What must this food truck prove before seeking financing?
Illustrative case · One owner-operated bowl-menu food truck; five three-hour private-site service windows per week · Seattle, Washington; King County regulatory case
Explore this business · Financing options
The illustrative request funds $153,010 uses with $63,010 equity and $90,000 debt. Fixed 10.0% over 84 monthly payments gives $1,494 per month. No lender offered these terms. Vehicle/site/commissary evidence and a response to weak Year 1 coverage and downside cash are needed.
Observed SBA industry evidence
Lending activity in the broader category
NAICS 722330 covers food trucks and mobile food across formats and sizes. It does not isolate this case: One owner-operated bowl-menu food truck; five three-hour private-site service windows per week. Loan records do not establish local demand, costs or operating performance.
These are positive-amount loan records selected by approval fiscal year and PIF, CHGOFF or EXEMPT status at the stated snapshot. They are not unique firms, search volumes, approval probabilities or loans disbursed during that year.
Read this industry’s amounts, terms, lenders and outcomes.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA files, snapshot 30 June 2026. Recomputed from original records on 1 October 2026. FY2025 is the most recent complete fiscal year in these files. Definitions and exclusions.
Which route fits these uses?
| Item | Amount | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capitalized truck/kitchen, smallwares and POS | $100,129 | Scope, condition, tax/freight quotes |
| Opening expenses | $7,656 | Training/approval/payroll task budget |
| Prepaids, deposit and stock | $1,105 + $500 + $1,800 | Dates, terms and purchasing plan |
| Available opening cash | $41,820 | Monthly reserve test; includes unspent contingency |
| Total uses | $153,010 | Complete opening schedule |
| Owner equity | $63,010 | Documented source/contribution |
| Loan assumption | $90,000 | Lender terms and draws |
SBA 7(a) can support eligible equipment and working capital under lender/SBA requirements. Truck purchase and seasonal reserve remain distinct uses. Price origination/guarantee fees and timing before calling the opening schedule final.
Microloans have a $50,000 maximum, below this entire debt source. A smaller project needs its own budget. 504 excludes working capital/inventory and has long-lived-equipment criteria; seven-year used-truck life does not establish a qualifying 504 structure. Vehicle finance may have different collateral/payment terms.
How should SBA medians be read?
Broad NAICS 722330 has 224, 268 and 233 qualifying records in approval FY2023/2024/2025. FY2025 7(a) has 231 records, $50,000 median full approved amount and 120-month median term. Each median has 231 valid values. Two 504 observations have suppressed medians under minimum-25 policy.
The recent pool’s 445 startup/new labels include unopened startups and businesses up to two years old. Historical initial rates are not offers; 504 amounts are CDC/SBA share only. Approval FY/status selection is different from money disbursed in that year. Checked scope and Census definition constrain this evidence.
FY2012–FY2016 selected resolved subset is 50 CHGOFF out of 545 PIF plus CHGOFF records. EXEMPT and other statuses are excluded. This does not measure business-failure probability, applicant approval or dollars lost. Operational evidence must support the request.
What belongs in the lender folder?
| Document | Model connection | Current state |
|---|---|---|
| Owner experience/training, contribution proof and lender forms | Management, compliance and equity | Owner-specific information not supplied |
| VIN/condition report and complete installed quote | Price, asset life, collateral/layout | Starting-price comparisons only |
| Site permission, zoning review, restroom and booking terms | Executable route, fees/cancellations | No contracted sites |
| Commissary/storage/parking agreement | Food flow, capacity and overhead | Tariff only |
| State vehicle, county health and fire materials | Opening date and compliant operation | Processes researched; no approvals |
| Timed location/menu trial and weighed recipes | Demand, output and cost | Assumptions awaiting trials |
| Monthly linked forecast and quote register | Funding, reserve and repayment stress | Arithmetic checked; inputs provisional |
Use actual lender forms. The document guide organizes evidence and projection guide explains statement links. Neither supplies owner records or eligibility. A planning document cannot manufacture a contract or operator history.
What happens before closing and opening?
Agree vehicle scope/acceptance sequence before nonrefundable payments. L&I review lead time, county menu/operational materials and fire inspection conditions may move first revenue. Delivery is not permission to trade.
Tie draws to verified milestones and retain preopening payroll plus winter reserve. Confirm 2027 fees and address/vehicle taxes. Model funding occurs at month zero and first payment at month one; delays, deducted fees or interest-only terms need recalculation.
No entity, guarantor, collateral valuation, operator experience or lender equity percentage is supplied. Equity is the difference between uses and chosen loan amount; it is not an asserted SBA-required injection.
Which weakness needs resolution before more debt?
Year 1 EBITDA $6,806 versus payments $17,929 gives simple coverage 0.38x. This is not underwritten DSCR: taxes, other debts and lender adjustments may differ. Reserve supports the cash path without curing recurring coverage.
Downside loses tax-reserved liquidity in month 4. More debt without changing demand/costs adds payment pressure. Obtain trial evidence, reprice sites, improve schedule or reduce project scope, then rerun three scenarios with offered terms.
Vehicle reliability, cancellations, cold storage and output are linked. A financed truck still needs executable trading hours. Read the scope/reserve gaps with cash and profit. No approval, profitability or opening date is promised.
Sources and scope
- Food-truck illustrative case and planning method · Checked 2026-10-05 · Authored Seattle/King County January 2027 case; inputs.json, executed 60-month model and FINANCIAL_ASSUMPTIONS.md. Declared assumptions rather than observed averages.
- US Census: 2022 NAICS manual, 722330 · Checked 2026-10-04 · Inspected Mobile Food Services definition.
- Seattle Fire Department: mobile food preparation vehicle conditions, January 2026 · Checked 2026-10-04 · Inspected three-page conditions based on 2021 Seattle Fire Code.
- King County: mobile food service plan guide, April 2026 · Checked 2026-10-04 · Inspected seven-page guide: menu, floor plan, food flow, commissary and operating schedule.
- Washington L&I: food trucks and trailers · Checked 2026-10-04 · Official mobile-unit plans, inspection and insignia requirements.
- US SBA: 504 loans · Checked 2026-10-04 · Current program overview for long-lived fixed assets.
- US SBA: 7(a) loans · Checked 2026-10-04 · Current program overview for eligible business purposes.
- SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA: June 30 2026 official extracts · Checked 2026-10-04 · Hash-bound cached official data, independently reproduced for broad 722330; approval FY/status/program definitions and small-median suppression apply.
- US SBA: microloans · Checked 2026-10-04 · Current official program cap/term.