How Long Does a Business Loan Take? An Honest Timeline

“How long does a business loan take?” is the most common question we get on intro calls. The honest answer depends almost entirely on which type of loan you’re applying for.

Here’s the realistic timeline for each, based on a few hundred deals we close every year.

Working capital advance: 24–72 hours

Fastest money in commercial finance. The path:

• Day 0: You apply, send 3 months of bank statements.
• Day 0–1: Underwriter reviews bank statements and runs a soft credit pull.
• Day 1: You receive offers — typically 3 to 6 of them with different terms.
• Day 1–2: You pick one, sign contracts, complete a quick verification call.
• Day 2–3: Funds wire to your business account.

Anyone telling you a working capital advance “could take a week” is either disorganized or stalling. It shouldn’t.

Equipment financing: 2–7 days

Slightly slower because there’s a piece of equipment to verify and a vendor to coordinate with.

• Day 0–2: Apply, submit equipment quote and 3 months of bank statements.
• Day 2–4: Approval and term sheet.
• Day 4–7: Sign docs, coordinate with the vendor, equipment delivered.

If the equipment is sitting at the dealer ready to go, you can sometimes do this in 48 hours.

Business line of credit: 3–14 days

A line of credit takes a hair longer than a term loan because the underwriting is more thorough. Lenders are committing to ongoing access, not just a one-time advance.

• Days 0–3: Submit bank statements, sometimes a P&L.
• Days 3–7: Underwriter review, conditional approval.
• Days 7–14: Final docs, draw setup.

Once it’s set up, future draws hit your account same-day.

Conventional term loan: 7–30 days

Bank term loans require more paperwork — typically tax returns, P&L, balance sheet, debt schedule.

• Week 1: Apply, gather documents, soft credit.
• Week 1–2: Underwriting.
• Week 2–3: Approval, final terms.
• Week 3–4: Closing and funding.

If your tax returns show losses, expect another week of back-and-forth as the lender asks for explanations.

SBA loan: 30–90 days

This is the slowest path, and it doesn’t get faster regardless of how organized you are. The SBA has procedural steps that just take time.

• Weeks 1–3: Document gathering (the heaviest paperwork in commercial lending).
• Weeks 3–6: Lender underwriting.
• Weeks 6–10: SBA review and authorization.
• Weeks 10–13: Closing.

If anyone promises you an SBA loan in two weeks, they’re not being honest.

How to make any of these go faster

The single thing that compresses every timeline: have your bank statements ready before you apply. Most delays we see are waiting for documentation. Not underwriting. Not approval committees. Just waiting on a PDF.

Pull your last 3 months of business bank statements as PDFs before you fill out any application. That’s it. That alone moves most deals forward by 3–5 days.