SBA lenders approved 635 7(a) loans to flooring contractors between October 2023 and June 2026, about $187 million from 140 lenders. The loans are small: a median of $112,500 against $150,300 nationally, and 51.7% went through SBA Express. The median rate was 10.5%, a little above the national 10.25%. Acquisitions made up 9.8% of loans, close to the national 10.4%, at a median of $554,000. What decides a flooring loan is the customer mix and whether the books show a margin that survives material costs.
| Measure | Flooring Contractors | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 635 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $112,500 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 – $250,000 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 6.6% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.5% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.5% – 12% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 62 (9.8%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $554,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 140 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 24 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved
- 635 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $112,500 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.5% (national 10.25%)
- SBA Express share
- 51.7% of loans
- Acquisitions
- 62 loans (9.8%), median $554,000
- Franchise share
- 10.4% of loans
What the SBA figures show for flooring
Flooring contractors (NAICS 238330) install carpet, hardwood, vinyl, laminate, resilient and other floor coverings, in new construction and in existing homes and buildings. From FY2024 through June 2026, 140 lenders approved 635 SBA 7(a) loans to them, worth $187,424,700. The median loan supported 4 jobs: an owner, a small crew or a few subcontracted installers, and often someone running estimates or a counter.
| Figure | Flooring contractors | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Median loan | $112,500 | Below the national $150,300: vans, tools, working capital |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 to $250,000 | A quarter of loans were $50,000 or less |
| 90th percentile | $552,500 | About the size of the median acquisition loan |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 42 (6.6%) | About one loan in fifteen |
| Median rate | 10.5% (middle half 9.5% to 12%) | Small loans carry higher SBA rate caps |
| Fixed-rate share | 14% | Most loans float with the base rate |
| Median term | 120 months | Ten years: working capital, goodwill and equipment |
| Start-ups / franchises | 12.1% / 10.4% | Roughly one loan in eight to a new business |
| SBA 504 | 24 loans, median $432,500 | Owner-occupied buildings and long-life equipment |
The spread between the middle half and the top tenth is the story. Most flooring loans are operating loans to installers: vans, tools and working capital. The median acquisition loan, $554,000, sits right at the 90th percentile, so purchases of whole companies account for a good part of the large end.
Three flooring businesses, three different credits
Flooring is one NAICS code, but an underwriter sees at least three different businesses in it, and the same revenue means something different in each.
| Business model | Where the cash comes from | What the lender worries about |
|---|---|---|
| Installer for builders and general contractors | Progress billings on new homes or commercial jobs, often on long payment terms | Concentration in a few builders, slow pay, retainage held back until the job closes, exposure to housing starts |
| Showroom that sells and installs | Homeowner deposits at sale, balance on completion | Inventory and samples on the balance sheet, a retail lease, deposits used as working capital |
| Commercial flooring contractor | Bid work for offices, schools, healthcare and multifamily | Bonding capacity, bid margins, change orders, prevailing-wage compliance on public jobs |
The builder installer is the one lenders scrutinize hardest for concentration. A flooring sub that does most of its volume for two or three production builders is effectively a supplier to those builders, and its cash flow moves with their closings. A lender will ask for revenue by customer and look at receivables by age, because builders that slow their payments in a soft market push the strain straight onto the sub. See how customer concentration affects borrowing.
The showroom looks more like a retailer. It carries inventory, rolls of carpet, samples and displays, and it takes deposits from homeowners before ordering material. Those deposits are money owed in work, not free cash, and a lender reads a strong bank balance with that in mind. Showrooms also sign leases, so a buyer or borrower will need a lease that runs long enough to support the loan. See SBA loans for floor covering retailers, the retail side of the same industry.
The commercial contractor is judged on its bid discipline. Lenders look at gross margin by job and whether it holds steady; a contractor that wins work by underbidding shows rising sales and falling margin, a pattern lenders read as a warning. On public work, surety bonding and certified payroll add requirements the file should address up front.
Why half the loans are SBA Express, and what that means for rate
SBA Express loans go up to $500,000 with a 50% guaranty, and the lender decides on its own credit process. For a flooring contractor borrowing 100,000 for two vans and a cushion of working capital, that is usually the simplest route, and 51.7% of loans in this industry took it. The half guaranty means the lender keeps more of the risk than on a standard 7(a), which carries 85% on loans of $150,000 or less and 75% above, so Express lenders lean hard on personal credit, time in business and clean filed returns. See SBA 7(a) vs SBA Express.
Size also sets the rate. SBA caps variable 7(a) rates at the base rate plus 6.5% for loans of $50,000 or less, plus 6% from $50,001 to $250,000, plus 4.5% from $250,001 to $350,000, and plus 3% above $350,000. With a median of $112,500 and a quarter of loans at $50,000 or less, most flooring loans sit in the two tiers with the highest caps, which is part of why the median rate of 10.5% sits above the national 10.25% and the middle half reaches 12%. Acquisition loans, far larger, priced at a median of 9.5%. See the SBA maximum interest rate.
On a small flooring loan, the size of the request can move the rate as much as the strength of the business.
Franchises and start-ups
Franchises accounted for 10.4% of flooring loans and start-ups for 12.1%. The two are linked: a franchise gives a lender a system to underwrite when the borrower has no history of its own, including a territory, a supply arrangement and a playbook for generating leads. The lender will still review the franchise agreement for SBA eligibility and will want to see that the franchisee, not the franchisor, controls the business.
A start-up needs an equity injection of at least 10% of total project costs, and in practice the lender's comfort comes from the owner's installing or management history. An owner who ran crews for another flooring company for years is a different credit from a first-time owner buying into a franchise. The owner's resume supports SBA Form 1919's management experience, and it is worth writing properly. See SBA Form 1919.
Buying a flooring company
Sixty-two loans, 9.8% of the industry's total, financed a change of ownership, close to the national 10.4%. The median was $554,000, nearly five times the industry's median loan, at a median rate of 9.5%. What is being bought is usually a set of relationships: builder accounts, general contractors who call the company first, a showroom's local reputation, and installers who stay.
Those relationships are the diligence. A buyer should know how much revenue comes from each builder, whether any of it is under contract or simply habit, and whether the installers are employees or independent crews who could follow the seller out the door. The standard SBA rules apply: at least 10% equity for a complete change of ownership; a seller note counting toward up to half of it only if it is on full standby for the life of the loan; no earnout to the seller; and an independent business valuation where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000. See financing a flooring company acquisition and seller notes and SBA's standby rule.
The seller's transition matters because builder relationships are personal. The seller may not stay on as an owner, officer or employee, but may consult for up to 12 months, or up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026. From that date a change of ownership must also show 1.25x debt service coverage on historical results, and financial due diligence is required on every one. See SBA seller transition.
Preparing a flooring contractor's SBA file
The standard SBA list applies: business tax returns for 2–3 years, a P&L and balance sheet with a year-to-date P&L through last month-end, a debt schedule with copies of any notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more, each of whom personally guarantees the loan. For flooring, add:
- Revenue by customer for the last full year, so the lender sees builder concentration before it asks
- An accounts receivable aging, with any retainage shown separately
- Gross margin by job type, showing material and installation costs separately
- Statements from the main material suppliers, which show whether the business pays on terms
- How installers are paid: employees, subcontractors with their own insurance, or both
- Quotes for any vans, equipment or showroom build-out being financed
Cash flow is then tested against SBA's minimum of 1.15x debt service coverage, and 1.0x globally once the owners' personal obligations are included. See global cash flow. A flooring contractor that has used merchant cash advances to carry material purchases will need to address them first: SBA will not refinance an active advance, and from 1 October 2026 an advance becomes eligible only once converted to a term loan that has amortized for at least 24 months with no new advance since. See refinancing cash advances for contractors. If the real need is to fund material between billing and payment, a line may fit better; see lines of credit for contractors.
Transparent builds the lender package — financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo — in a day once the documents are in, and takes it to the lenders in its book that write SBA 7(a) and 504, 278 of them. On SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower.
Common questions
- How big is a typical SBA loan for a flooring contractor?
- Smaller than average. The median 7(a) loan to flooring contractors from October 2023 to June 2026 was $112,500 against $150,300 nationally, the middle half ran from $50,000 to $250,000, and only 6.6% of loans were $1 million or more.
- Does it matter that most of my work comes from two or three builders?
- Yes. Lenders treat heavy builder concentration as a risk to cash flow, because a builder that slows its closings or its payments takes your revenue with it. It does not rule out a loan, but the lender will want revenue by customer, a receivables aging and some sense of how long each relationship has run.
- Why is my rate higher than the SBA average?
- Mostly because of loan size. SBA allows base plus 6.5% up to $50,000 and base plus 6% from $50,001 to $250,000, against base plus 3% above $350,000. The flooring median of 10.5% reflects how many loans sit in the smaller tiers.
- Can I buy a flooring company with an SBA loan?
- Yes: 62 loans in the period financed one, at a median of $554,000 and a median rate of 9.5%. Expect at least 10% equity, a seller note that counts toward equity only on full standby for the life of the loan, no earnout, and close questions about which builder relationships will survive the sale.
- Do flooring franchises get SBA loans?
- They do: 10.4% of flooring loans went to franchises. The lender reviews the franchise agreement for eligibility, and the system's track record helps a borrower without a history of its own.