. Program facts can change — confirm the current terms with the lender before relying on them.