Small business loans in Texas come from four places: banks and credit unions, SBA lenders, state-backed programs such as the Texas Small Business Credit Initiative, and non-bank funders that decide mainly on your deposits. A bank or SBA loan usually costs the least and takes weeks, while revenue-based financing from $5,000 to $2,000,000 is typically funded within one to two business days of choosing an offer. Today Capital Group works with Texas businesses. You send one application, it goes to the funders in our network, and offers come back side by side so we can go through them with you before anything is signed. Every funder sets its own rules, including where it works.
The SBA Office of Advocacy's 2026 Texas small business profile counts 3.5 million small businesses, which is 99.8% of the state's businesses, employing 5.1 million people, or 44.4% of Texas employees. The largest groups by count are professional services (429,794), construction (428,901) and transportation and warehousing (415,445). Texas also has rules of its own, including a 2025 law on merchant cash advances, a constitution that shields the family home from most debts and state deadlines on construction payments. Our guide on how to get a business loan covers the general steps, so this page sticks to what is different here.
Real options for small business loans in Texas
We arrange the options below, with an example of a Texas business each one tends to suit.
| Option | Amount | How fast | A Texas example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-based financing (a merchant cash advance) | $5,000 to $2,000,000 | Typically funded in one to two business days | A Midland service company covering crew payroll while an operator's invoice is out |
| Line of credit | Up to $2,000,000 | Offers in one to two business days | A Houston HVAC contractor stocking parts and adding technicians before summer |
| Equipment financing | Up to $500,000 | Offers typically in one to two business days | A Laredo carrier adding a truck and trailer |
| SBA-equivalent and bank loans through partners | Up to $5,000,000 | Weeks | A Fort Worth machine shop buying out a partner |
| Commercial equity loan or line | Based on the equity in the property | Commonly weeks, because of the appraisal | An Austin contractor who owns its yard and shop building |
Revenue-based financing is future sales paid for in advance, sized on your usual revenue and repaid with a set daily or weekly payment. If you already carry advances, consolidation has a new funder pay your existing funders directly and leaves one weekly or monthly payment on a longer term, although the total may not go down. The SBA profile shows that in 2024, banks reporting under the Community Reinvestment Act issued $9.2 billion in new loans to Texas businesses with revenues of $1 million or less, and if your file suits a bank, that money usually costs the least.
Texas law sets some of the timing in construction. Small firms hold 70.9% of construction jobs in the state. Under Property Code chapter 28, an owner has until the 35th day after a written payment request to pay the contractor, and under chapter 53, on work where a mechanic's lien may be claimed, the owner must reserve 10% of the contract price until 30 days after the work is done. Crews and materials get paid long before that last 10% arrives. Our guide to construction financing covers how contractors handle draws and retainage.
Collateral is the other Texas difference. Article XVI, Section 50 of the Texas Constitution protects a homestead from forced sale for all debts except a short list, such as its purchase money, its taxes and home equity loans that meet strict rules, and an ordinary business debt is not on that list. Our commercial equity loans are secured by commercial property the owner holds. If your shop sits on land you claim as your homestead, ask your attorney how that applies.
What Texas law says about a merchant cash advance
A merchant cash advance in Texas falls under House Bill 700, which added Finance Code chapter 398 and took effect on September 1, 2025. The statute calls the product commercial sales-based financing and covers money repaid as a percentage of sales or through a fixed payment with a reconciliation process. It applies to providers serving Texas businesses online, with or without a physical presence in the state, and exempts banks, credit unions, leases and deals secured by real property. The Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner (OCCC) enforces it under rules that took effect on July 9, 2026. This section is general information about the law, not legal advice.
What the disclosure must show
On a specific offer under $1 million, the provider must give you a written disclosure at or before the time it makes the offer, and must get your signature on it before the application is finalized. These are the items an owner will use most:
- It states the total amount of the financing and the disbursement amount, which is what reaches you or is paid on your behalf.
- It states the finance charge, which is the cost in dollars, and the total repayment amount.
- It estimates how long your payments will take to reach that total, and gives the amount and frequency of each payment.
- It describes all other potential fees, including draw, late and returned payment fees.
- It names any finance charge or added fee you would owe if you pay off or refinance early.
- It describes any collateral requirements or security interests.
If a new advance requires paying off an existing one, the disclosure must also show how much of the new money goes to prepayment charges and unpaid finance charges. Every figure must match the specific offer, a provider that finds an error must promptly correct it, and the contract must carry a notice naming the OCCC as the place to complain, at (800) 538-1579.
The limit on automatic debits
A provider may not set up automatic debits from your deposit account unless it holds a perfected, first-priority security interest, which the OCCC rule reads as first priority on all of your accounts receivable. A debit counts as automatic if it is authorized in advance to occur more than once or on a recurring basis, and handing over more than one prewritten check counts as the same kind of mechanism. Priority generally follows the time of filing or perfection, usually through a UCC-1 financing statement. Ask how the set payment will be collected and which lien supports it, especially if a bank or an earlier funder already has a filing against your receivables.
Confessions of judgment and cost
A contract with a confession of judgment, a clause that lets the other side enter a judgment against you without a lawsuit, or any similar provision is void and unenforceable under Section 398.055. The law does not cap cost, since state regulators may not set a maximum rate, finance charge or fee for these deals, so comparing offers in dollars still matters. The chapter creates no private right to sue under it, which makes the OCCC your route for a complaint.
Before you sign, ask to see the disclosure for each offer, the OCCC notice in the contract and the lien behind any automatic debit. Our walk through a merchant cash advance contract covers the rest of the pages in order, and we set each offer's numbers side by side with you.
Example: a Permian Basin service company waiting 60 days to get paid
Small employers hold 48.6% of the jobs in Texas mining, quarrying and oil and gas, according to the SBA profile, and service companies in that field bill operators after the work is done. The figures below are an example only, not a quote or the terms of any funder.
Say a roustabout and lease-service company in Midland runs two crews and takes in about $180,000 a month, or about $41,500 a week, from operators on net-60 terms. An operator offers a contract for a third crew at $65,000 a month. The new crew costs about $10,000 a week in payroll, fuel and insurance, and the first check on the contract is about 12 weeks away (a month of work, then 60 days). That leaves a $120,000 gap. If the company takes a $120,000 advance at a factor rate of 1.30, it repays $156,000 in total through 40 set weekly payments of $3,900, so the money costs $36,000. Assuming no fees are withheld, a Texas disclosure for that offer would read like this.
| Item on the Texas disclosure | Example |
|---|---|
| Total amount of the financing | $120,000 |
| Disbursement amount | $120,000 |
| Finance charge | $36,000 |
| Total repayment amount | $156,000 |
| Estimated period for payments to reach the total | 40 weeks |
| Payment amount and frequency | $3,900 weekly |
For the first 12 weeks, the $3,900 comes out of deposits from the two existing crews, at about 9% of their $41,500 a week. After that, the contract earns about $21,700 a month before overhead ($65,000 in billings minus about $43,300 in crew costs), against about $16,900 a month in payments. The $36,000 is the price of starting the crew now. A line of credit could cover the same wait, drawn as payroll comes due and paid down when the operator pays.
Texas adds one protection for this trade. Under Property Code chapter 56, a mineral contractor or subcontractor has a lien to secure payment for labor or services on a well or pipeline, if the claimant files an affidavit with the county clerk within six months after the debt accrues. That helps if an operator stops paying, though an ordinary net-60 cycle runs the same either way.
How SBA loans work for Texas owners
This part is information, since Today Capital Group does not place SBA loans. A 7(a) loan is the SBA's primary business loan, made by a private lender with an SBA guarantee, up to $5 million. A 504 loan is long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, originated by a Certified Development Company with a senior lender. Our guide to SBA loan requirements covers eligibility and paperwork. Texas has six SBA district offices, and each can connect you with lenders and partners in its area.
| SBA district office | Where it is | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas / Fort Worth | Euless | 72 counties in northeastern Texas |
| Houston | Houston | 32 counties in southeastern Texas |
| San Antonio | San Antonio | 55 counties in south central Texas |
| Lower Rio Grande Valley | Harlingen | 14 counties in southern Texas |
| El Paso | El Paso | Nine counties in western Texas |
| West Texas | Lubbock | 71 counties, including Midland and Ector |
Through our partners we offer SBA-equivalent loans, which are long-term loans with monthly payments where the partner sets the terms. They sit outside the SBA program, so they can even pay off advances. Plan on weeks, because the file usually needs tax returns, a personal financial statement and a debt schedule.
Free help and state programs in Texas
We do not place anything in this section, and each program has its own lender and rules. Texas has four Small Business Development Center networks. The University of Houston's Gulf Coast network runs 14 centers across 32 counties and lists Spanish-language webinars. The South-West network, hosted by UT San Antonio, covers 79 counties, with field centers in cities such as Austin, El Paso and Laredo. The North Texas network is funded in part through Dallas College, and the Northwest network covers 95 counties, with centers in Lubbock, Amarillo and the Permian Basin. The SBA says it and its partners offer free or low-cost counseling, and its local assistance page finds help by ZIP code.
The state's main loan program is the Texas Small Business Credit Initiative, run by the Governor's Economic Development and Tourism Office with more than $472 million allocated by the U.S. Treasury. You apply through a participating bank, credit union or community development lender, so ask yours whether it takes part. The Capital Access Program enrolls loans of $5,000 to $5 million, and the Loan Guarantee Program covers up to 80% of unpaid principal on loans of $5,000 to $20 million. Borrowers must be for-profit with fewer than 500 employees, and either domiciled in Texas or have at least 51% of their employees there.
At the city level, Austin's Family Business Loan Program partners with HUD and private lenders on low-interest loans for small businesses that are expanding and creating jobs.
How to apply from Texas
Steps 1, 2 and 5 are specific to Texas, and our list of business loan requirements covers the documents for each product.
- Look up your entity in the Comptroller's franchise tax account status search. If you have a notice of intent to forfeit your right to transact business, resolve it before you apply.
- Check what is filed against your receivables on the Texas Secretary of State's UCC portal, since the order of those filings affects how a new funder can collect its payment.
- Gather your last four months of business bank statements as PDFs.
- Send one application, and upload the statements or email them to us. There is nothing to pay to apply or to see offers, and getting matched does not need a hard credit pull. A funder may run one in final underwriting, and you would know first.
- Read each Texas disclosure next to the others before you sign, and call us at (818) 351-0225 with any line you want explained.
The funders we work with generally look for about a year in business and about $20,000 a month in deposits. If you're not there yet, apply anyway. Some funders work with newer or smaller businesses, and we'll tell you what's realistic. Our list of the easiest business loans to get ranks the options if your file is thin.
Questions about small business loans in Texas
What does Texas law require on a merchant cash advance?
Texas regulates merchant cash advances as commercial sales-based financing under Finance Code chapter 398, which requires a written disclosure on offers under $1 million, voids confessions of judgment, limits automatic debits and sets no cap on cost. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does Texas have a state small business loan program?
Yes. The Texas Small Business Credit Initiative backs loans made by participating banks, credit unions and community development lenders. You apply through the lender, and Today Capital Group does not place these loans.
Can a lender take my Texas homestead for a business loan?
Article XVI, Section 50 of the Texas Constitution protects a homestead from forced sale for all debts except a short list, and an ordinary business debt is not on it. A lender may ask for other collateral or a personal guarantee, so ask your attorney how the rules apply to your property.
Where can a Texas owner get free help with a business loan?
Start with one of the four Small Business Development Center networks, based around Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Lubbock, or with one of the six SBA district offices. The SBA says it and its partners offer free or low-cost counseling.
