How to Build an SBA Deal Model in Excel (Free Template)

Every searcher builds this model eventually, usually at midnight with a 60-page CIM in one window and a scanned tax return in the other. This guide walks through it tab by tab on a fictional HVAC business, using the same numbers that are prefilled in the template, so you can follow along cell by cell. Blue cells are inputs you type; black cells are formulas.

What you need before you start

• The broker's CIM, specifically the financial summary page
• The seller's Form 1120-S for the last three years, including Schedule L (the balance sheet)
• About an hour for the formulas, and more for the typing. On a scanned packet, the typing is most of the work.

Tab 1: Reconcile the CIM to the tax return

Put each CIM line in column B and the matching 1120-S line in column C: revenue against line 1a, cost of goods sold against line 2, officer compensation against line 7, and so on down to net income against line 21, ordinary business income. Then:

• Variance: =B5-C5
• Variance %: =IF(C5=0,0,D5/C5)
• Status: =IF(ABS(E5)<0.005,"Ties",IF(ABS(E5)<0.025,"Review","Flag"))

In the sample, CIM revenue is $8,420,000 against $8,195,300 on the return, a 2.7% gap, so it is flagged. Every flag becomes a written question to the broker. If you are not sure what a gap means, see what it means when the P&L doesn't match the tax return.

Tab 2: Rebuild adjusted EBITDA from the return

Start from the tax return, never from the broker's adjusted EBITDA:

1. Ordinary business income (line 21): $932,830, pulled from Tab 1.
2. + Interest (line 13): $48,200
3. + Depreciation (line 14, plus any inside cost of goods sold): $168,900
4. = EBITDA, tax basis: =SUM(B5:B7) gives $1,149,930

Then one row per add-back, each with its proof in column C. The sample has five, including a negative one:

Adjusted EBITDA is =B8+SUM(B9:B16): $1,425,330. The broker claimed $1,690,000, so $264,670 of the broker's add-backs are unsupported. At the asking multiple that is roughly $1,114,142 of price. Which add-backs survive a lender is its own topic: add-backs an SBA lender will accept.

Tab 3: Set the net working capital peg

From Schedule L, type accounts receivable (line 2a), inventory (line 3) and other current assets (line 6), less accounts payable (line 16) and other current liabilities (line 18), for each of three years. Net working capital per year is =SUM(B5:B7)-SUM(B8:B9), and the starting peg is =AVERAGE(B10:D10).

The sample's three years are $566,000, $597,000, $633,000, so the starting peg is $598,667. Leave cash and debt out. For a seasonal business, use a trailing-twelve-month monthly average instead. The working capital peg guide covers how sellers game this number.

Tab 4: Test the SBA debt service coverage

The inputs: price, your cash equity %, the standby seller note %, the rate, the term and maintenance capex. Then:

• SBA loan: =B5*(1-B6-B7)
• Annual debt service: =-PMT(B8/12,B9*12,B13)*12
• Cash available for debt: =B18-B10 (adjusted EBITDA minus capex)
• DSCR: =B19/B20, then =IF(B21>=B11,"PASS","FAIL")
• Stress test: =(B18*0.8-B10)/B20, coverage if EBITDA falls 20%

The sample: a $6,000,000 price, a $4,800,000 loan at 10.5% over 10 years, and $777,226 of annual debt service. Coverage is 1.72x, comfortably above 1.25x, and 1.36x after a 20% drop. The template also checks the 10% equity injection rule and the $5 million loan cap.

Where this goes wrong

• Typing errors. One transposed digit on a scanned return flows through every tab. Check totals against the PDF.
• Starting from the CIM. A model built on the broker's EBITDA tests a deal the lender will never see.
• Add-backs without proof. If column C is empty, the lender will take the add-back out.
• Mismatched periods. A trailing-twelve-month CIM against a calendar-year return produces fake gaps.

Or skip the typing

The formulas are the easy part; the 15 hours go into typing numbers off scanned PDFs and checking them. Send us the CIM and the returns and we build these same four tabs, with every number linked to the page it came from. Tab 1 is free in 2 hours. See how CIM to Excel works, or use the template above and do it yourself.

Frequently asked questions