SBA lenders approved 280 7(a) loans to wood kitchen cabinet and countertop manufacturers between October 2023 and June 2026, $158,362,400 from 109 lenders. The median loan was $228,000, above the national $150,300, at a median rate of 10%, just under the national 10.25%. 40% of loans were SBA Express. Acquisitions were 15.4% of loans, against 10.4% nationally, at a median of $834,000. Lenders focus on customer mix, how deposits and progress payments are handled, equipment value, and exposure to new-home construction and remodeling cycles.
| Measure | Wood Kitchen Cabinet and Countertop Manufacturing | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 280 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $228,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $100,000 – $500,000 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 17.1% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.13% – 11.25% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 43 (15.4%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $834,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 109 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 34 | 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
- 280 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026), from 109 lenders
- Median loan
- $228,000 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10% (national 10.25%)
- SBA Express
- 40% of loans
- Acquisitions
- 43 loans (15.4%), median $834,000 at 9.5%
- SBA 504
- 34 loans, median $999,500
Who the shop sells to decides how a lender reads it
Wood kitchen cabinet and countertop manufacturing (NAICS 337110) covers custom and semi-custom cabinet shops, makers of vanities and built-ins, and fabricators of countertops in wood, laminate, stone and solid surface. Most sell a product that is designed, built and installed for one kitchen at a time. Two shops with the same revenue can carry very different risk, because the customer on the other end of the order changes how and when the shop gets paid.
| Customer | How the shop is paid | What the lender watches |
|---|---|---|
| Homebuilders | On delivery or installation, on the builder's payment terms | Concentration in a few builders; slow pay when home sales slow |
| Remodelers and contractors | Deposit, then balance at install, sometimes on contractor terms | Aging of contractor balances; the remodeling cycle |
| Homeowners directly | A large deposit at order, the balance at install | Deposits held for work not yet built |
| Dealers and showrooms | Wholesale terms | Margin; the dealer's own health |
| Commercial and multifamily projects | Progress billing, often with retainage held back | Retainage, change orders, and the general contractor's credit |
Homeowner deposits deserve a note. A shop that takes half the job up front has cash in the bank that belongs to kitchens it has not built. Lenders treat those deposits as a liability, not as the shop's money, and look at whether the shop has been using this year's deposits to finish last year's jobs. A schedule of deposits held against jobs in progress answers the question directly.
Customer deposits are owed work. A lender nets them out before it counts the cash.
The figures, against the national picture
| Figure | Cabinet and countertop makers | National |
|---|---|---|
| Lenders approving loans | 109 | |
| Median loan | $228,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $100,000 to $500,000 | |
| 90th percentile | $1,602,450 | |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 48 (17.1%) | |
| Median rate | 10% (middle half 9.13% to 11.25%) | 10.25% |
| Fixed-rate share | 12.9% | |
| Start-ups | 9.6% of loans | |
| Franchises | 5% of loans | |
| SBA Express | 40% of loans | |
| Acquisitions | 43 (15.4%), median $834,000 at 9.5% | 10.4% of loans |
Two things stand out. The first is breadth: 109 lenders approved loans here, so a cabinet shop is not an unusual borrower to an SBA lender. The second is how much of the lending is SBA Express, 40% of loans. Express goes up to $500,000 with a 50% guaranty and suits the requests these shops make often: a CNC router, an edgebander, a finishing booth, a delivery truck or working capital ahead of a large builder job. See SBA 7(a) versus SBA Express.
Franchises were 5% of loans, likely cabinet refacing, closet or countertop concepts. The brand must be eligible under SBA's franchise rules, and lenders take royalties and marketing fees off revenue before counting what is left for debt service.
Cabinet shops and countertop shops are different businesses
The code puts them together, and many companies do both, but a lender sees two different sets of assets and risks.
- Cabinet shops run on sheet goods, hardware and finishing. The equipment, CNC routers, panel saws, edgebanders, spray booths, appraises reasonably well if it is standard. Inventory is mostly raw material and work built for one customer, which a lender values lightly.
- Countertop fabricators buy slabs, which are costly inventory with some resale value, and cut them on bridge saws, waterjets and CNC stone centers. Templating and installation crews are a large part of the cost. Fabricators cutting engineered stone also face questions about silica dust exposure, dust controls and any worker claims, which insurers and buyers raise and lenders read as a liability risk.
- Both depend on installers, often subcontracted, and on the owner or a lead designer who measures, draws and sells the job.
Equipment can be financed under 7(a) for up to 10 years, or 15 if its useful life supports it, or separately with an equipment loan. An appraisal at orderly liquidation value shows what the lender will credit. See equipment appraisals and machinery and equipment in asset-based lending.
34 SBA 504 loans went to these shops, at a median of $999,500, the largest median on the page. Shops need floor space, dust collection and power, and many prefer to own the building. A 504 is typically 50% bank, 40% CDC and 10% borrower, and for manufacturers the CDC's share goes up to $5.5 million. The shop must occupy at least 51% of an existing building. See SBA 7(a) versus 504.
The housing cycle in the numbers a lender reads
Cabinet and countertop demand follows new-home construction and remodeling, and both move with interest rates and home sales. A lender reading 2–3 years of tax returns is partly asking how the shop behaved in its weakest recent year. A shop that sells mostly to one or two builders can see its revenue fall quickly when those builders slow down; a shop with a spread of remodelers, homeowners and dealers usually bends rather than breaks.
A worked example of the question: a shop earning 1,300 a year against loan payments of 1,000 meets SBA's 1.15x minimum. If its largest builder is a third of revenue and that builder cuts orders in half, the lender wants to know what is left. The answer comes from sales by customer, backlog by customer, and what the shop did the last time a large account slowed. See customer concentration and debt and debt service coverage.
The median rate, 10%, sits just below national, with the middle half of rates from 9.13% to 11.25%. Loans above $350,000 fall under SBA's tightest variable-rate cap, the base rate plus 3%. See SBA loan rates.
Buying a cabinet or countertop shop
43 loans, 15.4% of the total, financed a change of ownership, at a median of $834,000 and a median rate of 9.5%. The acquisition median is more than three and a half times the industry's overall median: these are purchases of working shops with equipment, crews and order books.
- Valuation. Where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, SBA requires an independent valuation and the purchase loan cannot exceed it. Equipment appraisals reduce the amount the rule applies to.
- Deposits and jobs in progress at closing. The buyer inherits kitchens the seller has been paid for but not built. The purchase agreement has to settle who funds that work. See working capital at close and the working capital peg.
- The designer and the builder relationships. The seller may consult for up to 12 months, or up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026, but may not stay as an owner, officer or employee. Lenders want builder accounts introduced and the estimating handed over within that time.
- From 1 October 2026, every change of ownership needs financial due diligence and 1.25x coverage on historical results, and amortizes over no more than 10 years except for the real estate share.
Preparing a cabinet or countertop shop's SBA file
The SBA list comes first: 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. For a cabinet or countertop shop, add:
- Sales by customer and by channel, builders, remodelers, homeowners, dealers, commercial, for the last two full years
- A job list with contract values, deposits received and expected completion
- Backlog by customer
- An AR aging by customer, with any retainage shown separately
- An equipment list with make, model, year and any liens or leases
- For a purchase, the letter of intent and the target's latest full year of figures, never an older year
For working capital beside the term loan, see lines of credit for manufacturers. Related industries: finish carpentry contractors, residential remodelers, cut stone fabricators and other wood product makers. Once the documents are in, Transparent builds the full lender package in a day; on SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower.
Common questions
- What is a typical SBA loan for a cabinet or countertop shop?
- The median 7(a) loan from October 2023 to June 2026 was $228,000, with the middle half between $100,000 and $500,000. The median rate was 10%.
- How do lenders treat customer deposits in a cabinet shop?
- As a liability. Deposits are payment for kitchens not yet built, so lenders net them out of cash and look at a schedule of deposits against jobs in progress.
- Can I buy a cabinet shop with an SBA loan?
- Yes. 15.4% of loans in this industry financed a purchase, at a median of $834,000. Expect at least 10% equity, an independent valuation in most cases, and a plan for jobs already paid for but not yet built.
- Is SBA Express common for cabinet shops?
- Yes: 40% of loans were Express. It goes up to $500,000 with a 50% guaranty and suits equipment, trucks and working capital.
- Can a cabinet shop use SBA 504 to buy its building?
- Yes. 34 504 loans went to these shops at a median of $999,500. For manufacturers the CDC's share goes up to $5.5 million, and the shop must occupy at least 51% of an existing building.