How long it takes to get a business loan depends mostly on the type of financing. Revenue-based financing (a merchant cash advance) is the fastest, and most owners who apply through Today Capital Group are funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer, some the same day. Line of credit offers often come back within a day, and equipment financing offers typically take one to two business days. SBA and bank loans take weeks, commonly four to eight weeks from a complete file for an SBA loan, and loans secured by commercial real estate also run in weeks because of the appraisal and title work. The gap comes from what each funder has to check before it can say yes, and from how quickly your paperwork reaches it.
How long does it take to get a business loan? Typical timelines by type
The table below shows typical timelines from a complete file, meaning the funder or lender has every document it asks for. They describe what usually happens, they are not promises, and every funder and lender sets its own pace.
| Type of financing | What you send | Decision or offer | Typical time to money in the account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-based financing (merchant cash advance) | A short application and four months of business bank statements | Offers on a complete file often the same day | Most funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer, some the same day |
| Line of credit | Bank statements, plus credit for some programs | Offers often within a day | A first draw usually the same day the line is set up, later draws typically within a business day |
| Equipment financing | The equipment quote, bank statements and credit | Offers typically in one to two business days | Days, with the vendor paid directly once the documents are signed |
| SBA 7(a) loan | Tax returns, a personal financial statement, a debt schedule and SBA forms | Lender underwriting, plus SBA review when the lender is not delegated | Commonly four to eight weeks, sometimes faster through SBA Express |
| SBA 504 loan | The SBA file plus the property or equipment details | A bank and a Certified Development Company both review it | Tends to take longer than a 7(a) |
| Business acquisition loan | The SBA file plus the purchase agreement and a business valuation | Lender underwriting with extra checks on the deal | Weeks to a few months |
| Commercial equity or real estate loan | Financials, plus an appraisal, title search and often an environmental report | Commitment after the third-party reports arrive | Weeks |
Products that decide on how money moves through your bank account can answer in hours. Products that underwrite tax returns, collateral or a property need outside reports and more review, and that work takes weeks however quickly you send things.
The timeline for each type, stage by stage
Every business loan or advance moves through the same six stages, which are the application, the documents, underwriting, the offer, the contract and verification, and funding. What changes from one product to the next is how long each stage takes, and so how long the business loan takes to fund.
Revenue-based financing and merchant cash advances
The application is a short form you can finish in a few minutes, and the only documents needed for offers are your last four months of business bank statements, uploaded as PDFs or shared through a read-only bank connection. Underwriting reads your deposits, balances and existing payments, so on a complete file offers often come back the same day. Once you choose one, you sign electronically, take a short verification call from the funder, and the money is sent by wire or ACH. Most applicants are funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer, and some the same day. Our guide to the merchant cash advance explains how the purchase of future sales and the repayment work, and same-day business funding covers the bank cutoffs that decide whether the money lands today or the next business morning.
Business line of credit
A line of credit takes a little more checking up front than an advance, since some programs look at credit as well as bank statements, but offers still often come back within a day. After the line is open, the timing changes in your favor. The first draw usually funds the same day the line is set up, and later draws are typically funded within a business day without a new application, which makes a line the faster tool for costs that keep coming back.
Equipment financing
Equipment financing starts with a quote from the vendor, because the machine, vehicle or tool secures the deal. With the quote and your statements in hand, offers typically come back in one to two business days. After you sign, the funder usually pays the vendor directly, so the last step depends partly on the vendor confirming the order and the delivery or pickup date.
SBA 7(a) and 504 loans
SBA loans run on a longer clock at almost every stage. Many owners start with the SBA's own Lender Match tool, which prepares a summary of interested lenders two business days after a request, before any application has been underwritten. The documents come next, typically business and personal tax returns, a personal financial statement, a debt schedule and the SBA's borrower forms, and gathering them is often the longest part for the owner. Our guide to SBA loan requirements lists them program by program.
The lender then underwrites the file. Some lenders send the loan to the SBA for its own review, and the agency's page on types of 7(a) loans lists its turnaround as 5 to 10 business days for a standard 7(a) loan (over $350,000) and 2 to 10 business days for a 7(a) Small loan. Lenders with Preferred Lender Program authority, and SBA Express lenders, have delegated authority to process and close loans without prior SBA review, which is why Express can move faster. Closing adds its own work, including the guarantee paperwork and any collateral filings. Putting it together, an SBA loan commonly funds in four to eight weeks from a complete file, sometimes sooner through SBA Express and sometimes longer when the file is complicated. A 504 loan, with a bank and a Certified Development Company both involved, tends to take longer.
Buying a business adds a valuation, a review of the purchase agreement and often license or lease transfers, so acquisitions run longer still. Our guide to business acquisition loans walks through that timeline.
Conventional bank loans
Business loan approval time at a bank is often a matter of days or a couple of weeks for an ordinary loan. The FDIC's Small Business Lending Survey, which asked banks about their most common small business loan product (leaving out credit cards and government-guaranteed loans), found that three-quarters of banks approve the typical small business loan in two weeks or less, and more than three-quarters can approve a small and simple loan in a week or less. A very large or complex loan can take four to six weeks. Those figures cover approval, so closing and funding come after them, and the bank still asks for the fuller file of tax returns and financial statements before it starts.
Commercial equity and real estate loans
A loan secured by commercial property waits on outside reports. The lender orders an appraisal, runs a title search and often orders an environmental report, then reviews the business and personal financials before it issues a commitment, so plan in weeks. Our guide to commercial equity loans explains how the appraisal sizes the loan.
What the Fed's survey says about waiting
The Federal Reserve's survey of small employers shows the same split by lender type. In the Fed's 2026 Report on Employer Firms, applicants for loans, lines of credit and cash advances were asked what problems they had with their lender and what made them choose it.
| Where the business applied | Reported a long wait for a credit decision or funding | Said speed influenced where they applied | Found the application difficult |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large bank | 21% | 29% | 26% |
| Small bank | 16% | 28% | 18% |
| Finance company | 12% | 44% | 11% |
| Online lender | 8% | 64% | 11% |
Owners who went to online lenders chose them for speed and rarely reported a wait, while bank applicants more often picked their lender because of an existing relationship. Both choices make sense. A business planning a purchase months ahead has time for the bank's process, and one that needs stock before a busy weekend is better served by a product that decides on its deposits.
What slows a business loan down
Most delays start in the file. Each of these can add a day to a fast product or a week to a slow one.
- Missing or partial bank statements send a file back to the start of the queue, and screenshots, cut-off months or statements from the wrong account count as missing.
- A business name or EIN that does not match across the application, the bank account and the documents makes the underwriter stop and confirm which entity is actually applying.
- Unsigned documents, or a contract signed by one owner when the funder needs every owner, hold the file until the last signature arrives.
- A missed verification call pauses everything, because funders do not release money until they have spoken with the owner.
- Existing liens or UCC filings on the business can mean the new funder has to confirm its position or get a payoff letter from the earlier lender first.
- Stacked advances, meaning several payments already coming out of the same account, lead to a closer review of what the business can carry and sometimes to a consolidation offer instead.
- For SBA and bank loans, tax returns that do not match IRS transcripts, a missing debt schedule or an out-of-date personal financial statement add rounds of follow-up questions.
Banks see the same thing from their side. In the FDIC survey, the complexity of the loan or the borrower lengthened review at 91% of banks, unusual financial characteristics at 89% and complex collateral at 86%, and 70% said an application from a startup takes longer.
What speeds it up
- Send a complete file the first time, which for revenue-based financing means four full months of business bank statements as PDFs from your bank's website.
- Connect your bank account read-only when you apply, so the funder reads the same transactions without waiting for a download.
- Decide in advance what daily or weekly payment the business can carry, so choosing an offer takes minutes instead of a day.
- Keep your phone on after you sign and answer the verification call, or call back as soon as you see it.
- Apply well before the date you need the money, especially for SBA or real estate loans and ahead of a busy season, a supplier deadline or a long weekend.
That last point does the most work. Owners who line up funding during a quiet stretch have the money ready when the work arrives, which is the idea behind not waiting for busy season. The FDIC survey points the same way for banks, where a good prior loan relationship shortened review at 73% of banks.
How applying through us works, and how long each step takes
Applying through Today Capital Group starts with one short application and your last four months of business bank statements, uploaded or shared through a read-only bank connection. Getting matched does not need a hard credit pull, because most funders prequalify from bank statements and a soft pull, and if the funder whose offer you choose runs a hard pull in final underwriting, you know before it happens. Your file goes to the funders in our network that fit your business, offers come back side by side, and we go through every line of the one you are considering with you before you sign. There is nothing to pay to apply or to see offers, and no obligation to take one.
Each product follows the timeline in the table above. For SBA and bank loans, we tell you which documents your request needs, help you assemble them and keep the file moving through underwriting. Our post on what happens from application to funded walks through each step from your side, and how to get a business loan covers choosing the right product before you apply.
The funders we work with generally look for about a year in business and about $20,000 a month in deposits, and files that sit comfortably in that range tend to move fastest. If you're not there yet, apply anyway. Some funders work with newer or smaller businesses, and we'll tell you what's realistic.
Have your last four months of business bank statements ready and start your application, or call (818) 351-0225 to tell us the date you need the money and hear which options can meet it.
Questions about business loan timelines
How long does it take to get approved for a business loan?
Approval time depends on the product, with revenue-based financing offers often coming back the same day on a complete file, line of credit offers often within a day and equipment financing offers typically in one to two business days. Banks take longer, and the FDIC's survey found that three-quarters of banks approve the typical small business loan in two weeks or less and that very large or complex loans can take four to six weeks.
How long does it take to get an SBA loan?
From a complete file, an SBA loan commonly funds in four to eight weeks, sometimes faster through SBA Express, whose lenders make the credit decision themselves, and sometimes longer for 504 loans, business acquisitions or complicated files. When a loan goes to the SBA for review the agency lists its own turnaround as 5 to 10 business days for a standard 7(a) loan and 2 to 10 business days for a 7(a) Small loan.
How fast can I get a merchant cash advance?
Most applicants who come through us are funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer, and some the same day, because the funder decides on four months of business bank statements rather than tax returns and collateral. The fastest results come from sending complete statements with the application, choosing an offer early in the day, signing and taking the funder's verification call right away.
How quickly can you get a business loan?
The quickest realistic outcome is money the same business day, which happens with revenue-based financing and some lines of credit when the file is complete early and the contract is signed and verified before the funder's bank cutoff on a business day. SBA, bank and commercial real estate loans take weeks however quickly you apply.
How long does underwriting take?
For revenue-based financing, underwriting a complete file often takes hours, since the funder reads deposits, balances and existing payments from your bank statements. Bank underwriting usually takes days to a couple of weeks for an ordinary loan and SBA underwriting takes longer because it covers tax returns, a personal financial statement, a debt schedule and, for some loans, an SBA review of up to 10 business days.
