Begin with what the Austin business needs
Write down whether the money will purchase an owner-used building, acquire equipment, fit out leased premises or cover operating cash. Those uses may require different terms, security and repayment schedules. Austin’s business-starting hub is a useful place to identify local support and project questions, but it is not a commercial loan offer. Keep the operating business, property owner and any other borrower entities identifiable in the planning worksheet. The calculator models the principal and fixed repayment assumptions entered; it does not select a loan program or establish a borrower’s eligibility. Current city business-starting resources ↗
Put this into my plan ↗Use business coaching before treating a forecast as income
The city describes BizAid orientation and links business coaching, with completion of the orientation required before coaching services. Use the appropriate support to challenge the sales, operating-cost and opening-timetable assumptions behind the financing plan. A projection is different from collected income, and an operating business may have uneven receipts even when the annual total looks adequate. Keep the base and slower-growth cases alongside the proposed debt payments. MITEY’s numerical workspace does not audit accounts, verify demand or replace a business adviser’s review of the actual plan. City orientation and coaching process ↗
Put this into my plan ↗Confirm the current local financing route
Austin’s resource pages identify funding options alongside business support. Obtain the program administrator’s current application route, available funding, geographic scope and written conditions before entering an expected benefit. A resource listing or an older flyer does not reserve capital, and a business microloan is not automatically financing for an entire building purchase. Keep the ordinary financing case while the actual proposal is being established. A MITEY enquiry does not imply that MITEY administers a city program or has a lending arrangement with a listed organization. City funding-resource directory ↗ Current business-resource hub ↗
Put this into my plan ↗Separate institution funding from your loan price
Texas’s Small Business Credit Initiative describes programs operated through participating financial institutions. Its CDFI direct-lending terms concern capital supplied to institutions; they are not a borrower’s promised interest rate. Ask a participating lender about the actual business loan, use of proceeds, charges, security and repayment terms. Preserve the distinction between the state’s institution application process and a small business’s request for financing. No rate from a program-support description is copied into this example, and the tool does not decide enrollment, qualification or the availability of a guarantee. Texas initiative and institution-versus-business process ↗
Put this into my plan ↗Match SBA questions to the use of proceeds
The SBA 7(a) overview includes business uses such as real estate, equipment and working capital, with applications handled through lenders. The separate 504 overview focuses on major fixed assets and excludes working capital and investment in rental real estate. Ask the appropriate lender or Certified Development Company how the actual business and project fit the current rules. These overviews do not turn every Austin property investment into an eligible transaction. Retain the proposed funding components separately rather than assuming one programme finances every expense. SBA 7(a) overview ↗ SBA 504 scope and exclusions ↗
Put this into my plan ↗Resolve premises questions with the opening plan
The city’s startup guidance directs businesses to the relevant local and state permitting resources and describes a Development Process Team for high-level project questions. Establish which authority covers the proposed premises and whether the intended activity or improvements need further review. Obtain the applicable written requirements and use them to build the opening timetable. A lease, purchase contract or lender approval alone does not settle those questions. The calculator does not interpret zoning, issue a permit or certify a space as ready for the business to operate. City project-support and permitting starting point ↗
Put this into my plan ↗Carry the fit-out before the first sale
For a leased or purchased space needing work, separate contractor pricing, professional fees, equipment, deposits and cash needed while the business cannot yet trade. Record who pays each item and whether reimbursement depends on completion or another condition. The construction workspace illustrates an explicit entered draw schedule and monthly interest. It does not supply a contractor quote, permit timetable, cost-to-complete certificate or permanent-loan commitment. Keep a delayed-opening case and a contingency outside the preferred construction budget so the debt plan can be understood before forecast revenue begins.
Put this into my plan ↗Treat collections and working capital as timing questions
A sale does not always become cash when the expense is incurred. Put the actual collection terms, payroll, inventory purchases and other operating payments in a dated cash worksheet. If invoice finance or a factor is being considered, identify the amount advanced, fees and timing rather than describing every charge as an annual interest rate. The factoring workspace models entered transaction costs; it does not verify an invoice, establish recourse terms or confirm that a customer will pay. Keep that facility separate from the building mortgage and avoid counting the same receivable twice.
Put this into my plan ↗Compare occupying and owning on a business basis
Retain the proposed lease’s rent, recoveries, deposits, improvement responsibilities and renewal conditions beside the ownership alternative. For a purchase, add supported property charges, insurance, maintenance and capital needs to debt service. A commercial mortgage payment is not the entire cost of the space, and an owner-operated business’s sales are not automatically a property’s net operating income. Use the same period for the cash-flow and debt-service comparison. The tools do not value the business, negotiate a lease or supply tax treatment for either ownership structure.
Put this into my plan ↗Read amortization and maturity as separate dates
The example payment amortizes principal over one period while the loan comes due earlier. Regular payments can therefore leave a material balance at maturity. Ask the lender about the actual maturity, any interest-only period, extra-payment restrictions and the conditions of a proposed extension. The commercial workspace displays the modeled remaining balance rather than assuming that another loan will be available. Keep fees, covenants, reserves and any variable-rate reset in the written term sheet because this fixed-rate illustration does not model those obligations automatically.
Put this into my plan ↗Test the debt against a slower operating case
Recalculate with a supported lower-income case and a realistic operating-cost allowance, then compare annual cash available with annual debt service over the same period. Add capital expenditure and other debt payments in the broader worksheet instead of treating a single ratio as the whole credit decision. Keep an explicit plan for the maturity balance and opening liquidity. The model does not decide lender covenant compliance, confirm future refinancing or prescribe how much uncertainty the business can accept. Retain the documents that explain every material assumption.
Put this into my plan ↗Start the Austin financing conversation with MITEY
Describe the business purpose, approximate funding need, project stage and timing through the optional enquiry when you want help with the next step. You choose separately whether calculator figures are shared. Any provider introduction requires confirmed availability and your permission; an enquiry does not become a credit application or authorize circulation to several firms. Keep personal street addresses, bank statements, tax returns, identity documents and customer records out of the message. Begin with the borrowing question, leaving sensitive due-diligence documents for an appropriate secure process.
Put this into my plan ↗