Business acquisition financing guides
From preparation to a transaction
Choose the next step for your transaction
Buying a business creates several financing questions at once. How much cash will you need? How much debt can the business support? Which financing route fits? What needs to be resolved before the LOI?
Use these guides to work through those questions. Start with the decision in front of you, then follow the related guides.
Duneland Financial is a capital advisory firm for business acquisitions, working with buyers, operators, investors and M&A advisors. Financing remains subject to lender underwriting and approval. About Duneland’s approach
Cash required
The down payment is only one part of what a buyer needs. Closing costs, working capital and post-close liquidity matter too.
- How much cash do you really need to buy a business?
- Why purchase price is only the start of project cost
- How much business can you afford?
- Twenty modeled acquisition-cash scenarios
The scenarios are transparent illustrations, not completed transactions or lending offers. Their full assumptions and calculations are published alongside the research.
Earnings
Start with the earnings a lender is actually likely to use after reviewing add-backs and other adjustments. A listing states earnings one way; a lender rebuilds them before testing anything.
- Seller’s discretionary earnings: from the listing to the lender
- SDE vs EBITDA: one business, two numbers
SBA
Guides covering buyer equity, seller notes, debt coverage, diligence and current program requirements. Articles distinguish the current October 1, 2026 SOP 8.1 rules from the preceding framework. SBA’s issuance notice ties applicability to issuance of an SBA loan number. Official notice
- SBA acquisition financing: the complete starting guide
- Equity injection and source documentation
- Seller notes and qualifying contribution
- SOP 8.1 changes and timing
- DSCR and acquisition debt capacity
- Quality of Earnings and the $3 million threshold
- Rates, fees, and repayment terms
Capital sources
Compare SBA, conventional bank debt, private credit, seller financing and outside equity. Compare actual terms rather than assuming every loan in a category has the same contribution, rate or repayment schedule.
- Business acquisition capital stacks
- SBA versus conventional financing
- Private credit for acquisitions
- Seller financing economics and tradeoffs
- Financing an acquisition without SBA
Before the LOI
Financing is easier to fix before the assumptions become part of a signed offer. Organize the buyer profile, capital records, target financials and proposed financing early.
- Buyer financing readiness checklist
- Financing questions to resolve before an LOI
- Acquisition financing stages and dependencies
See the data behind the assumptions
For readers who want to go deeper, our research publishes the assumptions, methodology and source data. Each study explains what its numbers represent and what they cannot establish.
- Research and methodology hub
- How the cash scenarios were modeled
- How the SBA loan data was filtered
- SBA reported change-of-ownership approval data
- Twenty illustrative cash scenarios
Bring a defined deal to the financing conversation
Prepare the proposed price, available capital, target financials, working-capital needs and seller terms. If a number is still an estimate, say so. A clear starting model helps us determine which assumptions need to change and which route deserves attention.
Review your acquisition financing options with Duneland.
Apply the financing questions to an eCommerce business
An online-business purchase can combine earnings verification, inventory arrangements and cash needed to keep stock moving after closing. The eCommerce acquisition financing guide works through those questions with a hypothetical purchase budget and a separately identified Duneland transaction.
Use what you have learned
Useful tools for this topic
Start with the full funding plan, then explore whether the earnings assumptions cover its debt payments.
- Capital stack How does the whole purchase get funded?
- DSCR Can the target’s cash flow cover the debt?
These tools calculate scenarios from your inputs. They do not establish loan approval.
Key terms, in plain English
Browse the acquisition finance glossary →Have a deal in front of you?
Whether you have a signed LOI, are preparing an offer or are still evaluating the opportunity, send us the basic numbers and where you are in the process. We’ll look at the business, buyer and proposed structure and determine what the financing path may look like. No deal yet? Tell us what you are exploring, and we’ll show you the financing paths that may fit.