SBA lenders approved 128 7(a) loans to office administrative services firms from October 2023 through June 2026, $69,377,800 from 48 lenders. The median loan was $200,000, above the national $150,300, and 12.5% of loans were $1 million or more. The median rate was 10.5% against 10.25% nationally. Acquisitions were 4.7% of loans, at a median of $621,750, and there were 11 SBA 504 loans. Many borrowers are management companies serving affiliated businesses, so lenders size the loan on the combined group and read the management agreements closely.
| Measure | Office Administrative Services | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 128 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $200,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $58,750 – $453,750 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 12.5% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.5% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.75% – 11.5% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 6 (4.7%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $621,750 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 48 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 11 | 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
- 128 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026), from 48 lenders
- Median loan
- $200,000 (national $150,300)
- Loans of $1 million or more
- 16 (12.5%)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.5% (national 10.25%)
- Acquisitions
- 6 loans (4.7%), median $621,750
- SBA 504
- 11 loans, median $582,000
What the code holds, and what its figures show
Office administrative services (NAICS 561110) covers companies that provide a range of day-to-day office administration to other businesses under contract: billing, bookkeeping, staffing of front and back office, purchasing, IT coordination and facilities, handled as a bundle rather than one service. In practice the code holds two kinds of company. One is an independent firm that sells administration to unrelated clients. The other, and often the larger borrower, is a management company that runs the administration for businesses its owners also control: medical and dental groups, franchise operators with several units, family groups with several operating companies.
| Figure | Office administrative services | Read against the national figures |
|---|---|---|
| Loans / total / lenders | 128 / $69,377,800 / 48 | Larger dollars than the loan count suggests |
| Median loan | $200,000 | Above the national $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $58,750 to $453,750 | A wide range: small service firms and group-level borrowings |
| 90th percentile | $1,480,220 | A long top end |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 16 (12.5%) | One loan in eight: borrowing at group scale |
| Median rate (middle half) | 10.5% (9.75% to 11.5%) | Close to the national 10.25% |
| Fixed-rate share | 7% | Almost all variable |
| Median term | 120 months | Ten years |
| SBA Express | 31.3% | About a third; larger requests go through standard 7(a) |
| Start-ups / franchises | 7.8% / 4.7% | Established businesses, mostly |
| Acquisitions | 6 loans (4.7%), median $621,750 at 9.88% | Below the national 10.4% share |
| SBA 504 | 11 loans, median $582,000 | Owner-occupied real estate or long-life equipment |
The median loan supported 5 jobs, and the share of loans of $1 million or more is several times what it is in HR consulting or building inspection. Both fit the management-company pattern: the borrower employs the administrative staff for a larger group, and borrows at the scale of that group.
Affiliated management companies: the lender underwrites the group
When a management company earns its revenue from businesses under common ownership, the management fee is a transfer inside the group, not income from the market. A lender will not size a loan on it alone, because the owners set the fee and can change it. Instead the lender looks through to the businesses paying the fee and underwrites the combined cash flow.
SBA's own rules push the same way. Under the affiliation rules, businesses under common control are counted together for size and eligibility, and the lender will usually require the affiliated operating companies to join the loan as co-borrowers or guarantors, alongside the personal guarantee SBA requires from every owner of 20% or more. See joint and several borrowers. Debt service coverage of at least 1.15x is tested on the business, and 1.0x globally once the owners are included; in a group, that global test includes every entity the owners control.
| Structure | Where the revenue comes from | What the lender underwrites |
|---|---|---|
| Management company for affiliated practices or units | Fees from businesses the same owners control | The combined group, with affiliates as co-borrowers or guarantors |
| Management company for unaffiliated licensed practices | Fees under long-term management agreements | The agreements' term, termination rights and fee basis, and the practices' own health |
| Independent outsourced back-office firm | Contracts with unrelated clients | Client concentration, contract terms and staff retention |
| Holding company that owns the building | Rent from the operating companies | The operating companies' ability to pay rent; see eligible passive companies |
Management agreements are the collateral that matters
Where the management company serves licensed professionals it does not own, such as physicians or dentists, the management agreement is the business. Many states limit how a company owned by non-licensed people may control or be paid by a licensed practice, so a lender will want the agreement reviewed and will read how the fee is set, how long the term runs, and what lets either side walk away. A long agreement that a practice can end on short notice is short in substance.
Independent firms serving unrelated clients raise more ordinary questions: how many clients, how long they have stayed, and what share of revenue the largest one provides. Administrative contracts are sticky while the service is good, because switching is painful for the client, but a firm whose largest client provides a large share of revenue is one decision away from a different business. See customer concentration and debt.
In a management company, read the management agreement before the financial statements. It decides whether the revenue is real.
Buildings and 504
Eleven SBA 504 loans went to this code, at a median of $582,000. A management company is often the natural owner of the office its group occupies. SBA 504 finances owner-occupied real estate, typically 50% from a bank, 40% from the CDC and 10% from the borrower, and the business must occupy at least 51% of an existing building or 60% of new construction. Where the real estate sits in a separate holding company that leases to the operating companies, it can borrow as an eligible passive company, with the operating company joining the loan. See propco-opco structures and SBA 7(a) vs 504.
Buying a management or administrative services company
Six loans financed a change of ownership, 4.7% of the code's total against 10.4% nationally, at a median of $621,750 and a median rate of 9.88%. Buying a management company means buying its contracts. If those contracts are with businesses the seller also owns and is keeping, the lender will ask what stops the seller from moving the work elsewhere after closing; a long-term agreement with consent from the affiliated businesses is the usual answer. If the buyer is acquiring the management company and the operating businesses together, the lender underwrites them as one acquisition.
The SBA rules for a change of ownership apply in full: at least 10% of total project costs as equity, a seller note counted toward it only on full standby for the life of the loan, no earnout, and an independent business valuation where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000. The seller 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 financial due diligence is required on every change of ownership, and 1.25x coverage on historical results. Where the seller keeps part of the business, see partial changes of ownership.
Preparing the file
The SBA checklist is the base: 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. A management company should add:
- An ownership chart of every entity the owners control, with percentages
- Tax returns and financial statements for each affiliated business, not only the borrower
- Every management or services agreement, with fee terms, term and termination rights
- Revenue by client, separating affiliated from unaffiliated
- Any intercompany loans, and the leases between the group's entities
A group file stalls when the lender keeps finding another entity it needs statements for, so list every one at the start. Transparent builds the full lender package — financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo — in a day once the documents are in, with the group laid out for the lender, and takes it to SBA lenders in its book, where 278 write SBA 7(a) and 504. On SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower.
Common questions
- Can a management company get an SBA loan on its management fees?
- Yes, but if the fees come from businesses the same owners control, the lender underwrites the whole group, not the fee. Expect the affiliated businesses to guarantee or co-borrow, and to provide their own tax returns and statements.
- Why are SBA loans in this code larger than average?
- Because many borrowers borrow for a group. The median loan was $200,000 against $150,300 nationally, and 12.5% of loans were $1 million or more, several times the share in trades like HR consulting or building inspection.
- Can a management company use SBA 504 to buy its office?
- Yes: 11 504 loans went to this code, at a median of $582,000. The business must occupy at least 51% of an existing building. If a separate holding company owns the building, it can borrow as an eligible passive company, with the operating business joining the loan.
- What does a lender look for in a management agreement?
- Its term, how either side can end it, how the fee is calculated, and whether it complies with state rules where the client is a licensed practice. A short termination right makes a long agreement short in the lender's eyes.