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How to make a sources and uses table for a business loan

Updated 2026-11-10

Short answer: A sources and uses table has two columns that must add to the same total. Uses list every dollar the project costs. Sources list where each dollar comes from: the loan, your cash, and any other contribution. For an SBA start-up loan, your own contribution must be at least 10% of the total project cost (SBA SOP 50 10 8.1). On a $200,000 project, that is $20,000 at the minimum.

What the table is for

A lender uses it to answer three questions. How much money does the project need? How much of that are you putting in? And what will the loan buy? SBA says investors and lenders compare your expected costs to your projected revenue, and recommends a clear, formal report of startup costs (SBA). SCORE's startup expenses template includes a sources section for the amounts you put in yourself, the amounts from partners or investors, and the amounts you borrow, and notes that banks typically ask for this kind of table (SCORE).

The table also drives the rest of your model. The loan amount feeds your debt schedule, which sets your debt service in the DSCR calculation. The uses become your opening balance sheet.

What goes in the uses column

SBA divides startup spending into one-time costs, such as major equipment, permits, licenses and fees, and monthly costs, such as salaries, rent and utilities. It recommends counting at least one year of monthly expenses (SBA). In loan terms, that becomes:

• Build-out or leasehold improvements
• Equipment, furniture and vehicles, with a quote for each large item
• Opening inventory and supplies
• Licenses, permits, deposits and insurance paid before opening
• Pre-opening marketing and training
• Loan closing costs and fees
• Working capital, the cash that covers early payroll, rent and loan payments until sales catch up

A 7(a) loan can pay for working capital, equipment, furniture, fixtures, supplies, changes of ownership, and real estate purchase or improvement, among other uses (SBA). A 504 loan is narrower. It finances fixed assets only and cannot be used for working capital or inventory (SBA).

Watch the working capital line. On 7(a) loans (above $50,000 for small loans), when 50% or more of the proceeds will be used for working capital, the lender must explain in its credit memo why that level is necessary (SBA Procedural Notice 5000-876777). Tie yours to a monthly cash need from your projections rather than a round number.

What goes in the sources column

• The loan you are requesting.
• Your cash injection, from savings or other money that is not borrowed against the business.
• Other contributions, such as a partner's cash, a grant, or seller financing in a business purchase.

Lenders verify the injection before they disburse the loan, so each item in this column needs a document behind it, usually a bank statement.

Example table

A new service business needs a $200,000 project. The figures are illustrative.

Three checks before you send it:

1. The totals match. If they do not, something is missing.
2. The injection clears the minimum. $40,000 / $200,000 = 20%, which is above the 10% SBA minimum for a start-up.
3. Working capital is a reasonable share of the loan. $40,000 / $160,000 = 25%, below the 50% trigger.

Owner injection: what counts

SBA's start-up rule is 10% of total project costs, meaning all costs required to become operational, regardless of the source of funds, except lines of credit and 504 loans. A business counts as a start-up if it has been generating revenue from its intended operations for one year or less (SOP 50 10 8.1, Section B, Chapter 2).

Items that can count as equity:

• Cash that is not borrowed.
• Cash from a personal loan, if repayment comes from a source other than the business. Your salary from the business does not qualify.
• Debt on full standby, with no principal or interest paid during the life of the SBA loan.
• Grants with no repayment or clawback.
• Verified prepaid expenses, and non-cash assets that you contribute, subject to a valuation.

Fees paid for education, advisory services or an agent are not eligible prepaid expenses and do not count as equity.

If you are buying an existing business, the change-of-ownership rules apply. Seller financing can count toward the injection only in limited cases, so check Appendix 15 of the SOP with your lender.

Programs differ. For SBA Express loans the lender decides whether to require an injection. For 504 loans the borrower contributes at least 10%, and new businesses at least 15% (SBA SOP 50 10 8.1). Conventional lenders set their own, so ask. For the full set of SBA projection and DSCR rules, see what an SBA lender wants.

Common mistakes

• Pricing the uses from memory. Attach a quote or invoice to every large line.
• Leaving out closing costs, deposits or the first months of rent.
• Counting a credit card or a line of credit as your cash injection.
• Padding working capital without a cash flow forecast behind it.
• Changing the loan amount in one tab but not in the table, the debt schedule or the projections.

This guide is general information. Your lender decides which sources it will accept, so confirm before you transfer money.

Next step

Build the table in the same workbook as your projections so the loan amount, debt payments and opening balance sheet all update together. Start from the financial projection templates and replace the sample uses with your quotes.