THE BARATELLI INSTITUTE · Mentoring at Scale
The Baratelli Institute · Mentoring at Scale

The SBA Borrower's Journey

From paper chase to funded — and where every wall comes down.

Buying a business with an SBA 7(a) loan means a multi-week document chase most first-time borrowers walk into blind: a stack of forms nobody explains, a projection they've never built, and a package that bounces back for missing pieces and loses weeks. This is the journey, stage by stage — the wall you hit, and the exact tool that removes it. Nothing here exists as one product anywhere else. We built it.

Built to work in, not write on

The workbook is a live Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) spreadsheet — you type your own numbers and the formulas do the math, instantly. The business plan is a fully editable Microsoft Word (.docx) template you make your own. These are the dynamic foundation you build your deal on — not a paper guide, and nothing to handwrite.

1
Before you sign · screening

Can this deal even work?

"I found a business I love — but can it actually pay for itself and pay me? I won't know until I'm already in too deep."

In the workbook
The Deal Screener and the coverage view test a realistic mature-revenue scenario in under an hour — so you fall in love with a deal that can be financed, not one that can't.
2
Price & structure

What's it worth, and what should I offer?

"The seller wants a number. I have no framework for whether it's sane — or whether a bank will finance it."

In the workbook
The Recast & DSC work prices the deal the way a lender will read it, before you ever sign the LOI.
3
Eligibility · the gates

Am I even eligible?

"Citizenship and residency, the industry, size standards, the franchise directory — I don't know if I clear them, and I don't want to find out after two months."

In the workbook
The Eligibility tab and guide chapter clear the SBA gates up front, in plain English, before you spend a day on the rest.
4
Sources, uses & fees

How is the loan actually built?

"Ten percent down, a guaranty fee, a rate cap, the term — it's a black box, and every source tells me something different."

In the workbook
The Loan Structure tab lays out the tiered guaranty fee, the amortization, and a clean sources-and-uses — every dollar accounted for, in numbers you can show.
5
The week-three wall · projections

Prove it will cash flow.

"The lender wants a three-statement projection with assumptions. I've never built one in my life. This is where I stall for weeks."

In the workbook
The monthly three-statement model takes your assumptions and returns a balanced projection — the exact thing underwriting asks for, that it already ties to your numbers.
6
The paper chase · the forms

The forms nobody explains.

"Form 1919. A personal financial statement. A schedule of liabilities. A debt schedule that never matches my credit. A use-of-funds the lender keeps calling 'too vague.'"

In the workbook
The PFS (Form 413) and Schedule of Liabilities (Form 2202) tabs, the debt schedule, and a worked use-of-funds narrative — filled once, consistent everywhere, so nothing contradicts.
7
The blank page · the plan

They want a business plan.

"I'm staring at an empty document with no idea what a lender actually wants in it."

In the workbook
The editable business-plan template is already wired to your workbook's numbers — you fill in the story, the figures are already right.
8
Underwriting · submit

Submit complete the first time.

"Most packages bounce back for missing pieces and lose another few weeks. I can't afford that."

In the workbook
The Credit Summary, the Checklist, and the Sources Log assemble a complete, self-consistent package — so you answer underwriting in days, not weeks.

Funded.

A multi-week paper chase compressed into a guided path. A package that doesn't bounce. Better odds at the table — and, for the first time, you understood every number in it. That's the difference between being handed a checklist and being handed a roadmap.

For lenders, brokers & SBDCs

You're tired of the paper chase too. Unprepared borrowers cost you weeks of back-and-forth on incomplete packages. Hand this roadmap to your borrowers — co-branded with your name — and get back lender-ready files instead of confusion.

Co-brand this for your borrowers →
← Back to the full tool catalog See the SBA acquisition guide & workbook →
Educational references and tools — not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice, and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Consult a qualified professional about your specific situation. © 2026 The Baratelli Institute.