Prepared for lenders, CDCs, and federal agencies to SBA SOP 50 10 8, USDA RD Instruction 5001, and conventional underwriting standards. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never the borrower. More than 4,000 studies since 1998 covering $40.2 billion in evaluated project value.
Fuel and convenience feasibility is traffic arithmetic disciplined by margin reality. The study converts AADT into gallons through capture-rate modeling calibrated to access, signalization, and competitive position; tests fuel margin assumptions against the local pricing survey; and builds inside-store sales from the industry's gallons-to-merchandise ratios adjusted for store size and foodservice program. Where QSR, car wash, or EV charging components are proposed, each is modeled on its own economics. The competitive analysis names every fueling position in the trade area, because a study that does not count the competition cannot be trusted on capture.
The methodology uses state DOT traffic counts including short-term count adjustment, a physical fuel-pricing survey of the competitive set, NACS and OPIS industry benchmarks, and RSMeans location-adjusted development budgets. The model presents fuel, merchandise, foodservice, and ancillary components separately before consolidation, with DSCR tested under the program minimum across volume and margin stress cases.
Every Wert-Berater financial model is fully linked with no hardcoded values, so any reviewer can stress any input. Deliverables comprise a complete narrative report and the linked Excel model, with ten-year pro forma, sensitivity analysis at ±5, 10, and 15 percent, interest-rate stress from +0.5 to +3.0 percent, and ratio analysis benchmarked against RMA and IBISWorld data.
SBA engagements are prepared to SOP 50 10 8, including its debt-service-coverage minimums of 1.15x operating and 1.00x global. USDA engagements follow RD Staff Instruction 5001 across the Business & Industry, Community Facilities, REAP, and Value-Added Producer Grant programs. Conventional engagements are built to the lender's stated coverage standard, typically 1.20x. The category spans SBA 504 owner-operator projects, conventional lending at negotiated coverage minimums, and tribal component-financing structures; mid-engagement program conversions — such as restating an SBA-framed study to conventional underwriting language — are handled without re-deriving the analytical base.
The firm's fuel-retail record includes a $14,568,092 SBA 504 travel center in Castle Rock, Washington, paired $7,200,000 and $6,550,000 conventional projects in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and tribal travel-center work in Nevada. Independence is non-negotiable: determinations follow the evidence and are not revised under pressure, and studies are built to pass lender, agency, and third-party review without exception items.
Qualify a project. Tell us about the project and the program. We will tell you the truth about it — scope, timeline, and fee confirmed before work begins.
Schedule a Zoom Call →