Loan projections that tie out.
Answer a few questions about your business and get three years of financial projections: an income statement, cash flow and balance sheet that agree with each other, checked against the coverage and equity rules SBA lenders work to.
- Free to preview
- No sign-up
- $79 once to download
- 30-day refund
What you see before paying anything
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What a loan officer looks for in your numbers
Tieout applies the published rules in SBA's lending procedures (SOP 50 10 8.1, effective October 1, 2026) to your projections and tells you, in plain language, where they fall short.
Enough cash flow to repay
SBA lenders must see operating cash flow of at least 1.15 times the loan payments, or 1.10 times for loans of $350,000 or less. A start-up has two years to get there. Tieout calculates it the way SBA defines it, year by year.
Your own money in the deal
A start-up owner has to put in at least 10% of the total project cost. Tieout checks your injection against the project and shows the dollar gap if there is one.
Assumptions you can defend
No owner salary, costs that look too low, growth with nothing behind it, a loan that is mostly unassigned working capital. Tieout flags the items lenders commonly question, so you can fix or explain them first.
How it works
Enter your numbers
Sales, costs, people, the loan and what it pays for. Pick your industry to start from typical percentages, then replace them with your own. About ten minutes.
See what a lender will ask
Coverage by year against SBA's minimum, your break-even, the lowest point in your cash, and a checklist of likely questions. All of this is free and updates as you type.
Download the package
When the numbers hold up, download the Excel workbook and the printable report for $79. Revise as often as you need for 60 days.
What you get
An Excel workbook where every number is a formula
Six linked sheets. Change an assumption and all three statements recalculate, so you and your lender can test "what if sales are 15% lower?" without starting again.
| Summary | Three-year results, coverage, ratios, break-even, sources and uses |
| Assumptions | Every input in one place, clearly marked |
| Income Statement | 36 months with annual totals |
| Cash Flow | 36 months, tied to the other two statements |
| Balance Sheet | Opening position and every month-end, with a balance check that must read zero |
| Loan Schedule | Every payment split into interest and principal |
A printable report for the application file
Five pages, ready to save as PDF: three-year summary with charts, sources and uses, break-even, your assumptions written out in sentences, year one by month, years two and three by quarter, and the balance sheet.
| Free preview | Download | |
|---|---|---|
| Three-year summary and charts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coverage against SBA's minimum | ✓ | ✓ |
| Checklist of likely lender questions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Month-by-month statements | – | ✓ |
| Excel workbook with live formulas | – | ✓ |
| Printable PDF report | – | ✓ |
| Unlimited revisions for 60 days | – | ✓ |
One price, paid once
$79 per business plan
No subscription and no account. Preview everything on screen for free; pay only when you want the files. If it isn't what you needed, or your lender won't accept the format, email us within 30 days for a full refund.
Having projections prepared for you by a professional often costs $500 or more. Tieout is a tool you use yourself; it does not replace advice from an accountant.
Questions
Is this approved by the SBA?
No. The SBA does not approve or endorse projection tools or templates, and there is no single "SBA format". Tieout applies the rules published in SBA's lending procedures (SOP 50 10 8.1) for debt service coverage and start-up equity, and says so on the page. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Will my lender accept it?
Lenders re-underwrite every application, and most accept projections prepared by the borrower as long as the assumptions are written down, which Tieout does for you. Some lenders have their own template they want you to use, so ask yours before you buy. If your lender won't accept the format, email us within 30 days and we will refund you.
What does SBA actually ask for?
For a standard 7(a) loan to a start-up, lenders must obtain detailed projections with supporting assumptions showing debt service coverage of at least 1.15 within two years of funding. For 7(a) loans of $350,000 or less the minimum is 12 months of projections with assumptions and coverage of 1.10. Many lenders go further and ask for two or three years with the first year by month. Tieout produces 36 months, so you are covered either way.
Who is preparing these projections?
You are. Tieout is software: you enter the assumptions and it does the arithmetic and the formatting. We are not a lender, broker, loan packager, accountant or financial advisor, and we don't review or submit your application. The report says the projections were prepared by the business owner, because they were.
Is this written by AI?
No. Every figure comes from ordinary accounting formulas applied to your inputs, with no language model involved. The same inputs always give the same outputs, and the formulas are all visible in the workbook.
Can I use it for a bank loan, equipment financing, a landlord or investors?
Yes. The statements are standard. The coverage thresholds shown are SBA's; other lenders set their own.
I'm buying an existing business. Is this for me?
Probably not on its own. For acquisitions, SBA lenders rely mainly on the seller's historical cash flow rather than on projections, and Tieout is built to model one business from your assumptions, not to analyze a seller's tax returns.
Do I need Excel?
The workbook is a standard .xlsx file using ordinary formulas, which Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice open. The report prints or saves to PDF from any browser. If a file doesn't open correctly for you, email us and we will fix it or refund you.
What happens to the numbers I enter?
They are saved so you can come back to your plan through its private link. There is no account, we don't sell or share your data, and the site loads no third-party advertising or analytics scripts. Email us and we will delete your plan. Details are in the privacy policy.