Four things a general calculator gets wrong
Not a matter of degree. Each of these changes the arithmetic, not just the answer.
Inventory and receivables can exceed 20% of revenue, and the buyer funds that from day one. A model that finances only the purchase price understates the loan and overstates coverage — the buyer finds out in month two.
Revenue is machine hours sold. A growth projection that exceeds capacity is a capital plan, not a forecast, and a lender will read it as one.
Equipment and real estate make an asset-based valuation meaningful rather than a formality — and they unlock 504 finance, where half the money is fixed for twenty-five years. A service business cannot use it.
Which makes the SBA 504 energy provision relevant here and almost nowhere else. It is not a cheaper rate — it is a higher cap, and one that sits outside the aggregate ceiling.
The finance model, section by section
Nine sections on one business, with the figures carried between them. The numbers below are real output at the model's defaults — a $11.4m plant with $1.27m of normalized earnings.
Does an energy retrofit pay, and does it unlock 504 capacity?
The saving is EBITDA, so it carries the same multiple at exit. And a qualifying project raises the 504 cap — more importantly, it sits outside the aggregate ceiling.
Computed from the model's default plant. Your figures replace it entirely.
Inside the main tool
Nine sections. These five get opened twice.
Every figure below is what the calculator returns on its defaults — a plant doing $11.4m with an eighty-eight day cycle.
The provision almost nobody reads
Energy is a real line item in a plant, which makes this the one industry where the SBA green rules matter. It is not a cheaper rate — it is a higher cap, and a repeatable one.
The main tool
All nine sections on one business, with the figures carried between them. Everything else here answers one question; this answers the sequence.
Other tools for manufacturing businesses
Each solves one problem properly rather than approximating four.
Finance a machine on its own terms. The collateral is the asset rather than the whole business, and the acquisition loan stays smaller.
What a purchase actually costs after the deduction. Section 179 and bonus depreciation interact, and the order matters.
Full amortization, guaranty fee bands, and the eligibility questions a summary skips. Funds working capital and goodwill, which 504 cannot.
Two tranches modelled separately. Half the money fixed for twenty-five years — which is why 504 blends below 7(a) when enough of the project is real assets.
Which structure fits, what each costs, and why a plant should not fund its inventory cycle with amortizing debt.
7(a) and 504 are not two prices for the same loan. A 7(a) is one variable-rate loan that can fund anything, including working capital and goodwill. A 504 is two loans against fixed assets only, with the second fixed for twenty-five years. The finance model runs both against your own numbers and says which one your cash flow actually supports.