ROBS and SBA Funding-Mix Calculator
Build a transparent sources-and-uses worksheet for a hybrid ROBS and SBA scenario. Separate retirement-plan equity from buyer cash, separate financed fees from upfront uses, and show whether the entered mix balances before anyone treats the file as ready.
How to use the worksheet
Start with total project cost before financed fees. Count each use once: purchase price, franchise fee, equipment, deposits, inventory, professional fees paid outside the note, working capital, reserves, closing costs and contingency. Then enter the sources that may fund those uses.
ROBS equity means cash the C corporation receives after a qualified plan purchases employer stock. It is not a personal withdrawal and not personal cash. Upfront buyer cash is separate money contributed outside the plan. Other documented equity or credit is a user-entered planning bucket, not a lender acceptance decision.[3][4]
Model boundaries and formulas
Residual mode solves the SBA loan as: total project cost plus financed fees minus ROBS equity, buyer cash and other equity. Explicit mode uses the SBA loan amount entered and reports a funding gap when uses exceed sources or a surplus when sources exceed uses.
Funding shares use total uses including financed fees as the denominator. Debt service uses the same amortizing formula as the SBA Debt-Service Calculator: payment per period equals loan amount times periodic rate divided by one minus one plus periodic rate raised to the negative number of payments. At a zero interest rate, payment per period equals loan amount divided by number of payments.
What this tool does not determine
The worksheet does not determine ROBS eligibility, plan qualification, rollover availability, prohibited transactions, employer-stock valuation, fiduciary prudence, employee-plan duties, Form 5500 filing, source-account tax character, SBA eligibility, SBA approval, equity injection requirement, source-of-equity acceptability, rates, terms, fees, collateral, personal guaranty, debt affordability, tax outcome, legal outcome, business quality, or a recommended mix.[1][2][3][4][5]
A balanced ledger only means the arithmetic ties under the entered assumptions. It does not mean the lender, franchisor, seller, plan fiduciary, valuation professional, CPA or attorney will accept the same file.
Records to gather before relying on the numbers
Gather the business purchase agreement or franchise disclosure document, itemized use-of-funds schedule, lender term sheet, SBA lender conditions, source-of-funds evidence, rollover and plan documents, stock subscription records, valuation support, escrow instructions, seller notes, fee invoices, reserve requirements, lease or equipment obligations, personal-guaranty forms and professional review notes.
Keep plan trust records, corporate bank records, lender records and personal cash records separate. The IRS ROBS project specifically asks about rollover or direct-transfer records, participant information, stock valuation and stock purchases, business information and filings. Mixing these records can make a clean arithmetic result unusable in review.[3]
Frequently asked questions
What does this funding-mix calculator decide?
It reconciles user-entered sources and uses. It shows ROBS plan stock-purchase proceeds, upfront buyer cash, other documented equity, SBA debt, financed fees, shares of total uses, and any funding gap or surplus.[1][3]
Does it decide whether ROBS money counts as SBA equity injection?
No. The worksheet never treats ROBS proceeds as personal cash or as automatically acceptable SBA equity. Lender policy, SBA program rules and the loan file decide source acceptability.[1][3]
What is residual SBA loan mode?
Residual mode calculates the SBA loan amount needed to make total sources equal total uses after ROBS equity, buyer cash, other equity and financed fees are entered.
When should explicit SBA loan mode be used?
Use explicit mode when a term sheet, lender conversation, or planning scenario already gives a loan amount and you want to see whether the ledger has a gap or surplus.
Does the optional debt-service result approve affordability?
No. It applies an amortizing payment formula to the entered amount, rate, term and payment frequency. It does not underwrite cash flow, collateral, guaranties, eligibility, fees, variable rates, taxes, or repayment ability.
Sources
These sources support the public claim boundaries for SBA loan mechanics, ROBS structure, plan duties and funding worksheet limitations. They do not approve any individual transaction.
- [1] SBA 7(a) loans
SBA states that 7(a) is a loan-guarantee program through lenders, lists uses such as working capital, equipment, changes of ownership and multiple-purpose loans, states eligibility factors, and says most 7(a) term loans are repaid with monthly principal and interest from business cash flow. Checked Aug. 13, 2026; page modified July 27, 2026.
- [2] SBA SOP 50 10
SBA describes SOP 50 10 as the loan-origination policies and procedures governing 7(a) and 504 loans, with core requirements and program-specific requirements. Checked Aug. 13, 2026; Version 8 effective June 1, 2025; page last updated Sept. 3, 2025.
- [3] IRS ROBS compliance project
IRS describes a ROBS as an arrangement where retirement funds are used to pay for business start-up costs and the plan uses rollover assets to purchase stock of a new C corporation. The page also identifies filing, valuation, plan-operation, prohibited-transaction, business-failure, bankruptcy, lien and dissolution concerns. Checked Aug. 13, 2026; page last reviewed Nov. 16, 2025.
- [4] IRS ROBS guidelines memorandum
The IRS memorandum describes the typical sequence: a C corporation sponsors a qualified plan, rollover or direct transfer assets enter the plan, the participant directs purchase of employer stock, and the corporation uses proceeds for the business. It states ROBS are not noncompliant per se but should be developed case by case, and flags nondiscrimination, prohibited-transaction and valuation issues. Checked Aug. 13, 2026; memorandum dated Oct. 1, 2008.
- [5] DOL Form 5500 series
DOL describes Form 5500 reporting and filing materials for employee benefit plans. This supports the boundary that a ROBS plan remains a real plan with ongoing reporting and administration questions outside a funding-mix worksheet. Checked Aug. 13, 2026.