SBA 7(a) for route businesses: the cheapest capital you can get, if you have the time.
Routebook Capital packages SBA 7(a) and SBA Express files for cleaning, pest control, lawn, pool and HVAC service companies 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 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, vehicles and an acquisition; 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, franchise 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, vehicles, leasehold improvements, business or route acquisition, partner buyout, refinance of qualifying business debt, owner-occupied real estate such as a shop or yard
- 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 Routebook Capital, placed with SBA-preferred bank partners. Routebook does not underwrite SBA credit in-house.
SBA 7(a) and SBA Express are packaged by Routebook Capital and placed with SBA-preferred bank partners. See disclosures.
Why is SBA the right product for buying a route book?
Because the thing you are buying — a list of customers who renew — produces revenue for years, and SBA is the only product on this site with a term to match.
A route acquisition is a specific kind of purchase. You are not buying trucks or a building; you are buying recurring customers, the goodwill that keeps them, and usually a seller who agrees to stay on for a transition. Lenders that only finance hard assets struggle with that. The SBA 7(a) program does not: business acquisition, including goodwill, is an eligible use, and the loan can include working capital for the first months while the customers get used to your trucks.
What the bank partner will want to see is the seller’s customer list and revenue history, the retention rate on the book, a purchase agreement with a transition period, and your own two years of returns. What it will want from you is 10% down and a 680 credit score. The reward is a payment spread over up to 10 years instead of 12 months.
If the seller will not wait 30 to 45 days, a term loan closes in 3 to 7 business days at a higher payment. If the deal is small and the seller wants cash this week, working capital gets it done in 24 hours. The route acquisition guide compares all three.
Is SBA actually right for you?
SBA is right if
You’re buying a competitor, opening a second branch or buying the yard you rent, 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
The truck died Friday, the spring crew starts Monday, or your credit is in the 500s. That is what working capital exists 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.
Franchise route operators and the SBA Franchise Directory
Many national service franchise brands — in cleaning, pest control, lawn care, pool service and HVAC — are listed on the SBA Franchise Directory. That listing is what makes the franchise fee itself financeable inside an SBA 7(a) loan, alongside the vehicles, the territory purchase and the opening working capital.
Tell us the brand before the file is built. Routebook checks the directory for the brand first, because the answer changes which product we start with and whether the franchise fee goes into the loan or comes out of your pocket.
Who funds an SBA loan at Routebook. SBA 7(a) and SBA Express files are packaged by Routebook Capital and placed with SBA-preferred bank partners. Routebook 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 factoring are underwritten and funded in-house. See disclosures.
What a route business 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 factoring. 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 factoring 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 business is seasonal. |
| Contract length | 2 pages. |
| Repayment | Fixed daily or weekly ACH from your operating account. No split funding. No holdback percentage. No lockbox. |
| 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. |
| Recurring customers | Counted. Monthly, biweekly and quarterly service agreements read as forward revenue, not as one-off jobs. |
| Seasonal routes | Expected. Lawn, pool, pest and snow files are sized against the off-season floor, not the peak-month average. Send four statements. |
| Commercial & HOA contracts | Factorable. Net-30 and net-60 invoices to property managers, HOAs and commercial accounts can open a factoring facility. |
| Service types approved | Commercial janitorial and office cleaning, residential and maid services, pest control and termite, lawn care and mowing routes, landscape maintenance, pool and spa service, HVAC service and maintenance, plumbing service, window cleaning and pressure washing, tree care, irrigation and sprinkler service, snow and ice management, carpet and floor care, septic pumping and portable sanitation, and franchise route operators. |
| Not required | Collateral for working capital. A business plan. Tax returns under $500,000. A lien on your trucks. A minimum number of routes, crews or customers. |
| 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 another service company or its routes?
Yes. Business acquisition is an eligible SBA 7(a) use, with 10% down on an acquisition. The loan can cover the purchase price of the company or its customer book, working capital for the transition, and the vehicles that come with it. Expect 30 to 45 days on a standard 7(a). Read the route acquisition guide.
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 service business?
10% on an acquisition or on a start-up where the owner has industry experience. Real-estate-secured loans 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 Routebook products. A line of credit needs 600+, a term loan 650+, and working capital and factoring 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 you need the crew funded this week, that is what working capital exists for.
Does Routebook fund SBA loans directly?
No. Routebook 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 factoring are underwritten and funded in-house.
Does a franchise route operator qualify?
Often, yes. Many national service franchises — cleaning, pest, lawn, pool and HVAC brands — are listed on the SBA Franchise Directory, which is what allows the franchise fee itself to be financed inside the loan. Tell us the brand before the file is built.
The cheapest route-business capital, 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.