Glossary · Reading the business
Hard Inquiries
In short
A credit check performed when you apply for new credit, like a loan or credit card. These can temporarily lower your credit score.
What it means in a deal
When you apply for an SBA loan, the lender performs a Hard Inquiry on your personal credit. These stay on your Credit Report for two years and can slightly impact your FICO score. Limit unnecessary applications for other credit during your business acquisition process to keep your score optimal for the loan.
Official sources
SOP 50 10 — Lender and Development Company Loan Programs
U.S. Small Business Administration · SBA Standard Operating Procedure
Last checked 2026-06-15. Official sources control — verify before relying on any rule for a live deal.
Related terms
Common questions about Hard Inquiries
- Does having many recent credit inquiries on my personal report affect SBA 7(a) loan approval chances?
- Does having many recent credit inquiries on my personal credit report affect SBA 7(a) loan approval chances?
- If the acquired business has minimal hard assets, how does the SBA ensure adequate collateral?
- What happens if my business has very few hard assets to offer as loan collateral?
- If the business has no hard assets, what kind of collateral will an SBA 7(a) loan require?
- What constitutes sufficient collateral when a 7(a) loan is primarily for working capital with few hard assets?
Defined by CapBench SBA Intelligence — plain-English definitions for business buyers, lenders, advisors, and AI agents, grounded in public SBA rules and records. Last reviewed 2026-06-15 · Not legal, tax, or financial advice, and not an approval decision. Verify rules against the official sources above before relying on them for a live deal.
Pressure-test the numbers before you make an offer
Send us the asking price and the seller's cash flow — we'll show whether the deal services SBA debt and where the add-backs are likely to hold up.
Free · No documents · Usually same-day
Backed by data on 1,000+ SBA lenders and 300,000+ funded deals. Your details go only to lending partners you ask to be matched with — never sold to advertisers.