Required documentation will vary depending on your business’s legal structure. For sole proprietorships, single-member LLCs, independent contractors, or other Schedule C filers, all we need to get started is your 3 most recent Schedule Cs* (fully completed and filed), 3 months of bank statements for your business or personal bank account (whichever you use primarily for business activities), personal financial statements, and a front and back image of your driver’s license (or other government-issued identification).
If you own multiple businesses, please note we will also need the above listed documentation for any other businesses for which you are a 50% or more owner.
For all applicants, our portal has been designed to assist you with completing a streamlined, simplified personal financial statement that will take you approximately 10 minutes to complete.
More information regarding required documentation for other business entity structures is detailed below.
NEWITY 7(a) Required Document Checklist
*Note: that new eligibility guidelines allow businesses with a minimum of one year in business - where you see mentions "last three years" use the documentation you have in business up to the last three years.
Business Documentation:
- Filed Tax Returns – Full, unredacted Federal business tax returns with all supplementary schedules attached, for the three years* preceding the date of the loan request (i.e., FY19, FY20 and FY21). This will be the full Form 1040, including Schedule C or Schedule F (as applicable), Form 1065, Form 1120, or Form 1120-S depending on the business legal structure.
Note: If a tax return has not been filed for one of the preceding three years, a previous year filed tax return (i.e., FY18) can be substituted along with the IRS proof of extension for the most recent year tax return. - Filed Articles of Organization/Certificate of Formation or Articles of Incorporation/Certificate of Incorporation - Formal legal document used to establish a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation at the state level and filed with the state's company registrar or secretary of state. Articles of Organization or a Certificate of Formation are used primarily for LLC formation. Articles of Incorporation or a Certificate of Formation are used primarily for S Corporation and C Corporation formation.
Note: A DBA or Fictitious Business Name Filing, Certificate of Good Standing, or other business formation organizing document filed with the Secretary of State will suffice for this documentation requirement if the filed Articles of Organization or Articles of Incorporation does not pertain to your business structure or cannot be provided. - IF APPLICABLE: Operating Agreement, By-Laws, Partnership, or Trust Agreement - Formal legal document used to establish the internal operating procedures of the company.
Note: This documentation is only required if it pertains to your business structure and if your business has one of these documents or agreements in place. - Bank Statements - Operating account statements for the three months preceding the date of the loan request.
Note: These statements should be for the operating account of the business and should match the funding account information entered during the application journey. Please note this does not apply to sole proprietors and other Schedule C filers that do not have a separate operating account. These types of applicants are permitted to provide personal bank statements if they use that account for their business. - Balance Sheet - Showing totals as of the reporting date. The reporting date must be within 90 days of the loan request date. The Balance Sheet should include assets (current and non-current), liabilities (current and non-current), and shareholders’ equity.
Note: The loan request date is considered the date of underwriting. - YTD Profit and Loss Statement (P&L) - Showing year-to-date totals as of the reporting date. The reporting date must be within 90 days of the loan request date. The P&L should include revenue, cost of goods sold, gross profit, operating expenses, operating income, other income and expenses, and net profit.
Note: The loan request date is considered the date of underwriting. - IF APPLICABLE: Franchise Agreement or Fuel Supply Contract - A franchise agreement is a legally binding document that establishes the rights and obligations of the franchisor and the franchisee. A fuel supply contract is a legally binding document between a fuel supplier and a business for the supply of liquid fuel. If the business is a franchise or has a fuel supply contract in place, the SBA requires a copy of the franchise agreement or the executed fuel supply contract.
- Business Debt Schedule - List of all the debt a business owns in a schedule based on its maturity. The business debt schedule should include the following: loans, leases, contracts, notes payable, and other miscellaneous periodic payables. Each debt listed should include the following details: creditor name and account number or SBA loan number, original amount, original date, type of debt, current balance, interest rate, maturity date, monthly payment, collateral or security for debt, current or delinquent status, purpose of loan, and indicated on the presented financial statement.
Note: This required document is integrated into our Smart Portal and can be completed during the application journey.
Affiliate(s) Documentation:
Put simply, an affiliate is a separate business that is not applying for the 7(a) working capital loan, but shares common ownership or controlling interest with the applying entity. If you own 50% or more of another business, it is likely this business will need to be documented as an affiliate.
Supporting documentation for affiliated businesses must be collected, per SBA rules. The items are very similar to the applicant documents, and include the following. For the items below, refer to the section above for a full description of the requirement:
- Filed Tax Returns
- Balance Sheet
- YTD Profit and Loss Statement (P&L)
Individual Documentation:
All owners of 20% or more of the business are required to provide:
- Filed Personal Tax Returns
- Front and Back Image of Driver’s License (or other accepted Government-Issued ID)
- Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Personal Identification (if applicable)
- Personal Financial Statement (PFS) or SBA Form 413