01
completeYou + Andrew
Frame the complete project
Define the use of funds, amount, ownership, timing, and the business reason for the request.
← SBA Planning Suite
SBA application timeline planner
See the path. Protect the deadline.
Turn your project stage, document readiness, outside reports, and target date into a plain-English milestone plan—before the schedule becomes the problem.
01 / Project and stage
Start where the deal actually is.
The range changes with preparation and project complexity. It does not predict a lender's approval or closing date.
What may control the schedule
01
Missing or stale documents may create underwriting loops.
02
Seller information, valuation support, and transaction documents can control the pace.
03
Required third-party reports have not started and may become the critical path.
04
Program and lender fit should be resolved before building the wrong application package.
02 / Milestone map
The work between here and funding.
Completed stages are removed from the remaining range. Actual lender sequencing and document requests vary.
Done
02
currentBorrower
Build the lender-ready package
Organize financials, tax returns, debt schedules, projections, ownership details, and transaction documents.
03
upcomingAndrew + lender
Confirm lender and program fit
Test the request against lender appetite, SBA program direction, amount, industry, collateral, and timing.
04
upcomingBorrower + lender
Complete the lender application
Respond to the lender's project-specific request and resolve obvious eligibility or structure questions.
05
upcomingLender + third parties
Underwriting and third-party work
The lender analyzes repayment, credit, eligibility, collateral, valuation, and any required reports.
06
upcomingEveryone
Approval and closing conditions
Work through approval terms, documentation, insurance, entity, equity, and other closing requirements.
07
upcomingLender + closing team
Closing and funding
Execute final documents, satisfy funding conditions, and coordinate the transaction closing.
Your critical path
Four moves to protect the schedule.
The goal is not to rush underwriting. It is to remove preventable uncertainty before it becomes a closing problem.
- 01Finish the current step: Build the lender-ready package.
- 02Confirm the likely program and lender lane before submitting broadly.
- 03Create one dated document list with an owner and status for every missing item.
- 04Ask which valuation, appraisal, environmental, title, or other reports may be required—and who orders them.
SBA explains that borrowers apply through a participating lender, that application contents vary by loan size and lender process, and that 504 borrowers work through a Certified Development Company. Those facts define the stages—not a universal closing promise.