Business acquisition loan calculator
The monthly payment, the full schedule month by month, and whatever falls due at maturity. Downloadable, with the assumptions in the file.
The calculator
Monthly payment
$44,811
Principal and interest.
- Loan amount
- $3,500,000
- First 12 months of payments
- $537,737
- Due at maturity, on top of that month's payment
- $0
- Total interest
- $1,877,375
- Total repaid
- $5,377,375
- First-year coverage, this loan only
- —
- The rate above is the note rate, not an APR. An APR includes origination and other costs, which this page does not model.
Monthly compounding on a nominal annual rate, payment at the end of each month. Interest and payment are rounded to the cent each month, and the final installment clears the balance.
Amortization schedule
The file carries the rate, the term and the convention, so the figures can be checked away from this page.
| Month | Opening balance | Interest | Principal | Payment | At maturity | Closing balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,500,000 | $26,979 | $17,832 | $44,811 | — | $3,482,168 |
| 2 | $3,482,168 | $26,842 | $17,970 | $44,811 | — | $3,464,198 |
| 3 | $3,464,198 | $26,703 | $18,108 | $44,811 | — | $3,446,090 |
| 4 | $3,446,090 | $26,564 | $18,248 | $44,811 | — | $3,427,842 |
| 5 | $3,427,842 | $26,423 | $18,389 | $44,811 | — | $3,409,453 |
| 6 | $3,409,453 | $26,281 | $18,530 | $44,811 | — | $3,390,923 |
| 7 | $3,390,923 | $26,138 | $18,673 | $44,811 | — | $3,372,250 |
| 8 | $3,372,250 | $25,994 | $18,817 | $44,811 | — | $3,353,433 |
| 9 | $3,353,433 | $25,849 | $18,962 | $44,811 | — | $3,334,471 |
| 10 | $3,334,471 | $25,703 | $19,108 | $44,811 | — | $3,315,363 |
| 11 | $3,315,363 | $25,556 | $19,256 | $44,811 | — | $3,296,107 |
| 12 | $3,296,107 | $25,407 | $19,404 | $44,811 | — | $3,276,703 |
| 13 | $3,276,703 | $25,258 | $19,554 | $44,811 | — | $3,257,150 |
| 14 | $3,257,150 | $25,107 | $19,704 | $44,811 | — | $3,237,445 |
| 15 | $3,237,445 | $24,955 | $19,856 | $44,811 | — | $3,217,589 |
| 16 | $3,217,589 | $24,802 | $20,009 | $44,811 | — | $3,197,580 |
| 17 | $3,197,580 | $24,648 | $20,163 | $44,811 | — | $3,177,417 |
| 18 | $3,177,417 | $24,493 | $20,319 | $44,811 | — | $3,157,098 |
| 19 | $3,157,098 | $24,336 | $20,475 | $44,811 | — | $3,136,622 |
| 20 | $3,136,622 | $24,178 | $20,633 | $44,811 | — | $3,115,989 |
| 21 | $3,115,989 | $24,019 | $20,792 | $44,811 | — | $3,095,197 |
| 22 | $3,095,197 | $23,859 | $20,953 | $44,811 | — | $3,074,244 |
| 23 | $3,074,244 | $23,697 | $21,114 | $44,811 | — | $3,053,130 |
| 24 | $3,053,130 | $23,535 | $21,277 | $44,811 | — | $3,031,853 |
Showing the first 24 months of 120. The rest load with the page's script.
Continue analyzing this deal
A payment on its own does not say whether the deal works. These take it further.
A worked example
A $3,500,000 loan at 9.25% over 10 years, amortized over the same 10 years, pays $44,811 a month. Total interest over the life of the loan is $1,877,375, and nothing is left at maturity.
Take the same loan, keep the 10-year amortization, and shorten the term to five years. The payment does not change — it is still $44,811 — but at maturity $2,146,153 falls due on top of that month's payment. The loan has to be refinanced, or the business sold, or the cash found.
On the transaction side: a $4,850,000 total use of funds, less $750,000 of buyer equity and a $600,000 seller note, needs a $3,500,000 senior loan. Working from the $4,500,000 purchase price alone would have understated it by $350,000.
How the payment is calculated
PMT = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n)
- P is the loan principal.
- r is the monthly rate: the annual rate ÷ 12.
- n is the number of amortizing installments — the amortization period in months, not the term.
Each month the interest is the opening balance × r, and the remainder of the payment reduces the principal. Both are rounded to the cent as they accrue, and the final installment of the amortization clears whatever is left, so the schedule's columns total exactly rather than approximately.
The convention is a nominal annual rate with monthly compounding and the payment at the end of each month. There is no daily accrual, no rate reset, and no fee financed into the principal unless you add it to the loan amount yourself.
The rate is the note rate, not an APR. An APR includes origination and guaranty fees, so it is higher than the note rate on the same loan. This page does not model fees, and a figure labeled APR that excluded them would be wrong rather than approximate.
SBA and conventional acquisition loans
The arithmetic on this page is the same for either. What differs is the terms commonly available and the fees.
SBA 7(a) acquisition loans often carry a longer amortization than a conventional acquisition loan, which lowers the monthly payment on the same principal. They also carry program fees this page does not model, and they have eligibility requirements that have nothing to do with the payment. The SBA publishes a maximum 7(a) loan amount of $5 million per borrower, which is measured against the loan, not the purchase price.
Conventional acquisition lenders usually ask for more equity and underwrite the target's cash flow directly, often over a shorter amortization. The trade is a faster process and no program contingency in the offer.
Duneland Financial is an independent capital advisory firm and does not directly extend credit. Financing is provided by third-party lenders and capital providers and remains subject to their individual underwriting, approval and documentation requirements. Information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a financing commitment, financial advice or legal advice.
Illustrative results for planning. Not a financing commitment, financial advice or legal advice.
Related reading
Which program fits, and what each one asks of a buyer.
- SBA Loan vs. Conventional Loan: Breaking It Down with a $5 Million ExampleSBA against conventional financing on a $5 million acquisition: the rates, the interest each route costs over ten years, and which one suits which buyer.
- SBA Ownership Eligibility Changes in 2026: What Acquisition Buyers Should KnowFrom March 2026 the SBA bars green card holders from any ownership in a borrower. Here is what changed, and which financing routes remain open.
- Where SBA Acquisition Financing Commonly Gets StuckSBA 7(a) loans open doors for acquisition buyers, and they carry requirements that end deals. What the program asks, and where files fail.
Acquisition loans: common questions
How do I work out the loan amount I need to buy a business?
Start from total uses, not the purchase price. Add the price, any working capital funded at close, the closing costs, and any debt of the target being retired. Then subtract every source you have: your own cash, any other equity, and any seller note. What is left is the senior loan. Working from the price alone leaves a buyer short at closing by whatever the other items come to.
What is the difference between the loan term and the amortization period?
The term is when the loan is due in full. The amortization period is the schedule the payment is calculated over. A ten-year loan amortized over twenty years has the payment of a twenty-year loan and then demands the remaining balance as a lump sum in year ten. That lump sum is the balloon, and it is the single most important number a buyer overlooks.
Is the rate in this calculator an APR?
No. It is the note rate: the rate the interest is calculated at each month. An APR also folds in origination fees, guaranty fees and other costs, so it is higher than the note rate on the same loan. This calculator does not model fees, so it reports the note rate and says so rather than producing a figure that looks like an APR and is not.
How is an SBA 7(a) acquisition loan payment calculated?
The same way any amortizing loan payment is: the standard annuity formula on the principal, the monthly rate, and the number of installments. What differs about the SBA program is the terms commonly available — often a longer amortization than a conventional acquisition loan, which lowers the payment — and the fees, which this calculator does not model. Duneland is a debt advisory firm and not an SBA lender.
Why does my first year of payments not equal twelve times the monthly payment?
On a straightforward amortizing loan it does. It differs when the loan has a deferral period, or when the final installment of the amortization absorbs the rounding residue. Interest and each payment are rounded to the cent every month, so the last payment is a few cents different from the rest and the schedule still totals exactly.
Can I download the amortization schedule?
Yes, as a CSV, free and without giving an email address. The file carries the loan amount, the rate, the term, the amortization period and the compounding convention in its header, so the figures can be checked by someone who never saw this page.
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.