SBA lenders approved 2,740 7(a) loans to landscaping services between October 2023 and June 2026, about $840 million from 387 lenders. The median loan was $100,000 at a median rate of 10.5%, against 10.25% nationally, and 48.3% went through SBA Express. Acquisitions were 11.8% of loans, above the national 10.4%, at a median of $500,000 and 9.5%. Lenders focus on how much revenue comes from recurring maintenance contracts, how the business carries itself through the off-season, the condition of its fleet, and whether it can staff its crews.
| Measure | Landscaping Services | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 2,740 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $100,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $44,225 – $297,000 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 8% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.5% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.5% – 11.49% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 323 (11.8%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $500,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 387 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 150 | 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
- 2,740 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $100,000 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.5% (national 10.25%)
- Acquisitions
- 323 loans (11.8%), median $500,000
- SBA Express share
- 48.3% of loans
- Fixed-rate share
- 16.4%
What SBA lenders approved for landscapers
Landscaping services (NAICS 561730) covers lawn care and grounds maintenance, landscape installation, and tree and shrub care. In colder states many landscapers also plow snow with the same crews and trucks, and that revenue shows up on the same returns. From FY2024 through June 2026, 387 lenders approved 2,740 7(a) loans worth $840,179,500. Most were small: the median was $100,000 and nearly half went through SBA Express, which goes up to $500,000 with a 50% guaranty. But the range is wide, from $44,225 at the bottom quarter to $819,100 at the 90th percentile, and 219 loans, 8%, were $1 million or more.
| Figure | Landscaping services | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Loans and dollars | 2,740 loans, $840,179,500 | A broad, well-served industry |
| Median loan | $100,000 | Trucks, mowers, trailers and working capital |
| Middle half | $44,225 to $297,000 | Mowers, trailers and working capital at the low end; fleets and larger purchases toward the top |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 219 (8%) | Acquisitions of established contract books |
| Median rate | 10.5% (middle half 9.5% to 11.49%) | A little above the national 10.25%, reflecting small loan sizes |
| Fixed-rate share | 16.4% | Most loans float |
| Start-ups | 7.9% of loans | Lenders strongly prefer an operating history |
| Acquisitions | 323 loans (11.8%), median $500,000 at 9.5% | Five times the industry's median loan |
| SBA 504 | 150 loans, median $492,000 | Yards, shops and nurseries |
Start-ups were only 7.9% of loans, a smaller share than among residential remodelers or most restaurant categories. Starting a mowing route takes little capital, so most new landscapers never need an SBA loan, and those that borrow later have a few seasons of tax returns to show.
Not all landscaping revenue is the same to a lender
The first thing an underwriter wants to know is where the revenue comes from, because the three main streams behave differently.
| Revenue stream | How it behaves | How a lender reads it |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance contracts | Recurring, season after season, often with property managers, associations and commercial owners | The most valuable revenue: renewal history is evidence the cash flow will continue |
| Installation and design-build | Project-based, higher margin, tied to construction and consumer spending | Real but less predictable; a lender discounts a year inflated by one large project |
| Snow and ice removal | Weather-dependent; seasonal contracts or per-event billing | Helps cover winter payroll, but a mild winter can erase it |
| Residential mowing routes | Recurring but easily cancelled; many small customers | Stable in aggregate if churn is low; hard to verify without route records |
A company that can show most of its revenue under maintenance agreements that renew each year looks, to a lender, much closer to a service business with recurring customers than to a contractor. That is also what buyers pay for. Customer concentration still matters: a maintenance book with one property manager behind a large share of revenue is a single relationship. See customer concentration in an acquisition.
Seasonality, crews and fleet
The twelve-payment year. An SBA loan is repaid monthly, but a landscaper's cash arrives mostly from spring through fall. Lenders test coverage on annual cash flow (SBA requires at least 1.15x, and 1.0x globally including the owners) and then look at the cash low point, usually late winter, when crews are being rehired and equipment readied before revenue restarts. A worked example: cash flow of 360 for the year covers loan payments of 240 comfortably, but if 300 of that cash arrives between April and November, the business must hold enough in reserve to make four winter payments of 20 each on top of its own off-season costs. A seasonal line of credit, or working capital built into the loan, is how that gap is usually closed. See seasonal lines of credit and SBA CAPLines.
Crews. Labor is the constraint on growth in this trade. Many companies rely on seasonal workers, and some on the H-2B temporary visa program, which is capped and oversubscribed. A lender will ask how the business staffed its last few seasons and what happens if it cannot. A company whose revenue depends on a visa allocation it may not receive carries a risk the lender will weigh.
Fleet. Trucks, trailers, mowers and skid steers are the main assets. Commercial mowers wear out quickly, so they add little lasting collateral value; loaders, skid steers and trucks hold value better. SBA allows equipment maturities up to 10 years, or 15 if useful life supports it, but a careful lender will not stretch a mower loan past the mower's life. See equipment financing vs SBA 7(a).
A landscaper's off-season is not a problem for a lender; an off-season the owner has not planned for is.
Buying a landscaping company
Buyers were active: 323 loans, 11.8% of the industry's total, financed a change of ownership, at a median of $500,000, five times the industry's median loan, and a median rate of 9.5%. What they are buying is usually the maintenance book: the contracts, the route density and the crews that service them. Landscaping has also drawn larger consolidators buying regional companies, so SBA-financed individual buyers often compete with them for the better businesses.
Lenders financing the purchase look hard at whether the contracts survive the sale. Many maintenance agreements can be cancelled on short notice, and commercial clients may have relationships with the seller personally. A contract list with renewal history, and evidence the account managers and crew leaders stay, carries weight. The seller may consult for up to 12 months after a complete change of ownership, or up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026, which helps move those relationships. See SBA seller transition.
SBA's standard acquisition rules apply: at least 10% equity; a seller note counting for up to half of it only on full standby for the life of the loan; no earnout; and an independent valuation where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000. From 1 October 2026, a change of ownership must show 1.25x coverage on historical results, with financial due diligence on every purchase. See financing a landscaping company acquisition.
Preparing a landscaping company's file
Begin with SBA's list: 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 notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more. Then add what a landscaping lender will ask for:
- Revenue split by maintenance, installation and snow, for each year shown
- A customer list for maintenance contracts, with annual value and how long each client has renewed
- Monthly revenue for the last two years, so the lender can see the seasonal curve and the winter low point
- An equipment and vehicle list with year, condition and any existing liens
- How crews were staffed in recent seasons, including any reliance on seasonal visas
Landscapers who have covered spring start-up costs with merchant cash advances should know SBA will not refinance an active advance; 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 landscapers.
Transparent builds the full lender package — financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo — in a day once the documents are in, and takes it to the 278 lenders in its book that write SBA 7(a) and 504, including those comfortable with seasonal cash flow. On SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower. See the package.
Common questions
- Can a landscaping company get an SBA loan?
- Yes, readily. SBA lenders approved 2,740 7(a) loans to landscaping services from October 2023 to June 2026, from 387 lenders. The median loan was $100,000 at a median rate of 10.5%, and 48.3% were SBA Express loans.
- How do lenders handle the winter months?
- They test coverage on a full year's cash flow and then check the late-winter cash low point. A business that shows how it carried payments through past winters, or has a seasonal line or reserve, answers the question. Snow removal revenue helps but is weather-dependent.
- What makes a landscaping company worth financing to a buyer's lender?
- Recurring maintenance contracts with a renewal history, crews and account managers who stay after the sale, limited customer concentration, and a fleet in working condition. Acquisitions financed with SBA loans had a median of $500,000 at a median rate of 9.5%.
- Should I finance mowers and trucks inside an SBA loan?
- It can make sense when you are also borrowing for working capital or an acquisition. SBA allows equipment maturities up to 10 years, or 15 where useful life supports it, but lenders match the term to how long the equipment lasts. A standalone equipment loan is often simpler for a single truck.
- Do I need to have been in business a while?
- Usually. Start-ups were only 7.9% of SBA loans to landscapers. Lenders prefer a few seasons of tax returns showing the business covers its costs through a full year.