Eligibility, Limits and Repayment

Qualifying for a business loan is mostly about three questions: can the business repay it, is the owner credible, and is there something to fall back on if things go wrong. Lenders answer these with credit scores, cash-flow ratios, time in business, and collateral or guarantees.

These guides walk through the typical requirements, the math lenders use to size a loan (including debt service coverage ratio), the repayment structures you will see, and a practical plan for the weeks after a denial.

Requirements differ widely between banks, credit unions, online lenders and SBA-guaranteed programs, so treat every threshold here as a typical range, not a rule. Use the eligibility checklist in the tools section to see where you stand before you apply, because every hard credit inquiry and every declined application costs you time.