# Small business loan guides

**Short answer:** These 40 guides explain how business loans work and how to compare them. They name the SBA rule and its source where one applies.

Canonical page: https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/
Last checked: 2026-11-09

These guides explain how small business financing works: what each product costs, what a lender reads in your numbers and how to compare offers. Where an SBA rule applies, the guide names it and its source. Where a lender sets the answer, the guide says so.

## Choosing a loan

How the main kinds of business financing work, and how to put offers side by side.

- [SBA Loan or Bank Loan: Cost, Terms and Who Qualifies: A 7(a) loan comes from a lender, such as a bank, with a partial SBA guaranty.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/sba-loan-or-bank-loan/)
- [Small Business Term Loans: Payments, Cost and Fit: A term loan is a lump sum repaid in scheduled payments over a set term.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/term-loans-for-small-business/)
- [Working Capital Loans: Size the Gap, Match the Product: Working capital pays for everyday operations while customers pay.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/working-capital-loans/)
- [Business Line of Credit: Cost, Limits and When to Skip It: A business line of credit lets you borrow up to a limit, repay, and borrow again, paying interest only on the balance you owe.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/business-line-of-credit/)
- [Equipment Financing: Loan vs Lease, Cost and Risks: Equipment financing is a loan or lease secured by the equipment.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/equipment-financing/)
- [Online Lenders or Banks for a Business Loan: Online lenders are often faster, but their borrowers report more cost surprises, so compare total dollars repaid.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/online-lenders-or-banks/)
- [How to Compare Business Loan Offers: Compare offers on the dollars you receive, the dollars you repay and when payments leave your account.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/how-to-compare-loan-offers/)
- [APR, Factor Rate and Total Cost Explained: Total cost is dollars repaid minus dollars received.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/apr-factor-rate-and-total-cost/)
- [Startup Funding Options: Costs, Limits and Traps: Own money and first sales come first.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/startup-funding-options/)

## Costly alternatives and how to leave them

What advances, factoring and cards really cost, and how to get out.

- [Merchant Cash Advance Cost: How to Find the True APR: A merchant cash advance quotes a factor rate, not an interest rate (Federal Reserve Board, 2025).](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/merchant-cash-advance-true-cost/)
- [Getting Out of a Merchant Cash Advance: A merchant cash advance buys your future receipts, so it has no interest rate or term to renegotiate.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/getting-out-of-a-merchant-cash-advance/)
- [Invoice Factoring: Real Cost, Recourse and Red Flags: Factoring sells your unpaid invoices to a factor for cash now, minus a fee.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/invoice-factoring/)
- [Invoice Financing: Borrowing Base, Cost and Risks: Invoice financing is a revolving loan secured by your unpaid invoices.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/invoice-financing/)
- [Business Credit Cards as Financing: Cost, Risks, Limits: A business credit card is cheap financing only if you repay inside the billing cycle or a promotional period.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/business-credit-cards-as-financing/)
- [Seller Financing: How a Seller Note Works: A seller note is a loan from the seller for part of the price.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/seller-financing/)

## Credit, underwriting and paperwork

What a lender reads, what it asks for and why requests are declined.

- [Business Credit Scores: What They Mean for a Loan: A business credit score rates how reliably your company pays its bills.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/business-credit-scores/)
- [Personal Credit and Business Credit for Loans: Lenders check your personal credit as well as your business's, because owners with 20% or more of the business generally must guarantee a loan.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/personal-credit-and-business-credit/)
- [Business Loan Options With Bad Credit: SBA sets no minimum credit score; the lender applies its own credit standards (SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2, Para. C.2).](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/bad-credit-business-loan-options/)
- [How Lenders Read Your Financial Statements: A lender converts your statements into cash flow available for debt payments, then compares it with those payments.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/how-lenders-read-your-financials/)
- [Debt Service Coverage Ratio Explained: Debt service coverage is cash flow available for debt payments divided by those payments.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/debt-service-coverage-explained/)
- [Why Business Loans Get Denied and What to Do Next: Lenders turn down business loans for weak cash flow, too much debt, credit problems, thin collateral or an incomplete file.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/why-business-loans-get-denied/)
- [Business Loan Documents Checklist for Established Owners: Expect to provide tax returns, year-end and interim financial statements, a debt schedule, ownership details and personal financial statements.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/business-loan-documents-checklist/)
- [Collateral for Small Business Loans: What Lenders Take: Collateral is property a lender can claim if you stop paying, and lenders count it at a discount.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/collateral-for-small-business-loans/)
- [Personal Guarantees on Business Loans, Explained: A personal guarantee makes you responsible for your company's loan if it defaults.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/personal-guarantees-explained/)
- [UCC Liens Explained: Filings, Blanket Liens, Removal: A UCC-1 filing is a public notice that a lender claims a security interest in your business assets.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/ucc-liens-explained/)

## By industry or owner

Financing for a particular kind of business or owner.

- [Restaurant Financing: Options and Costs: Match the loan to the asset.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/restaurant-financing/)
- [Retail Store Financing: Options and Costs: Finance seasonal stock with a line of credit repaid as the goods sell, and fixtures and build-outs with a term loan.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/retail-store-financing/)
- [Trucking Company Financing: Options and Costs: Finance the truck with a loan matched to its working life, and the wait for freight payments with a line of credit or factoring.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/trucking-company-financing/)
- [Medical Practice Financing: Options and Costs: A licensed practice can use SBA loans if its ownership meets state requirements (SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. A, Ch. 1, Para. E.3).](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/medical-practice-financing/)
- [Contractor Financing: Job Costs and Equipment: Fund job costs with a line of credit or an SBA Contract CAPLine, and equipment with a term loan.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/contractor-financing/)
- [Ecommerce Business Financing: Options and Costs: Fund inventory with a line or loan repaid from sales, not with an advance repaid from payouts.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/ecommerce-business-financing/)
- [Rural Business Financing: SBA, USDA and Local Lenders: SBA charges no FY2027 upfront fee on 7(a) loans of $700,000 or less in a rural area.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/rural-business-financing/)
- [Seasonal Business Financing: Options and Costs: Borrow for the seasonal build-up and repay it from peak-season sales.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/seasonal-business-financing/)
- [How to Finance a Franchise: Costs and Lender Checks: Budget for the high end of Item 7 in the franchise disclosure document.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/franchise-financing/)
- [Veteran-Owned Business Financing: Options and Savings: SBA's veteran page lists no loan reserved for veterans.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/veteran-owned-business-financing/)
- [Women-Owned Business Financing: Options and Protections: No SBA loan is reserved for women-owned businesses, but every SBA program is open to you, and Women's Business Centers support women entrepreneurs.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/women-owned-business-financing/)

## Big purchases and refinancing

Buying a business or a building, refinancing debt and financing exports.

- [How to Finance Buying an Existing Business: A lender sizes a business purchase on cash flow it can verify, not on the asking price.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/business-acquisition-financing/)
- [Owner-Occupied Commercial Real Estate Loans Explained: Your business's cash flow repays an owner-occupied building loan, so lenders size it on your earnings.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/owner-occupied-commercial-real-estate-loans/)
- [Refinancing Business Debt: When It Saves Money: Refinance when the new loan costs less in total dollars or fixes a real problem.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/refinancing-business-debt/)
- [Export Financing for Small Business: SBA, EXIM, Terms: SBA export loans give lenders up to a 90% guaranty, and EXIM's export credit insurance covers up to 95 percent of sales invoices.](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/guides/export-financing/)