SBA 7(a) for firms: the cheapest capital you can get, if you have the time.
Billable Capital packages SBA 7(a) and SBA Express files for law, accounting, consulting, agency, architecture and engineering firms and places them with our SBA-preferred bank partners. $50,000 to $5,000,000, 10% down, up to 10 years on working capital and 25 years on owner-occupied real estate, with a 680 minimum FICO and 24 months in business. SBA Express closes in 10 to 21 days; a standard 7(a) in 30 to 45.
What are the criteria?
SBA 7(a) / SBA Express — criteria
- Amount
- $50,000 – $5,000,000 (SBA Express capped at $500,000)
- Term
- Up to 10 years on working capital, acquisitions and buyouts; up to 25 years on owner-occupied real estate
- Down payment
- 10% on an acquisition or a start-up with experience
- Minimum credit score
- 680
- Minimum time in business
- 24 months (start-ups considered with industry experience and a 20%+ injection)
- Documents
- 3 years business + personal tax returns, YTD P&L and balance sheet, debt schedule, SBA Form 1919/1920, business plan and projections for an acquisition, partnership or operating agreement and the buyout or purchase agreement if applicable
- Collateral
- Available business assets; real estate pledged if the loan is real-estate-secured. Personal guarantee from all 20%+ owners.
- Uses allowed
- Working capital, leasehold improvements, practice or business acquisition, partner buyout, refinance of qualifying business debt, owner-occupied real estate, furniture and technology
- Uses not allowed
- Paying off a merchant cash advance is generally not an eligible refinance use. Ask us before you plan around it.
- Timeline
- SBA Express 10 – 21 days · Standard 7(a) 30 – 45 days
- Path
- Packaged by Billable Capital, placed with SBA-preferred bank partners. Billable Capital does not underwrite SBA credit in-house.
SBA 7(a) and SBA Express are packaged by Billable Capital and placed with SBA-preferred bank partners. See disclosures.
Why do professional-service firms package well for SBA?
Not because of a statistic — because of what the file looks like.
- The returns are usually clean. A firm run by accountants or lawyers, or one that has had an accountant on retainer from day one, tends to have filed, reconciled returns and a current P&L — which is most of an SBA package.
- The owners usually clear the credit bar. 680 is the SBA line; many principals of established firms are above it.
- Buyouts and acquisitions are the use SBA was built for. A change of ownership at a going concern with a billing history is a well-trodden 7(a) file. Lenders know how to read it.
- There is rarely hard collateral, and that is expected. A firm’s assets are receivables, people and a lease. SBA 7(a) does not require the loan to be fully collateralised; the guaranty is designed for exactly this kind of business.
Is SBA actually right for you?
SBA is right if
You’re buying out a partner or buying a practice, you have 680+ credit and two years of filed returns, you can put 10% down, and you can wait 30 to 45 days.
The payment on a 10-year SBA loan is a fraction of a 12-month advance for the same money.
SBA is wrong if
Payroll is Friday and the client pays on the 20th, the departing partner’s deadline is in two weeks, or your credit is in the 500s. That is what working capital and a term loan exist for.
We will tell you this on the phone rather than let you spend three weeks assembling a package that was never going to close.
Partner buyouts and the SBA
A change of ownership between existing partners is an eligible 7(a) use. The lender will want the partnership or operating agreement, the redemption or purchase agreement, a valuation basis for the number, and evidence the remaining partners can carry the payment out of the firm’s billing after the departing partner’s compensation comes off the books.
Tell us the structure before the file is built — whether the firm or the remaining partners are buying, and whether the departing partner is carrying any of the price — because it changes which product we start with and what goes into the package. Term loan vs SBA for a partner buyout →
Who funds an SBA loan at Billable Capital. SBA 7(a) and SBA Express files are packaged by Billable Capital and placed with SBA-preferred bank partners. Billable Capital does not make SBA credit decisions and does not underwrite SBA credit in-house. The partner is identified to you in writing before you sign.
Working capital, lines of credit and receivables funding are underwritten and funded in-house. See disclosures.
What does an $800,000 SBA practice acquisition cost per month?
Two partners buy a retiring practitioner’s firm for $800,000 with 10% down and finance the rest on an SBA 7(a) loan over 10 years.
Illustrative only. Your actual amount, cost and term are set by underwriting your file. Nothing on this page is an offer.
Representative file — $720,000 SBA 7(a) over 10 years
- Purchase price
- $800,000
- Down payment
- $80,000 (10%)
- SBA 7(a) loan
- $720,000
- Term
- 10 years
- Rate
- 10.00% — the SBA 7(a) maximum for loans over $350,000 at the October 2026 Prime of 7.00%
- Monthly payment
- $9,515, before the SBA guaranty fee and closing costs
- Status
- An illustration, not an offer
What a firm needs to qualify.
Every number below is a real criterion. If you clear these, apply. If you don’t, call us and we’ll tell you what would change it.
| Minimum monthly revenue | $15,000 in business bank deposits |
|---|---|
| Minimum time in business | 6 months |
| Minimum credit score | None for working capital or receivables funding. 600+ for a line of credit. 650+ for a term loan. 680+ for SBA. |
| Funding range | $10,000 to $2,000,000 for working capital. Up to $5,000,000 for term loans, SBA, and receivables facilities. |
| Time to a real offer | About 4 business hours on a complete file. |
| Time to funding | 24 hours. Same day if a clean file is signed before 11:00 AM ET. |
| Documents required | Application plus your 3 most recent months of business bank statements. 4 months if your billing is seasonal (tax season, contingency fees, year-end retainers). |
| Contract length | 2 pages. |
| Repayment | Fixed daily or weekly ACH from your operating account. No split funding. No holdback percentage. No lockbox on your operating account. |
| Prepayment discount | Up to 30% off the remaining cost of funding when a working capital advance is paid off within the first 30, 60, or 90 days. |
| Retainers & client billing | Counted. Retainer deposits, recurring client payments and lump-sum settlements all count toward your approval. Client trust (IOLTA) accounts are not underwritten as revenue — send the operating account. |
| Billing system requirement | None. Any practice-management, time-and-billing or invoicing system, or none at all. Underwriting is from bank statements. |
| Firm types approved | Law firms including contingency-fee practices, accounting and CPA firms, bookkeeping and tax preparers, management and IT consultancies, marketing, advertising, PR and creative agencies, architecture, engineering, surveying and environmental firms, HR consultants and recruiters. |
| Not required | Collateral for working capital. A business plan. Tax returns under $500,000. A minimum headcount or number of partners. A specific billing system. An audited financial statement. |
| Open to | U.S. businesses with a U.S. business bank account. All 50 states. |
Four minutes. Three bank statements. No credit impact to apply.
SBA questions, answered.
Can I use an SBA loan to buy out my partner?
Yes. A partner buyout — a change of ownership between existing owners — is an eligible SBA 7(a) use. The loan can fund the departing partner’s interest and working capital for the transition. Expect 30 to 45 days on a standard 7(a). Term loan vs SBA for a buyout →
Can I use an SBA loan to buy a practice or a book of clients?
Yes. Business acquisition is an eligible SBA 7(a) use, with 10% down on an acquisition. A retiring CPA’s tax practice, a sole practitioner’s book, a boutique agency — the purchase price, transition working capital and any leasehold improvements can all go into the loan.
Can an SBA loan pay off a merchant cash advance?
Generally no. Paying off a merchant cash advance is usually not an eligible SBA refinance use. If you are carrying advances, the realistic consolidation path is a term loan. Ask us before you plan around it.
How much do I have to put down on an SBA loan for a firm?
10% on an acquisition or on a start-up where the owner has industry experience. Partner buyouts and expansion files vary; the required injection is stated in the term sheet before you sign.
What credit score do I need for an SBA loan?
680. SBA is the highest credit bar of the five Billable Capital products. A line of credit needs 600+, a term loan 650+, and working capital and receivables funding have no minimum credit score at all.
How long does an SBA loan take?
SBA Express closes in 10 to 21 days. A standard SBA 7(a) takes 30 to 45 days. If payroll is Friday, that is what working capital exists for.
Does Billable Capital fund SBA loans directly?
No. Billable Capital packages SBA files and places them with SBA-preferred bank partners, and does not make SBA credit decisions. Working capital, lines of credit and receivables funding are underwritten and funded in-house.
What is the monthly payment on an SBA loan to buy a practice?
Buying a practice for $800,000 with 10% down leaves a $720,000 SBA 7(a) loan. Over 10 years at 10.00% — the SBA maximum for loans over $350,000 at the October 2026 Prime rate — the payment is $9,515 a month, before the SBA guaranty fee and closing costs. Lenders may quote below the maximum; this is an illustration, not an offer.
The cheapest capital a firm can get, if the clock allows it.
$50,000 to $5,000,000, 10% down, 680+ FICO, 24 months in business. Apply once and we’ll tell you honestly whether SBA or something faster is the right file.