Why The SBA 90-Day Close Is Finally Realistic.
The closing checklist we use to compress one hundred and fifty days to ninety. What lenders actually look for, and the three items sellers always underestimate.
Where The Weeks Actually Go
Most SBA closes do not slip because the lender is slow. They slip because the seller sends financials one document at a time, the buyer chases the CPA for reconciliation, and the lawyer starts drafting from a blank page in week eight. Sequence is the problem, not effort.
The 90-day close is not about working faster. It is about running the workstreams in parallel instead of in sequence, and pre-staging the documents the lender will ask for before they ask.
The Three Items Sellers Always Underestimate
- ◆Business tax returns tied to internal financials line by line, not summarized in a memo. If the QofE cannot tie every line, credit committee will not fund.
- ◆Landlord consent and lease assignment — start it the day LOI is signed. Landlords take three to six weeks to sign, and you cannot close without it.
- ◆Life insurance for the buyer as required by the SBA — the medical exam alone can take three weeks, and underwriting for a policy sized to the loan can take another four.
"Life insurance and landlord consent kill more SBA closes on the calendar than any other line item. Start both on the day LOI is signed."
The Compression, Phase By Phase
| Phase | Old Way | Our Way | How We Cut It |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOI → lender package | 35 days | 10 days | Pre-built package template, AI-drafted narrative |
| Diligence + QofE | 45 days | 25 days | Sixty-item request list issued day 1, tracked as one pipe |
| Legal drafting + redline | 40 days | 20 days | MIPA drafting starts the day the LOI is signed |
| Closing conditions + funding | 30 days | 35 days | Lender-paced — the one phase we do not compress |
| Total | ~150 days | ~90 days | Parallel workstreams, not sequential |
The Parallel Workstream Model
Traditional deals run diligence, then legal, then lender package. That is why they take five months. We run all three the day the LOI is signed. The lender package is drafted while diligence is still collecting. The MIPA is redlined while the QofE is still tying out. Every hand-off happens on a shared close calendar, not by email.
- ◆One shared close calendar, every date owned by a name, not a role.
- ◆Daily fifteen-minute stand-up with lender, legal, CPA, buyer, and seller.
- ◆AI-drafted underwriter narrative delivered to the lender inside seven days of LOI.
- ◆Diligence tracker with sixty-plus items, statused daily, no items in email.
The Sixty-Item Diligence Request List
The request list is not a wish list. It is what the lender will need for credit committee, what the QofE needs to tie out, and what the lawyer needs to draft reps and warranties. Send it on day one. Chase it every day. Document every N/A with a written reason.
- ◆3 years business tax returns, 3 years personal returns for the seller.
- ◆TTM P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow, monthly detail.
- ◆Bank statements, 24 months, matched to deposits in the P&L.
- ◆AR and AP aging, current and prior year-end.
- ◆Payroll register, W-2 and 1099, prior two years.
- ◆Customer concentration analysis, top 20 by revenue.
- ◆Vendor concentration, top 20 by spend.
- ◆All executed contracts — customer, vendor, lease, franchise.
- ◆Insurance policies — GL, workers comp, property, E&O.
- ◆Corporate records — Articles, Operating Agreement, minutes.
What Actually Moves It
Parallel workstreams. Diligence, legal, and lender package run at the same time, not in sequence. AI-drafted underwriter narrative on day one. A shared close calendar with every date owned by a name, not a role. And a project manager whose only job is to keep every party unblocked — that role does not exist on most deals and it should.
Want your close in 90 days?
Book a call. We will hand you the checklist, walk your specific deal, and tell you where it is going to slip.
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