Business Loan Application Template
Three documents and three sheets that build your debt service coverage ratio with every number traced to its source.
Free download · No account needed
Financial Summary
Thistledown Coffee Roasters LLC. Raw financials, translated into the format a lender reads.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Revenue, trailing 12 months | $1,240,000 |
| Net income | $48,000 |
| Cash available for debt service | $102,100 |
| Total annual debt service | $70,520 |
| Debt service coverage ratio | 1.45 |
Debt Service Coverage Calculation
| Step | Item | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Net income | $48,000 |
| 2 | Add back interest | $18,200 |
| 3 | Add back depreciation | $31,800 |
| 4 | Add back amortization | $4,100 |
| 5 | Cash available for debt service | $102,100 |
| 9 | Total debt service, existing plus proposed | $70,520 |
| 10 | Ratio, line 5 ÷ line 9 | 1.45 |
Every addback traces to a source line, the P&L or the fixed asset schedule, so the ratio is not a single unexplained total.
Document Checklist
| Document | Status |
|---|---|
| Business tax returns, last 3 years | Have |
| Business bank statements, 12 months | Have |
| Existing debt schedule | Have |
| Personal financial statement | Requested |
| Equipment quotes | Have |
A free loan application template is usually a fill-in-the-blank cover letter and a list of documents to attach. It says nothing about the one number a lender's underwriter is going to calculate anyway. It does not show that number's math either, which means the applicant hands over raw tax returns and waits to find out what the underwriter actually builds from them, often weeks after the file was first submitted.
Thistledown Coffee Roasters, invented for this pack, is a wholesale coffee roaster requesting $220,000 for a packaging line, a delivery van, and the installation work both require. The debt service coverage ratio comes from net income plus interest, depreciation and amortization added back, divided by existing debt service plus the new loan's own payment: $102,100 over $70,520, or 1.45. SBA's own guidance frames the underlying test the same simple way, a ratio of 1 or greater demonstrates repayment ability, and most lenders underwrite to a cushion above that floor, commonly cited around 1.25.
Every addback in Thistledown's ratio traces to a named source line, the profit and loss statement or the fixed asset schedule, rather than arriving as one unexplained total. Pair this with the owner pay and distribution pack if owner compensation itself needs its own defensible number first. The business banking and payment setup pack covers the underlying accounts, if a lender's own statement request would not otherwise find them clean.
What's in the pack
Loan Narrative
Who is asking, for what, and why now, written for a reader who has not yet seen the financial detail behind the request.
Use of Funds
Every dollar of the request broken out to a dated, named quote, so nothing arrives as a round number with no source.
Repayment Rationale
The debt service coverage ratio explained line by line, and why a lender's own underwriter would build the same figure.
Document Checklist sheet
What a lender will ask for, tracked against what is actually in hand, so a stalled request is visible before it becomes a delay.
Financial Summary sheet
Raw financials translated into the format a lender reads, revenue through net income, addbacks, and the ratio itself.
Debt Service Coverage Calculation sheet
The ratio's own math, each line traced to the specific document and figure it came from, not presented as a single total.
How it works
- 1
Open in River, or download it
Take the blank Word and CSV files with no account, or install the pack in River and hand it your own financials and debt schedule.
- 2
Translate your financials into the lender's format
Revenue through net income, then the addbacks a lender expects to see separated out, land on the Financial Summary sheet.
- 3
Build the ratio and trace every line
Cash available for debt service, divided by existing plus proposed debt service, with each number pointing at its source document.
- 4
Write the narrative around the number
The Loan Narrative and Use of Funds explain the request; the Repayment Rationale explains why the ratio holds up on review.
Frequently asked questions
Is this template free?
Yes. Three documents and three sheets download as Word and CSV files with no signup and no credit card. Edit with AI is the optional path where the agent builds the ratio from your own financials and debt schedule. The rest of the library is at the template index.
What format are the downloaded files?
Word documents (.docx) for the Loan Narrative, Use of Funds and Repayment Rationale, and CSV (.csv) for the Document Checklist, Financial Summary and Debt Service Coverage Calculation. They open natively in Word, Pages, Google Docs, Excel, Numbers and Sheets.
What debt service coverage ratio do I actually need?
There is no single universal number; it depends on the lender and the loan program. A ratio at or above 1.0 demonstrates basic repayment ability, but most lenders underwrite to a real cushion above that, commonly cited around 1.25, and specific requirements vary by institution.
Why add back interest, depreciation and amortization to net income?
Because none of the three represent cash actually leaving the business to make a debt payment. Depreciation and amortization are non-cash, and interest is itself part of what the debt service figure on the other side of the ratio already accounts for.
Does a lower ratio mean I won't get approved?
Not necessarily. Collateral, the strength of the relationship, and other factors also weigh into a lender's decision. It does mean the file is more likely to draw a follow-up question, which this pack cannot resolve, only make less likely by showing the math clearly.
Can this replace a loan broker or my accountant?
No. It assembles the application package and the ratio it is built on; matching the request to the right lender or program, and any tax treatment of the loan itself, are separate services this pack does not provide.
Build the number your lender is going to calculate anyway
Download the blank pack as Word and CSV files, or open it in River and have it build your own ratio from your financials.
Edit with AI