SBA Feasibility Study Consultant

Guidance referenceSBA SOP 50 10

Programs covered504 · 7(a) · Express

Usual triggerProjection-based credits, start-ups, special-purpose property

Who may prepare itIndependent party qualified in the asset class

Standard delivery10–15 business days

Fee basisFixed, quoted up front, never contingent

Firm record1,300+ SBA-program studies since 1998

CoverageAll fifty states

Before you commission the study

The four questions SBA borrowers ask most often, answered in full:

Feasibility study vs business plan — which document the condition list is actually asking for
Debt service coverage ratio explained — including global coverage on SBA files
How long a feasibility study takes — phase-by-phase timeline and what extends it
Feasibility study vs appraisal — why most files need both, and how they differ

Reviewing this from the lender's side of the credit file? Bank feasibility study consultant sets out how the firm prepares studies for credit committees.

SBA Energy Guarantee

SBA announced a new 90% Energy Guarantee through the International Trade Loan program for qualifying energy and mineral businesses. Energy-sector activity alone does not establish eligibility, and lender underwriting and applicable SBA requirements still apply. Read our SBA Energy Guarantee guide →

SBA Feasibility Studies: the full guide

Guides, requirements and policy analysis covering SBA 7(a) and 504 feasibility studies. 29 articles, all written by the firm's own analysts.

All feasibility study articles →

SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 Technical Policy Updates — effective October 1, 2026. September 25 Notice 5000-882227 supersedes the previously published, not-yet-effective edition. It applies to applications received by SBA on or after October 1; continue SOP 50 10 8 for applications submitted through September 30. The August loan-number criterion is historical and superseded, not current controlling guidance. Footnote 1 instructs lenders to collect required information and certifications using existing forms and the updated SOP and retain them in the loan file. Program-specific policy and sources →

Who we are

Wert-Berater, Inc. has prepared independent feasibility studies for lenders, certified development companies, and federal agencies since 1998 — more than four thousand engagements representing $43.8 billion in evaluated project value across all fifty states and international assignments. Our fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never to the sponsor’s optimism: fees are fixed, quoted up front, never contingent on findings, and a determination is never changed under pressure.

“Every claim sourced. Every risk stated plainly. Independence is non-negotiable.”

What we do

SBA 504 feasibility studies for owner-occupied real estate and equipment credits — repayment at program coverage minimums, occupancy rules, special-purpose treatment, and debenture structure under SOP 50 10 — and SBA 7(a) studies for business acquisition, construction, and working-capital credits covering operating projections, management capability, and global cash flow. Every study ships as a complete analytical report plus a fully linked Excel model with zero hardcoded numbers.

How we do it

The scope is aligned to the lender or CDC’s credit questions. Demand assumptions and arithmetic are documented; coverage uses the applicable program and transaction basis, not a universal 1.15x operating/1.00x global floor. Sensitivity and stress cases distinguish analytical scenarios from mandatory agency tests, and missing evidence and conditions are identified for reviewer consideration.

How we can help you

SBA deals stall on documentation gaps, not on bad projects. A study built to the framework moves through lender and CDC review without the question cycles that burn closing timelines — and underwriter Q&A support through closing is part of the engagement, not an extra. Deals already in underwriting against a deadline qualify for rush delivery at a fixed fee, quoted up front.

How to engage us

Request a fee quote with the form on this page — an engagement-specific quote follows within one business day.

Execute a mutual NDA online in two minutes; the executed PDF arrives by email before any document changes hands.

Upload project documents to our secure, access-controlled intake.

Book a Zoom qualification call directly on the calendar — your time zone, 30 to 60 minutes.

Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data. Rush delivery for deals already in underwriting is accepted case by case for an additional fixed fee, quoted up front and committed in writing. Engagements are typically initiated by the borrower, with lender or CDC confirmation obtained before work begins — institutions differ, so confirm the procedure with your lending contact.

What an SBA feasibility study consultant does

An SBA feasibility study consultant is an independent, third-party analyst engaged to test whether a project can carry its debt before a lender or Certified Development Company commits capital. The role is deliberately separate from the borrower and the loan officer: the consultant has no stake in whether the deal funds, and that independence is exactly what gives the study weight in credit committee. Our conclusions are evidenced, sourced, and written for the reviewer who has to defend the file — not for the sponsor who wants to hear yes.

When the SBA — or your lender — expects a feasibility study

Independent analysis may be requested by the lender, CDC or SBA depending on the transaction, underwriting and applicable policy. The following are useful scoping contexts, not automatic independent-study mandates:

Start-ups and new businesses with no operating history to underwrite against.
Changes of ownership where projected performance departs from the seller’s record.
Special-purpose or limited-market properties — hotels and motels, car washes, gas stations, self-storage, assisted living and memory care, marinas, bowling and entertainment, wineries and event venues — where the real estate has few alternative uses.
New construction or major expansion that materially changes the borrower’s operations.
Management-dependent or higher-risk industries, or borrowers new to the field.

The study informs the lender’s credit decision; it is not a guarantee of approval, and SBA eligibility is determined by the lender and the Agency. When you are unsure whether your deal needs one, your lender or CDC is the authority — and we are glad to speak with them directly. Borrowers typically learn a study is needed at the point the credit package is assembled; engaging it early in the application timeline, rather than after underwriting raises the question, routinely saves weeks of loan-cycle time.

SBA 504 and SBA 7(a): what each study has to prove

SBA 504 emphasizes long-term fixed assets and the operating business supporting the lender/CDC structure. SBA 7(a) can support operating-business acquisition, construction, working capital and other eligible uses. Repayment analysis, projections, occupancy, collateral and documentation must be matched to the program and transaction; the same business/global coverage rule does not govern both.

Program-specific scope and repayment basis

Standard 7(a), 7(a) Small, 504 and ownership transactions have different repayment tests and historical/projected/global bases. Neither a single business/global coverage floor nor an automatic independent-study mandate applies to every SBA transaction. Ask the lender or CDC to identify the applicable SOP edition, transaction category, repayment basis, required documents and any lender-specific thresholds.

A startup, unusual market, construction project or special-purpose property may call for additional analysis depending on the actual underwriting questions. Ownership projections, appraisal and business-valuation support must be scoped to the transaction; do not infer a universal acquisition rule or document mandate from the property label alone.

Edition sources: official technical-updates DOCX, published September 25, 2026 and superseding technical-updates notice PDF, page 1. AI-assisted document inspection is not human regulatory signoff. Detailed substantive replacement guidance remains staged behind the existing production release gate, not authorized by this source notice.

What’s inside the SBA deliverable

A business plan describes management’s intended strategy and execution. A feasibility study independently tests that plan’s market, cost, operating and repayment assumptions; an appraisal addresses property value and a business valuation addresses business value. These documents serve different purposes. Reconcile their assumptions and confirm which are requested by the lender or CDC; none substitutes for the others or assures approval.

Every SBA study ships as a complete analytical report plus a fully linked Excel model with zero hardcoded numbers, so a reviewer can trace any figure to its source. The report covers an executive summary and conclusion; market and demand analysis using the accepted methodology for the asset class; competitive supply; site and technical review; a management assessment; multi-year financial projections with the coverage tests above; and an explicit list of conditions with the curing documents named — the section that becomes the lender’s closing checklist.

The financial model behind the finding

The model is where SBA studies are won or lost. Ours is built to underwriting conventions rather than pitch conventions: a ten-year pro forma with the ramp-up period modeled explicitly instead of a stabilized year presented as year one; revenue built from a defined trade area and a defended capture rate, not a market-share assertion; operating expenses benchmarked against RMA and industry data with deviations explained; replacement capital expenditures reserved on the asset’s real consumption schedule, with coverage reported both before and after reserves; sensitivity analysis at ±5, 10, and 15 percent; interest-rate stress from +0.5 to +3.0 percent; and Monte Carlo simulation across the assumptions that matter. Because every cell is linked and sourced, the underwriter’s twenty-minute first pass — conclusion, coverage, conditions — holds up when the analyst’s two-hour second pass follows the numbers home.

Why studies get returned — and how ours are built not to be

The recurring rejection grounds in SBA files are unsupported capture rates, ramp-up periods that skip the hard first years, hardcoded models a reviewer cannot audit, coverage shown only at stabilization, and conditions the study never surfaces. Each of those is a structural choice, which means each is avoidable by structure: we treat the downside case as a first-class deliverable, state year-one coverage next to stabilized coverage, and name the conditions precedent ourselves rather than leaving them for the committee to discover. A correct forecast can still be unusable to a lender if it cannot be independently verified — we build for verification from the first cell.

The engagement, step by step

1. Scope and quote. Tell us the project, program, and timeline; a fixed fee is quoted in writing within one business day. There is no charge for the quote.
2. Data collection. We issue a document request tailored to the deal — typically the project budget and sources-and-uses, site and plan information, management résumés, historical financials where they exist, franchise or management agreements, and the lender’s term sheet.
3. Market and technical analysis. Trade area definition, demand and competitive supply work on the accepted methodology for the asset class, and review of costs and the construction plan.
4. Model and draft. The fully linked model is built, stressed, and reconciled; the draft is checked against the program’s requirements before it leaves the building.
5. Delivery and lender support. Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data. After delivery we answer the lender’s and CDC’s questions directly — the study is not finished until the reviewer is.

Industries and special-purpose properties we cover

Since 1998 the firm has completed studies across more than a hundred asset classes — hospitality, self-storage, car washes, fuel and travel centers, senior housing and healthcare, manufacturing and processing, agriculture and cold storage, marinas, and mixed-use development among them. Special-purpose properties, which draw the most SBA scrutiny, are core territory rather than the exception.

Credentials and cost

Studies are prepared by senior analysts — including MAI-designated professionals and former institutional underwriters — under principal review, with a fiduciary duty that runs to the lender and the Agency. The fee is fixed and quoted in writing within one business day of your request, scoped to the project’s size, asset class, and complexity; it is never a percentage of the deal and never contingent on the finding. Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data, and rush delivery for deals already in underwriting is available for a fixed add-on committed up front.

Recent SBA feasibility study experience

Every engagement below is a completed SBA feasibility study with a published completion notice. 22 recent SBA engagements are shown, representing more than $241,833,968 in evaluated project value. One project is stated as a cost range rather than a single figure, so that total is a conservative floor. They are a recent selection from the 1,300+ SBA studies the firm has prepared since 1998. Party names are withheld where the engagement requires it. Each tombstone links to the completion notice for that study.

Determinations are stated as they were issued, conditions included. A Wert-Berater study reaches the finding the evidence supports, because an SBA lender and a CDC credit committee are entitled to an independent answer rather than a sponsor’s preferred one. All published completion notices →

SBA feasibility studies by state

Lenders, CDCs and credit committees differ by market, and so does the evidence a study has to marshal. These pages carry the state-level detail:

Go deeper

Frequently asked questions

Independent analysis may be requested according to the program, transaction and lender/CDC or SBA instructions. Projection reliance, a startup or a special-purpose property alone does not establish an automatic independent-study mandate.

No. The inspected 504 feasibility passage lists discretionary triggers, not an automatic study for every startup or special-purpose property. Lender/CDC and SBA transaction-specific documentation instructions still apply.

Who orders the study, the borrower or the lender?

Engagements are usually initiated by the borrower, with the lender or CDC confirming scope before work begins. Either way the study must be independent and prepared by a third party with no interest in whether the loan funds.

What debt-service coverage does an SBA study need to show?

There is no single universal SBA coverage floor. Standard 7(a), 7(a) Small, 504 and ownership transactions have different repayment tests and historical/projected/global bases. Confirm program, transaction, basis, exceptions and lender requirements.

What does SOP 50 10 8.1 say about feasibility studies?

A startup or special-purpose property alone does not establish an automatic study mandate. Confirm the applicable source and the lender/CDC and SBA transaction-specific documentation instructions. Detailed substantive replacement guidance remains staged pending human review.

Can projections alone meet ownership repayment?

Do not assume projections alone satisfy ownership repayment. Confirm the applicable transaction category, historical or adjusted basis, any limited projection exception and appraisal/business-valuation support with the lender. A property label is not an independent-study mandate.

How long does an SBA feasibility study take?

Standard delivery is 10 to 15 business days from complete project data. Rush delivery for deals already in underwriting is available for a fixed add-on, quoted up front.

How much does an SBA feasibility study cost?

The fee is fixed, quoted in writing within one business day, and scoped to the project’s size and complexity — never a percentage of the deal and never contingent on the finding.

What is a special-purpose property, and why does it matter for SBA?

Special-purpose or limited-market properties — hotels, car washes, gas stations, self-storage, assisted living and similar — have few alternative uses, so SBA lenders scrutinize demand and re-use risk closely. The study addresses market depth and downside directly, which is where these deals usually stall.

Will you speak with our lender or CDC directly?

Yes — and we prefer to. Scope is confirmed with the lender before work begins where the institution requires it, and after delivery we answer the underwriter’s questions directly until the file is resolved.

What happens if the study reaches a negative conclusion?

The finding is reported as the evidence supports it — fees are never contingent on the outcome, and a determination is never changed under pressure. In practice a negative or conditioned finding usually identifies what would have stalled the deal in underwriting anyway, while there is still time to restructure, resize, or re-scope.

Is a feasibility study the same as the appraisal?

No. The appraisal opines on property value; the feasibility study tests whether the specific project, at its specific scale and capital structure, generates the cash flow to service its debt. The lender or CDC determines the documentation needed for the actual transaction; a business plan and independent analysis serve different roles and their assumptions should be reconciled.