$27 · Instant download · Verified vs SOP 50 10 8.1
Will your cash flow qualify once they count your household
Lenders do not stop at the business. Your mortgage and car payment come out of the same money, so they get counted. This is that combined test, the one that decides it.
Why the business number misleads people: almost every borrower runs a business-only coverage ratio, sees a comfortable number, and is surprised in underwriting. The lender runs a global ratio that adds your household living expenses to the equation. This tool shows both side by side, so you see the gap before a lender does. On a global basis the SBA floor is 1:1 (SOP 50 10 8.1). The business-level floor on a purchase is higher: 1.25 on an Initial Acquisition, the default for a first-time buyer, and 1.15 on a Business Expansion, both measured on the seller's historical or adjusted results, not projections. The tool keeps the global test and the business test separate.
Built to answer in under a minute. Six inputs at most, already filled in with typical numbers for your industry, and the verdict sits at the top in plain words. The supporting math is underneath if you want to check it, and you never have to open it if you do not.
What it computes
- ✓ Your monthly payment and annual debt service on the loan you are asking for
- ✓ Global DSCR: business cash flow plus other household income, less household living expenses, against that debt service
- ✓ The same deal as a business-only ratio, so you can see how much the household costs you
- ✓ Your margin in dollars above the SBA's 1:1 global floor
- ✓ The largest loan that still clears 1.25 on a global basis, a conservative target and the number to bring if you are short
- ✓ A plain verdict, and the three levers that actually move it
1. Choose your industry
2. Get it
Get the tool, $27Excel file, instant download after checkout. Formulas open so you can see and defend every number.
Need more than this one answer? The full Will the SBA Fund This Deal kit is $67 right now, normally $97, and includes all of these plus the five-year projections and the lender-ready package. Three separate tools already cost more than that, so if you are weighing three or more, start there instead.
Not ready to purchase?
The free calculators cover the individual pieces: payment, down payment, and guaranty fee. This tool exists because the free calculator gives you a ratio but not the largest loan that clears, or the business-versus-global gap.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What DSCR does the SBA require?
It depends on the deal. On a business purchase, SOP 50 10 8.1 sets the business coverage floor at 1.25 for an Initial Acquisition and 1.15 for a Business Expansion, measured on the seller's last full fiscal year or two-year average (historical or adjusted), and projections cannot be used to meet it unless the lender documents the deal as a Special Purpose Property, such as many hotels, where the real estate fully secures the loan. The global floor is 1:1. The 1.10 figure people quote applies only to 7(a) Small Loans of $350,000 or less that are not acquisitions, and a 504 loan needs 1.15. These are floors, and a lender can ask for more.
What is global DSCR?
Global DSCR measures whether the business and your household together earn enough to cover all the debt. Lenders add your mortgage, car payments, and living expenses because those are paid out of the same money as the loan.
Why is my business DSCR higher than my global DSCR?
Because the business-only ratio ignores your household. Once living expenses are subtracted, coverage usually drops sharply, and the global number is the one that decides the loan.
Written by Thomas Hartwell, author of the FUNDED series of industry-specific SBA lending guides.