Glossary
Business debt schedule
A list of every debt the business owes, with lender, original amount, current balance, payment, rate, maturity and collateral. Lenders ask for it on nearly every application, and an incomplete one causes real problems.
Business debt schedule: A list of every debt the business owes, with lender, original amount, current balance, payment, rate, maturity and collateral. Lenders ask for it on nearly every application, and an incomplete one causes real problems.
Why it matters
The debt schedule feeds straight into the coverage calculation. Every payment on it is divided into your cash flow, so the schedule effectively decides whether you qualify.
It is also a credibility document. Lenders verify it — against your credit report, your bank statements and public lien filings — and anything you left off will surface.
What belongs on it
- Term loans, equipment loans and vehicle loans
- Lines of credit — both the limit and the current drawn balance
- Business credit cards carrying a balance
- Merchant cash advances and any daily or weekly debit facility
- Capital leases, and operating leases where the lender asks
- Loans from owners or related parties, including any on standby
- SBA loans already outstanding
For each: lender, original amount, current balance, monthly payment, rate, maturity date, collateral, and whether it is personally guaranteed.
Use it on yourself first
Built honestly, a debt schedule is the most useful single page of management information most small businesses do not have.
- Total the monthly payments. That figure is what your cash flow actually carries.
- Identify the highest-cost debt. That is the refinancing candidate.
- Find anything maturing within twelve months, which is a refinancing obligation you may not have diarized.
- Spot any debt whose payment is large relative to its balance — usually a short-term or daily-debit product that is consuming coverage.