













                                   SBA LOAN PLANNER
                            Version 2.5 - November 1, 1992
                                   Copyright   1992
                                   Ward Harrington
                        Small Business Loan Information Center
                                     Suite E3422
                                 601 Van Ness Avenue
                               San Francisco, CA 94102

          This version of the SBA LOAN PLANNER is distributed as Shareware. 
          This means that you are free to use the program for no charge in
          order to decide whether or not it meets your needs.  If you elect
          to use the program on a routine basis, then you are required to
          obtain a registered copy by paying a fee.

          License is granted to the user of a registered copy of the 
          program and its documentation (the Materials) to use the 
          Materials and reports generated thereby an unlimited number of
          times for an unlimited period of time, and to make an unlimited
          number of copies of the Materials for the use of the user and
          others, provided that the user may not incorporate any of the
          Materials into a larger work, that the user may not alter the
          Materials when distributing copies of them to others (this
          provision includes the requirement to place this copyright notice
          on all distributed copies of the Materials), that the user, when
          distributing copies of the Materials to others, charge dis-
          tributees no more than $5.00 for magnetic media and $15.00 for
          documentation, and that the user and distributees accept dis-
          tribution of the Materials as without warranty for any purpose. 
          All rights not specifically granted by the foregoing are
          reserved.

          To get a registered copy of the latest version of the software
          (and a printed manual) send $20.00 to Ward Harrington, SBLIC,
          Suite E3422, 601 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102.

          Neither Ward Harrington nor the Small Business Loan Information
          Center is an employee, agent or affiliate of any governmental
          organization.
           































          INTRODUCTION  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   1
               What kind of loans are we talking about here?  . . . . .   1
               Where to get More Information on SBA Programs  . . . . .   2
               Calculating Maturities By Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3

          SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5

          QUICK START . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6

          INSTALLING THE PROGRAM  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
               USING SETUP  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
               THE WELCOME SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11

          USING THE PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
               Screen 1:  Company Name  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
               Screen 2:  Use of Funds  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
               Screen 3:  Use of Funds (continued)  . . . . . . . . . .  15
               Screen 4:  Repayment Period  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16

          REPORTS: VIEWED AND PRINTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
               Understanding the SUMMARY REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
               Understanding the PRINTED REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . .  21

          RECONFIGURATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24

          OTHER HIDDEN COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
               PRINTER Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
               VIDEO Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30

          TECHNICAL SUPPORT and SUGGESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31

          Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32


























          INTRODUCTION

          Many bankers (not to mention business people) are put off by the
          fact that it is difficult to ascertain the repayment terms of SBA
          loans when they are in the planning stage of putting a financing
          plan together.  There are rules of thumb, ways of making educated
          guesses, and simple rounded-off illustrations, but the answer to
          the question "how many dollars each month is this option going to
          cost" requires considerable knowledge of the program, and no
          small amount of calculation.

          Under the SBA program, the maturity, or period to repay, of a
          loan is governed by how the borrowed funds are used.  Funds used
          for purchase of inventory and general working capital usually
          must be repaid in 7 years or less.  Funds used for purchase of
          capital equipment and real estate may be structured over a longer
          period.  Most businesses borrow to finance a variety of needs;
          under the SBA program, this means that the percentage of funds
          used for a variety of purposes must be factored into a weighted
          average in order to determine whether the monthly payment must be
          calculated on a maturity of 5, 10 or 25 years, or any number of
          years in between.

          Further, the SBA regulations allow a higher interest rate for
          loans with maturities of 7 years or more.  In some cases, it is
          better to limit the loan to less than 7 years, while in others it
          is better to accept the higher payment that results from a longer
          maturity.  In order to make a proper choice, you need to be able
          to calculate the longest maturity available, as well as monthly
          payments for different maturities under the maximum limit.

          The SBA LOAN PLANNER will tell you the maximum possible maturity
          for any particular financing scenario, and it will then let you
          calculate payment options based on the maximum maturity as well
          as any shorter periods you specify.  It will let you view and
          print the results of as many "what if" scenarios as you may care
          to set up, so that you will be able to make a well informed
          decision about structuring a business financing package that
          includes an SBA loan.

          Because Government program requirements change from time to time,
          the SBA LOAN PLANNER lets you reconfigure the way it makes cal-
          culations.  It will also print your name, telephone number and
          message (as well as the date and time) on its printed reports.

          What kind of loans are we talking about here?

          The Small Business Administration, a Federal agency established
          on a pilot basis in 1953 and later made permanent by Act of
          Congress in 1955, offers a large number of loan programs.  
          However, two loan programs account for almost all of SBA's
          lending activity.  They are the 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program and

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                1
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          the 504 program.  

          7(a) Guaranty Loans account for the lion's share of all SBA
          lending.  The SBA LOAN PLANNER calculates maturities, origination
          costs, and payment terms for 7(a) guaranty loans.  In the 7(a)
          program the SBA guarantees repayment of part of a loan that a
          lender (such as a bank, one of a few licensed non-bank Small
          Business Lending Companies or, in certain States such as Califor-
          nia and Michigan, Business & Industrial Development Corporations
          or BIDCOs) makes to a small business.  

          The SBA guaranty lets the lender give the business a much longer
          time to repay the loan: up to 7 years for working capital, up to
          10 years (sometimes more) for equipment, and up to 25 years for
          real estate purchase or improvement.  A loan made for a combina-
          tion of purposes (such as $10,000 to buy additional inventory,
          $25,000 to buy a delivery truck, and $50,000 to add space to the
          warehouse) gets a BLENDED MATURITY based on the amounts of the
          loan used for the different purposes (in the example just given,
          the blended maturity would be 9 years if the business leased the
          warehouse, and 13 years if it owned the warehouse).  

          The SBA has two different ways of calculating a blended maturity,
          the WEIGHTED AVERAGE method and the SUM OF PAYMENTS method. 
          These methods do not always give the same result, especially at
          higher interest rates.  In approving a particular guaranty, the
          SBA will usually (but is not required to) use the shorter of the
          two results.  The SBA LOAN PLANNER uses both methods, and will
          alert you when the Sum Of Payments Method indicates a shorter
          blended maturity than the Weighted Average method.

          Where to get More Information on SBA Programs

          Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations, published by the
          National Archives and Records Administration and available in
          most public libraries, is the definitive reference for SBA
          program information.  Business loan policy is set forth in Parts
          120 and 122.  Size standards (the definition of a "small" busi-
          ness, industry by industry) are in Part 121.  The regulations
          were rewritten and reorganized in 1986, so they are clear and
          easy to follow.

          The SBA Answer Line, a 24-hour automated information service, is
          just a toll free call away from any touch tone telephone.  Pre-
          recorded messages explain nearly every aspect of SBA's financial,
          management, and procurement assistance programs; the answers are
          consistent, usually clear, and available in the middle of the
          night (when most people do their planning).  The Answer Line will
          also give you the address and telephone number of the SBA office
          that handles program delivery in your area.

              To get the SBA Answer Line, dial toll free: 1-800-827-5722

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                2
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          The SBA also has an internal publication, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
          FOR FINANCING FUNCTION also known as S.O.P. 50-10-3.  Some SBA
          offices will let you review a copy, and larger public libraries
          also may be able to help you.  The material on establishing
          maturities is on pages 79 - 81.

          Calculating Maturities By Hand

          The SBA's rule (Page 81 of SOP 50-10-3) is:

               Where a portion of proceeds are for purposes with a
               shorter maturity, such as working capital, and a por-
               tion for purposes with a longer maturity, the loan will
               be amortized either on a weighted average basis or by
               calculating the sum of equal monthly payments based on
               the allowable maturities for each purpose.  Only one
               note will be required.

          In practice, the processing Loan Officer will usually look at the
          loan application (SBA Form 4) and segregate the itemization of
          uses for the loan funds into 3 columns: 7-year uses, 10-year uses
          and 25-year uses.  Each column is totalled, and, using a set of
          amortization tables or a financial calculator, the processor gets
          a monthly payment for each of the three columns as if each were a
          separate loan.  

          The three monthly payments get added together; that will be the
          required monthly payment.  The three totals get added together;
          that is the amount of the loan.  The processor then uses a set of
          amortization tables or the financial calculator to match the
          monthly payment and loan amount to a particular term.  The
          processor will then make final adjustments (for refinancing funds
          and discretionary adjustments - the processor is not REQUIRED to
          approve the maximum possible maturity for each loan, and is
          sometimes encouraged NOT to), backs up to the last whole year,
          and records the monthly payment.

          One mathematical oddity about this process is that the "answer"
          will vary depending on what interest rate you use; you will get a
          shorter maturity at 20% interest than you will at 5%.  Using a
          weighted average avoids this, but the weighted average "answer"
          won't always correspond with the sum of payments "answer."

          In the real world, of course, things are even less easy.  Let's
          say that the Acme Sheetmetal Company has a chance to buy its
          warehouse from the landlord for $250,000.  It also needs a new
          truck which will cost $25,000 and it has the chance to buy some
          10-gauge galvanized sheet at a favorable price and figures that
          $25,000 worth would be a good buy.  That is a total financing
          need of $300,000.

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                3
                                                                          3















          Acme's financial wizard, not having been born yesterday, under-
          stands that there a lot of options available to finance this
          $300,000 opportunity.  The company can assume the existing
          $100,000 loan on the warehouse (which has a known monthly pay-
          ment) and get a new loan of $150,000 from a bank )on a 20 year
          basis with a 5 year call for two points and Prime + 3), or it can
          finance the whole $250,000 at the same 20-year amortization with
          a 5-year call for four points at Prime + 3.  The dealer will
          finance the truck for 3 years at 6% fixed.  The Bank will finance
          the new sheetmetal on a line of credit, but the banker mentioned
          at least five times that the line would absolutely have to be
          rested (have a zero balance) for at least one month out of every
          12.  Or, Acme can finance all or any part of the package with an
          SBA loan.  All the financial wizard needs to do is to figure out
          the different combinations of alternatives, see what each will
          cost on a monthly basis, and decide which makes more sense for
          the business in view of its expected cash flow.  That's a lot of
          three-column figuring.

          Just to keep the wizard awake, the SBA will handle loans over
          $155,000 with a lower guaranty than loans under $155,000 (which
          makes a difference in the origination fee) and it has a different
          interest rate for loans that mature in over 7 years (one of the
          wizard's options is to do just the truck on an SBA loan - and he
          figured he'd look at 3, 5, 7 and 10 years for that).

          After I had done this kind of thing a few hundred times, I made a
          spreadsheet template to make the job easier.  A few years of
          refinement later, the template had so much "nested if" logic in
          it that it ran so slowly it was almost faster to go back to the
          old way, so I turned it into a free-standing program.  Thanks to
          the suggestions and observations of a great many people who used
          the earlier versions, I have kept making the program and the
          instructions easier to work with.  

          As it stands, the SBA LOAN PLANNER will run with reasonable speed
          on very modest equipment.  To get it to do that, I had to forego
          drop-down menus, exploding windows, sound effects and anything
          else that seemed to be less than absolutely essential (and that
          extends to checking your input before you enter it - yes, you can
          put words where you ought to put numbers and the program won't
          complain, and preventing you from zipping around the screen
          changing words just like you can do on many mainframe and credit
          report terminals).  

          The SBA LOAN PLANNER is designed to help you structure an SBA
          loan request as quickly and as easily as possible.  Any sugges-
          tions you have to push it farther along that path will be most
          welcome.

                                                            Ward Harrington

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                4
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          SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

          The SBA LOAN PLANNER is designed to run efficiently on modest
          equipment, although it will take full advantage of extra memory
          and numeric co-processors.  It automatically evaluates the system
          you are running it on, and it will configure itself to the
          processor(s), monitor, and memory in use.

          At the minimum, you will need:

          *    A computer capable of running software written for the IBM
               Personal Computer (or compatible),

          *    512 KB of main memory, with at least 400 KB available to the
               program,

          *    A monochrome or color monitor (the program automatically
               adjusts itself to the monitor you are using, and it will let
               you adjust colors on LCD and color monitors to suit your
               preference),

          *    DOS 2.1 or greater (MS-DOS, PC-DOS or DR-DOS or compatible)
               although MS-DOS 5.0 or DR-DOS 6.0 are recommended.  For
               network use, you should be using DOS 3.3 or greater.  

          *    At least one disk drive; a hard disk is not necessary.  You
               should be sure to copy the program to a blank floppy disk
               and work only with the copy.  

          *    Optionally, a printer.  The program is set up to use a
               generic printer on Parallel Port #1, but you can change this
               as you need to.

          The SBA LOAN PLANNER can be run from a 360-KB floppy disk, any
          larger floppy disk, or a hard disk.

















          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                5
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          QUICK START

          Are you familiar with DOS and your computer?  If so, this abbre-
          viated summary of how to install and use the SBA LOAN PLANNER may
          be all you need to get started.  If this section does not give
          you enough information, then just go to the next section, In-
          stalling the Program.  

          In either case, once you have successfully navigated around the
          program, be sure to at least skim the whole manual.  We have
          tried to incorporate many "hands on" suggestions from seasoned
          lenders to help you use the SBA LOAN PLANNER to structure better
          SBA loans.

          1.  Make a working copy of the program

               The SBA LOAN PLANNER will fit comfortably in 360 KB, so feel
               free to make your working copy on a floppy or a subdirectory
               on your hard disk.  The program is not copy-protected;
               please work from a copy and not your original files!

          2.  Check your environment

               Be sure that you are running DOS 2.1 or greater (3.2 or
               greater if on a network) and that you have at least 400 KB
               TPA (memory free after DOS and any device drivers and TSRs
               are running).  If you have decided to run the SBA LOAN PLAN-
               NER from a subdirectory on a hard disk, you should check to
               see that your CONFIG.SYS file contains the statement
               FILES=15 or more.

          3.  Start the program

               Log to your working copy and type PLAN to start the pro-
               gram.  For example, if your working copy is in Drive A, get
               an "A Prompt" by typing A: and pressing the Enter key, and
               then type PLAN and press Enter. An introductory screen will
               come up while the main program loads.  Once the loading
               process is finished,  the introductory screen will display
               the legend "Press any key to continue ..."

          Note!     You need to log to the drive or directory where the
                    program is located BEFORE typing PLAN.  Otherwise you
                    may get the error message "Cannot locate PLAN.EXE."  If
                    your working copy of PLAN.EXE (and PLAN.CFG) is in B:,
                    get the B: prompt first, then type PLAN and press
                    Enter.

          4.  Run SETUP  

               Pressing any key (the space bar is recommended) will take
               you to the WELCOME screen which will have a menu in its

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                6
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               upper left corner.  One of the choices is Setup; choose it
               by typing S.

               Replace the BUSINESS CARD information by typing, editing in
               the upper left corner of the screen, and pressing Enter.

               Accept (for now) the information in the MISCELLANEOUS sec-
               tion by pressing Enter.  Once you have accepted all of the
               suggestions, you will be returned to the WELCOME screen.

          5.  Take a "Test Drive"

               The SBA LOAN PLANNER, just like the SBA, wants to know
               exactly what you want to use the loan funds for, and how
               long you want to pay the loan back.  Just follow the prompts
               and menus; after 4 input screens, you will come to the
               RESULT SCREEN which lets you View or Print a report, Review
               your figures, or Quit.

          Note!          Before deciding to Print, be sure that your print-
                         er is on-line, selected, and ready to print one
                         page.  If you decide to print, but the printer
                         decides not to, the program will stall (once you
                         are accustomed to the program, you will want it to
                         stall sometimes, and this is the best way to ac-
                         complish that).  Press the Escape key, then Alt +
                         G (for GO) will usually re-start the program after
                         a stall.  Alt + X (for EXIT) will usually take you
                         back to the DOS prompt. 

          6.  Review your figures

               When you arrive at the RESULT SCREEN and choose View, Print,
               or Review, the program will perform your selection and
               return you to the RESULT SCREEN.  Once you have viewed or
               printed a report, choose REVIEW.  The program will take you,
               step by step, through the input sequence so that you will be
               able to "fine tune" your presentation.  You can re-review as
               often as you like.

          Note!          Reviewing does not take you back to the first
                         input screen, where you enter the borrower's name. 
                         If you want to start work on a completely new
                         loan, quit the program and start again.

          7.  Read the section of this manual on RECONFIGURATION

               Now that you know how to work the program, the RECONFIGURA-
               TION section will give you a good idea about how it works.




          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                7
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          INSTALLING THE PROGRAM

          If you used the QUICK START information in the previous section
          and had no problems or questions, you can probably skip this
          section.

          The SBA LOAN PLANNER is not copy-protected in any way, and it is
          composed of two files:  PLAN.EXE, the main program file, and
          PLAN.CFG, the file that holds your configuration information.  

          Make copies of the two program files onto a floppy disk or your
          hard disk.  As with all software, make another set of copies on
          another floppy disk, label the disk "SBA LOAN PLANNER BACKUP" and
          keep it in a safe place where you will be able to find it if
          something should happen to your working copy.  

          Every time you run the program, it will evaluate the system you
          are running it on and adjust itself to take maximum advantage of
          your system's resources.  If you upgrade your CPU, add a co-
          processor or add memory, you don't need to do anything to the SBA
          LOAN PLANNER.  You can use the same floppy on your desk machine
          and on your portable; the program will know the difference and
          adjust itself.

          There are some things the program can't do automatically because
          it doesn't know your preferences.  If you have a color monitor,
          you might want to change the colors the program uses.  If you
          want to use a printer connected to something besides your first
          parallel port, you will need to make a manual change.  And you
          will probably want to personalize the program's printed reports
          with your name, telephone number and other pertinent information.

          USING SETUP

          To customize your installation (and to learn how to use the
          program), take your working copy of the program and:

          Change to the drive or directory your working copy is in.  For
          example, if your working copy is on a floppy in Drive B:, type B:
          and press Enter.

          Start the program by typing PLAN and pressing Enter.  The program
          will display an opening screen and, after it has taken care of
          its start-up procedure, will wait for you to press any key to
          continue.

          Note!     You need to log to the drive or directory where the
                    program is located BEFORE typing PLAN.  Otherwise you
                    may get the error message "Cannot locate PLAN.EXE."  If
                    your working copy of PLAN.EXE (and PLAN.CFG) is in B:,
                    get the B: prompt first, then type PLAN and press
                    Enter.

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                8
                                                                          8














          Press any key (the space bar is always an excellent choice) and
          the program will display a WELCOME screen.  You can customize and
          configure ONLY when the WELCOME screen is displayed.  

          The WELCOME screen will display a menu in its upper left corner. 
          The Menu has 3 options:  Continue, Quit and Setup.  To choose an
          option from the menu, type its first letter ... to customize your
          working copy of the program, type S.  The SETUP screen will
          appear.

          The BUSINESS CARD section of the SETUP screen allows you to enter
          information that will be used to personalize the reports that are
          printed by the SBA LOAN PLANNER.  You will see a large pointer
          opposite the phrase Your Name.  Type your name as you want it to
          appear - your typing will be displayed in the upper left corner
          of the screen and you can edit what you type by using the cursor
          arrows, the Backspace key and the Delete key.  When you are
          satisfied with the way your name is typed, press Enter.

          This procedure: type, edit (if necessary) in the upper left
          corner of the screen, and press Enter, is how the program accepts
          all of the information you furnish.

          Once your name is entered, the pointer will move down to Message
          Line 1.  You can use this space for your telephone number,
          address, the name of your organization, or whatever you like. 
          Message Line 1 will be printed directly under your name on the
          printed reports.

          When Message Line 1 is entered, the pointer will move down to
          Message Line 2, which works exactly like Message Line 1.  The
          information you enter into Message Line 2 will appear directly
          below Message Line 1 on the printed reports.

          The MISCELLANEOUS section of the SETUP screen lets you enter
          information that is subject to frequent change.  There are four
          items which you can accept the displayed values for by pressing
          Enter, or you can change them by typing in a new value and then
          pressing Enter:

               PACKAGING FEE:  many small businesses pay attorneys, ac-
                    counts, lenders or other specialists to assemble the
                    documents and exhibits which the SBA requires in the
                    loan package.  You cam enter any fixed-dollar amount
                    (many SBA offices are very leery about situations under
                    which the borrower pays a representative a percentage
                    of the amount of the loan as a fee) from zero to what-
                    ever fits.  Note that the SBA is likely to require an
                    itemization of these fees if they amount to more than
                    $750, and it may require itemization in any case if
                    they exceed $300.


          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                                9
                                                                          9














               MISCELLANEOUS COSTS:  this is an allowance for various costs
                    such as lien searches, wire transfers and similar
                    expenses.  The program will use the amount you enter
                    here as a minimum; in no case will it report fees of
                    less than the amount you enter, although it may report
                    a higher amount.

               PRIME RATE:  most SBA Guaranty Loans are based on the Prime
                    rate of interest, and are expressed as a "spread" of so
                    many percentage points above Prime.  In order to calcu-
                    late monthly payment information, the SBA LOAN PLANNER
                    needs to know the current Prime rate; enter it the way
                    you see the sample on the screen (type 6.000 if the
                    Prime rate is 6%).

               RATE SPREAD:  this is used along with the Prime rate de-
                    scribed above to calculate monthly payment information. 
                    The program will use the spread entered here, or the
                    maximum spread allowed, whichever is lower, in its
                    calculations.  Enter the spread as you see the sample
                    on the screen: for a spread of 2  points above Prime,
                    type 2.750.

          Once your Rate Spread is entered, the program will save your old
          configuration information to disk in a file named PLAN.BAK.  It
          will then save your new configuration information to disk in a
          file named PLAN.CFG, after which it will take you back to the
          WELCOME screen. 

























          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               10
                                                                         10














          THE WELCOME SCREEN

          The Welcome Screen gives you a chance to choose one of three
          options from the menu in the upper left corner:  Continue, Quit
          or Setup.  It also lets you use certain hidden commands to recon-
          figure some of the rules the program uses to make calculations,
          to make personalized adjustments for the monitor you are using,
          or to choose a printer other than a "generic" printer connected
          to Parallel Port 1.

          To make a choice from the three-item menu, type the first letter
          of your choice.  Throughout the program, when you need to make a
          choice, a menu that works exactly like the menu here will be
          displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.

               CONTINUE will let you begin to enter information for a
                    particular financing scenario.  More information about
                    CONTINUE is in the following section titled DAILY USE
                    OF THE PROGRAM.

               QUIT will end the program.

               SETUP will let you personalize the program and enter guide-
                    lines for origination fees and interest rates.  More
                    information about SETUP is in the section just preced-
                    ing this one.

          For information about using the hidden commands, please refer to
          the sections titled RECONFIGURATION and HIDDEN COMMANDS.

          Note!          There are two special Hidden Commands you should
                         be aware of right now, because they let you deal
                         with the program if it happens to stall.  If, for
                         example, you decide to print a report but the
                         printer decides not to print (perhaps it is turned
                         off, out of paper, jammed, not on line, has a
                         loose cover or is simply out of order) the program
                         will stall.  Press the Escape key.  Hold the Alt
                         key and type G (for GO).  The program should re-
                         start and take you to the WELCOME screen.  If it
                         doesn't, then hold the Alt key and type X (for
                         EXIT) and the program should terminate gracefully.











          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               11
                                                                         11














          USING THE PROGRAM

          Once you choose CONTINUE from the WELCOME screen, you will begin
          a "guided tour" of four screens that will collect information in
          order to give you a short on-screen summary, a detailed printed
          report, and as many opportunities as you want to review and
          revise your entries.

          The SBA LOAN PLANNER works in three phases: it gathers informa-
          tion, reviews the information it has already gathered, and
          presents results.  You enter information in four screens, and, at
          the end of each screen, you will be able to go back and review
          (and, if you want to, change) everything you have entered so far.
          Did you change your mind about something you just entered?  Don't
          worry about it ... finish the screen, choose Review, and make
          whatever changes you want to.

          At the end of the information gathering phase, you will be able
          to View a summary of your results on your screen, to Print a
          detailed report, or to Review all of your input.  You'll probably
          find it easiest to go through the information gathering screens,
          then View the summary of results to see how everything adds up,
          and then Review at least once before Printing.

          Why would you Review?  For example, you might have decided, at
          first, not to include the origination fees and costs as part of
          the loan but, now that you know the monthly payment, you are
          curious about how much it would cost to include the fees after
          all.  Or you might find that your loan adds up to $149,200 and
          you want to add $800 in working capital to bring it to a round
          $150,000.  In either case, just pick Review from the menu that is
          presented along with the View screen, make the changes, and View
          again.  You can loop through this process as many times as you
          want to.

          But first, you need to enter all of the information from scratch,
          and a description of each information gathering screen follows:

          Screen 1:  Company Name

          The only item you need to enter on Screen 1 is the name of the
          company that will apply for the loan.  

          Note!          This is the only input screen that you will not be
                         able to revise.  Once you enter a company name, it
                         will remain unchanged until you Quit the program.

          When the name has been entered, a menu will appear in the upper
          left corner of the screen with the following choices:

               CONTINUE:  go on to the next screen, or
               QUIT:  end the program.

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               12
                                                                         12















          Once you choose CONTINUE from the menu, Screen 2 will appear.

          Screen 2:  Use of Funds

          The program will add up all of the amounts you enter in Screens 2
          and 3 to come up with the total amount of the loan.  You will be
          able to revise your entries (to add or delete categories, to
          change amounts, or to round the total of the loan up or down)
          until you are satisfied with them.  

          You may accept the amounts shown opposite each category on the
          screen by pressing the Enter key, or you may type in a whole-
          dollar amount and press the Enter key, or you may use adding
          machine mode to "run a tape" of a list of items in a given
          category.  Adding machine mode will be further explained below,
          under Purchase of Machinery and Equipment but you can use it
          anywhere the program calls for a number.

          If the loan you are considering does not call for using any money
          for the purposes listed in Screen 2, don't worry.  Screen 3 has
          an additional list including general working capital.

          Screen 2 asks you about funds you intend to use for 7 purposes:

               PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE FOR BUSINESS USE.  This is commer-
                    cial real estate that will be substantially owner-
                    occupied.  Mixed use properties, multi-tenant proper-
                    ties, and situations under which the owner of the real
                    estate and the tenant are technically separate entities
                    but which are nevertheless owned by the same people are
                    special cases, and you should consult an expert about
                    how to deal with them.

               CONSTRUCTION.  If you are planning to allocate much money
                    for construction, be aware that you will need plans,
                    specifications, permits, contractors' estimates (the
                    SBA generally does not permit the borrower to act as
                    General Contractor unless the borrower happens to be a
                    licensed general contractor) and, possibly, perfor-
                    mance bonding.

               REFINANCING REAL ESTATE.  If you are planning to allocate
                    much money for payoff of existing liens against real
                    estate, you should be aware that the SBA tends to be
                    very conservative in this area.  Common practices
                    include reduced guaranty percentages (the Regulations
                    give the SBA extreme latitude in the percentage guaran-
                    ty it extends to refinancing funds, including the right
                    to extend no guaranty at all) and requirements that the
                    monthly payment on the SBA loan should be equal to or
                    greater than the sum of the monthly payments on all of

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               13
                                                                         13














                    the loans to be refinanced.  Refinancing under the SBA
                    program can be difficult; you should consult an expert
                    about how to deal with the various eligibility ques-
                    tions.

               PURCHASE OF MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT.  You don't need to add
                    a list of prices manually; you can use adding machine
                    mode to produce a total.  If the loan is going to be
                    used to finance purchase of three trucks, each with a
                    different price, and you are trading in one truck for
                    $10,000, just type the price of the first truck, type a
                    + sign, type the price of the second truck, another +
                    sign, the price of the third truck, a - sign, and the
                    amount of the trade-in; then press the Enter key.  The
                    program will put the total, adorned with a dollar sign
                    and any necessary commas, in the block.  Be aware that
                    the SBA will expect to see proof that the assets were
                    purchased, and may insist on supplemental UCC, encum-
                    brance or chattel filings.

               PURCHASE OF FURNITURE AND FIXTURES.    The comments in the
                    section on Purchase of Machinery & Equipment above
                    apply to this section as well.

               CONSTRUCTION: LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS.  The comments in the
                    Construction and Purchase of Machinery & Equipment
                    sections above apply to this section as well.

          Note!          If the business is located in leased premises, the
                         SBA may require that the maturity of the loan not
                         exceed the unexpired term of the lease along with
                         guaranteed renewals.

               REFINANCING.  The comments in the section on Refinancing
                    Real Estate above apply to this section as well.

          When you have finished entering the seven values on this screen,
          a menu will appear in the upper left corner with three choices:

               CONTINUE:  go to Screen 3 and finish entering information on
                    how the loan funds will be used.
               REVIEW:  go back to the beginning of the last screen and
                    accept or change the values you entered there.
               QUIT:  end the program.









          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               14
                                                                         14














          Screen 3:  Use of Funds (continued)

          This is the most creative screen in the program, because it will
          make a rough (usually high) estimate of the origination costs for
          the loan you are considering, and offer you the chance to build
          an allowance for those costs into the loan.  The estimate will
          appear on the screen after you have entered values for the first
          4 items:

               PURCHASE OF INVENTORY:  Be aware that the SBA will usually
                    require evidence that the funds allocated for this
                    purpose were used to purchase inventory.

               PAYMENT OF EXPENSES AND ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:  Be prepared to
                    present documentation about exactly what effect loan
                    funds allocated for this purpose will have on the
                    financial condition of the company.

               GENERAL WORKING CAPITAL:  This is "odds and ends" money; it
                    is usually a good idea to keep the amount below 10% of
                    the total loan.  

          Note!          Since money allocated for Working Capital can be
                         advanced by the lender with few, if any, documen-
                         tation requirements, you might want to ask for
                         enough to cover a portion of your planned inven-
                         tory purchases, as well as deposits on equipment
                         purchases or construction.  Most lenders will want
                         to advance loan funds on the basis of paid re-
                         ceipts; unless the business has a lot of cash, it
                         can help to put enough Working Capital into the
                         loan to give the business the benefit of the
                         "float."  

               OTHER USES OF LOAN FUNDS:  Any use of funds not covered so
                    far should be entered here.  Use adding machine mode if
                    you like.  

          Once you have entered a value for Other Uses of Loan Funds, an
          estimate of the origination costs and fees for the loan you have
          just finished describing will appear in the center of the screen. 
          This estimate will usually be higher than the actual origination
          costs.  The borrower may elect to pay all of the origination fees
          in cash, or to build part or all of the origination costs into
          working capital provided by the loan.  The pointer will move to a
          line titled Amount to add to the loan to cover costs and fees;
          you may accept the given value of zero or type in a higher value.

          After you enter a value for costs and fees, the program will
          update the figure for TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE LOAN and display a
          three-choice menu in the upper left corner of the screen.  If the
          total amount of the loan is not an even number, you may want to

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               15
                                                                         15














          consider raising or lowering your allocation of funds for General
          Working Capital to round the amount of the loan off.  To do that,
          choose Review from the menu by typing R.  

          Your three menu choices are:

               CONTINUE:  go to Screen 4 to finish entering information
                    about the loan.


               REVIEW:  go back to Screen 2 in order to accept or change
                    values which you have entered so far.

               QUIT:  end the program.

          Screen 4:  Repayment Period

          After you choose CONTINUE from the Screen 3 menu, the program
          will display a three-item screen which repeats the amount of the
          loan and asks you to make two decisions about repaying that
          amount.  The two decisions are:

               REPAYMENT PERIOD:  Assuming that you want it to calculate
                    the longest possible maturity for the loan you are
                    considering, the program will offer 25 years as the
                    default choice of repayment period.  It will use 25
                    years, or the actual calculated maximum based on the
                    use of funds, whichever is shorter.

          Note!          You can use the REPAYMENT PERIOD space to request
                         a shorter repayment period than your use of funds
                         might be eligible for.  For example. you might
                         work for a bank which maintains a policy of an
                         absolute  15-year maximum maturities for commer-
                         cial term loans, so there would be no reason for
                         you to illustrate an 18-year maturity.  Or, you
                         may already have been through the program once,
                         and you want to play "what if" with shorter matu-
                         rities as options.  Or, you have already been
                         through the program once, and you got an effective
                         maturity of, say 15 years and 8 months and you
                         want to use 15 years as an even number instead.

          Note!          If your business operates in leased premises, the
                         lender or the SBA (usually both) will want to
                         limit the maturity of your loan to the term of
                         your lease plus guaranteed renewals.  If you enter
                         the number of years you have to go under your
                         lease here, the SBA LOAN PLANNER will calculate
                         your loan on the basis on the longest available
                         term, or the term of your lease, whichever is
                         shorter.

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               16
                                                                         16















               DRAWDOWN PERIOD:  The SBA does not believe that there is any
                    need for a small business to pay interest on money it
                    won't actually use for a few months.  For example,
                    construction generally takes a while, and most con-
                    struction contracts provide for progress disbursements
                    as the work progresses.  If the construction schedule
                    calls for completion within 6 months, you might want to
                    show a drawdown period of 9 months.

          Once you have stipulated a drawdown period, a three-choice menu
          will appear in the top left corner of the screen:

               CONTINUE:  go to the RESULT SCREEN to select your report, or

               REVIEW:  go back to Screen 2 to review and, optionally, to
                    revise your selections on Screens 2, 3 and 4, or

               QUIT:  end the program.


































          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               17
                                                                         17














          REPORTS: VIEWED AND PRINTED

          The RESULT SCREEN immediately presents a four-choice menu:

               VIEW:  put a short Summary Report on the screen so that you
                    will be able to decide whether or not to make adjust-
                    ments before printing a report, or

               PRINT:  send a one-page report to your printer, or

               REVIEW:  go back to Screen 2 to review and, optionally, to
                    revise your selections on Screens 2, 3 and 4, or

               QUIT:  end the program.

          If you select either VIEW, PRINT or REVIEW, the program will do
          what you ask and will then return you to the RESULT SCREEN.

          Understanding the SUMMARY REPORT

          Did you build enough working capital into the loan to cover the
          origination costs and fees?  Is the monthly payment higher than
          you had hoped for?  Is the repayment period an odd number of
          years that might look better if rounded down to the nearest whole
          year?  Is the monthly payment low enough that you are confident
          that you can add another $50,000 to the loan for additional
          inventory?   In plain words, are you finished structuring the
          loan, or does it need more work?  The Summary Report is designed
          to help you decide.

          Sometimes, the SBA LOAN PLANNER will use highlighted reminders on
          the screen to alert you to things you might want to change. 
          These reminders are purely advisory, and the program will not
          make any changes based on them.  You can ignore the advise
          entirely, or pick Review from the menu to make some, or all, of
          the suggested changes.

          The screen shows eight pieces of information about the loan you
          are considering:

               TOTAL AMOUNT OF LOAN:  This is the grand total of all of the
                    items you built into the loan in Screens 2 and 3.  You
                    might want to adjust it up or down to a round number by
                    adding or subtracting working capital.  The program
                    will sometimes suggest that you do this, but you may
                    ignore the suggestion.

               ORIGINATION FEES & COSTS:  This is the SBA Guaranty fee of
                    2% of the guaranteed portion of the loan, the packaging
                    fee (if any), construction management fees (if any) and
                    miscellaneous fees (if any).


          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               18
                                                                         18














               FEE ALLOWANCE INCLUDED IN LOAN:  This is the amount you
                    added to the loan on Screen 3 based on the preliminary
                    estimate of fees and costs.  If it is higher or lower
                    than the estimate shown on the line just above, you
                    might want to make an adjustment.  If your allowance is
                    higher, the excess will be lumped in with working
                    capital.  If your allowance is lower, the program will
                    suggest that you make an increase, but you are free to
                    ignore the suggestion. 

               MAXIMUM MATURITY:  This is the maturity calculated on the
                    basis of the use of funds you entered on Screens 2 and
                    3.  The program will automatically round back to the
                    last whole year (for example, if the calculated maturi-
                    ty is 7 years and 7 months, the program will use a
                    maturity of 7 years).

               MATURITY USED FOR ILLUSTRATION:  This is the shorter of the
                    Maximum Maturity (above) or the maturity you stipulated
                    in Screen 4.  If this number is less than the maximum,
                    you might want to (but are not required to) request a
                    longer maturity.  

               INITIAL INTEREST RATE:  This is the rate of interest that
                    will be charged for the first adjustment period (either
                    a full month or a full calendar quarter, depending on
                    the lender) and is composed of the Prime rate plus the
                    lower of either the spread entered in Setup or the
                    ceiling rate.

               INTEREST RATE BASIS:  For a variable rate loan, this is the
                    number of percentage points above the Prime rate that
                    will be charged.  If the Interest Rate Basis is 2.25%
                    and the Prime rate is 7%, the interest rate on the loan
                    will be 9.25%.  If the Prime rate drops to 6%, then the
                    interest rate on the loan will drop to 8.25% and if
                    Prime rises to 10%, the interest rate on the loan will
                    rise to 12.25%.

          Note!          The SBA may agree to the institution of a floor
                         and ceiling to the interest rate on a particular
                         loan so that, while the rate will rise and fall
                         with the Prime rate, it will never rise above (nor
                         fall below) limits which are stated in advance.

               INITIAL MONTHLY PAYMENT:  This monthly payment will prevail
                    until the Prime rate changes, unless an alternative
                    payment method (two such alternatives are shown on the
                    printed report which will be described in the next
                    section) is set up.  It is calculated by the Weighted
                    Average method.


          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               19
                                                                         19














               ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM PAYMENT:  This is calculated by the Sum
                    Of Payments method.  If this number is larger than the
                    Initial Monthly Payment (above) the program will sug-
                    gest that you trim the maturity.  You may reduce your
                    repayment period request on Screen 4 by a year, or you
                    may ignore the suggestion.  

          Note!          The SBA allows its personnel to use either the
                         Weighted Average method or the Sum Of Payments
                         method to calculate a blended maturity; it does
                         not require the use of one way or the other.  The
                         Sum Of Payments method will give shorter results
                         as interest rates increase, while the Weighted
                         Average method is not affected by interest rates. 
                         You should generally expect that the SBA will
                         prefer the shortest possible maturity, but might
                         accede to your request for a maturity based on
                         whichever method yields the longer result.

          The upper left corner of the screen will have a three choice
          menu:

               CONTINUE:  go back to the RESULT SCREEN (as described in the
                    preceding section) to choose to print a report, review
                    your entries, or quit, or

               REVIEW:  go back to Screen 2 and review, and optionally
                    revise, your entries on Screens 2, 3 and 4, or

               QUIT:  end the program.























          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               20
                                                                         20














          Understanding the PRINTED REPORT

          When you are at the RESULT SCREEN and type P to PRINT the Full
          Report, a one page, dated and time-stamped report will be sent to
          your printer.

          Note!          If you have no printer, or if your printer decides
                         not to print (perhaps because it is not turned on,
                         out of paper, jammed, or its cover or cable is
                         loose) the program will stall.  If this happens,
                         you can usually recover by holding the Alt key
                         down while you type G (for GO).  Most of the time,
                         the program will take you back to the WELCOME
                         screen.  If the Alt G solution does not work, hold
                         Alt and type X (for EXIT).  The program should
                         terminate gracefully.  If all else fails, you'll
                         need to reboot. 

          The printed report is designed to be largely self-explanatory. 
          All printed reports are dated, time-stamped and are captioned
          with the potential company's name, so that if you are printing a
          number of reports (perhaps as part of a "what-if" planning
          session), you will have some help in telling one report from
          another.

          After the heading, there are 6 sections:

          AMOUNT AND PURPOSE OF THE LOAN

               This section collects your more detailed input information
               and presents it in basic categories.  If you built the
               origination costs and fees into the loan, they will appear
               in the General Working Capital category along with any
               amount you entered on Screen 3 as General Working Capital or
               as Other Uses of Loan Funds.

          ORIGINATION COSTS

               Packaging and due diligence fees are charged by the
               borrower's representative(s) or the lender.  They vary
               widely.  The program calculates this fee according to your
               instructions under SETUP.

               SBA Guaranty Fee is set by law at a given percentage of the
               portion of the loan that is guaranteed by the SBA.  The
               program calculates this fee according to your instructions
               under RECONFIGURATION.

               Miscellaneous fees include a minimum estimate (set in SETUP)
               and construction management fees (set in RECONFIGURATION).



          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               21
                                                                         21














          REPAYMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

               Drawdown Period is the number of months you estimate it will
               take to put all of the loan funds to work.  A loan for the
               single purpose of buying a building would require a drawdown
               period of zero; a loan to buy land and construct a building
               might need a drawdown period of 12 months.

               Maturity is the maximum number of whole years of principal-
               and-interest payments permitted under the applicable regula-
               tions or the requested maturity, whichever is shorter.

               Interest Rate is determined by the Prime Rate (set in SETUP)
               and the Spread (set in SETUP and in RECONFIGURATION).

               Initial Monthly Payment is set according to the interest
               rate shown on the line above.  Note that, if the loan is
               variable-rate, the monthly payment amount will rise and fall
               with the interest rate.

          PAYMENT OPTIONS TO CONSIDER

               Straight Line Amortization occurs when you divide the amount
               of the loan by the number of months in the repayment period,
               and pay the result against principal each month.  In addi-
               tion, you pay interest each month on the unpaid principal
               balance.  Using this option will cause the principal balance
               of the loan to be reduced much faster, and it will reduce
               the total amount of money spent on interest over the life of
               the loan.  Because the principal balance decreases quickly,
               monthly payments will not fluctuate as much with changes in
               the interest rate as they would under standard amortization.

               Sinking Fund Amortization attempts to keep the monthly
               payment level regardless of fluctuations in the interest
               rate.  To do this, it calculates the monthly payment on an
               interest rate that is higher than the actual interest rate
               being charged, and assumes that the excess will be applied
               to reduce the principal balance and, thus, subsequent inter-
               est accrual.  Often, a money market fund is used for this
               purpose: the sinking fund payments are deposited into the
               money market account, and the loan payments are paid out of
               the money market account.  As long as a positive balance
               remains in the money market account, the requirement on
               operating cash flow is not changed.  A good accountant can
               explain how to use this option to best advantage.







          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               22
                                                                         22














          DETAILS OF THE SBA GUARANTY

               Two illustrations are shown: the number of dollars and
               percentage of the entire loan, and the number of dollars and
               percentage for any refinancing portion.  This is especially
               useful in those periods of time when the SBA is unwilling or
               unable to underwrite the maximum amount of refinancing
               funds.  The program assumes that all guaranty protection is
               being used to underwrite non-refinancing funds to the maxi-
               mum level possible; any guaranty authority not required for
               those purposes is used for refinancing.

          FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

               This is where the information you entered in the BUSINESS
               CARD section of SETUP is printed.

             

           

































          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               23
                                                                         23














          RECONFIGURATION

          If the SBA regulations, the customs of your local SBA office, or
          your own needs change, you may decide to reconfigure the SBA LOAN
          PLANNER.  

          Before you do any reconfiguring, be sure that you are using a
          copy of the SBA LOAN PLANNER and that you know where your origi-
          nal, unchanged, program disk is.  The reconfiguration screen will
          accept any values you specify, and, if you put in wrong values,
          the program will give wrong results.  Your best protection
          against error is to keep a "clean" copy of the SBA LOAN PLANNER
          in a safe place so that you will be able to make a fresh start if
          something happens to your working copy.  

          Reconfiguration is a hidden command.  To reconfigure, start the
          program.  At the WELCOME screen, hold the CONTROL key and type C. 
          The menu will disappear from the bright bar at the top of your
          screen.  Hold the ALT key and type R.  The Reconfiguration screen
          will appear with a light bar over the figure 90 next to the
          caption Small Loan Maximum Guaranty.  

          16 other values are listed below the highlighted 90; the Recon-
          figuration screen lets you either ACCEPT each value in turn by
          pressing the ENTER key, or CHANGE the value by typing in the new
          value and then pressing the ENTER key.  

          After you have gone through the list of values, accepting or
          changing them as your needs dictate, the program will save your
          old configuration to disk in a file named PLAN.BAK.  It will save
          your new configuration to disk in a file named PLAN.CFG, and then
          it will return you to the WELCOME screen with the menu active.

          Here is a list of the Reconfiguration items, what they mean, and
          how to use them:

          SMALL LOAN MAXIMUM GUARANTY

               Default value: 90%

          This is the maximum percentage of a small loan that the SBA will
          guaranty.  A small loan is one with a total amount less than the
          amount listed under the third item on the Reconfiguration screen,
          Large Loan Threshold.  This number came about when Perrin Mitch-
          ell, then Chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee,
          allowed the Administration to cut the percentage of a loan that
          the SBA would guaranty from 90% to 85%, but only for loans of
          $155,000 or more.

          Remember that this number is a maximum.  Under some circumstances
          (for example, if any part of the loan you are considering would
          refinance existing debt) then the percentage might be lower.

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               24
                                                                         24















          To change this number, enter the new value as a decimal such as
          .75 for 75 percent.

          LARGE LOAN MAXIMUM GUARANTY

               Default value: 85%

          This is the maximum percentage of a large loan (one that is equal
          to or greater than the Large Loan Threshold below) that the SBA
          will guaranty.

          Remember that this number is a maximum.  Under some circumstances
          (for example, if any part of the loan you are considering would
          refinance existing debt) then the percentage might be lower.

          To change this number, enter the new value as a decimal such as
          .75 for 75 percent.

          LARGE LOAN THRESHOLD

               Default value: $155,001

          This determines which value for the SBA maximum guaranty the
          program will apply to the loan you are considering.  It works in
          conjunction with the Small Loan Maximum Guaranty and the Large
          Loan Maximum Guaranty values described above.

          To change this number, enter the new value as an integer.  There
          is no need to type a comma, since the program will add it for
          you.

          SPREAD CAP CHANGE POINT

               Default value: 84 months

          The SBA regulations permit a lender to charge a higher maximum
          interest rate for longer term loans than for shorter term ones. 
          The Spread Cap Change Point is the point at which a loan is
          considered longer term and for which the higher interest rate
          ceiling applies.  This value works in conjunction with the values
          for Spread Cap Below Change Point and Spread Cap Above Change
          Point below.

          To change this number, enter the number of months as an integer.








          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               25
                                                                         25














          SPREAD CAP BELOW CHANGE POINT

               Default value: 2.2500%

          This is the maximum interest rate, expressed in percentage points
          above Prime, applicable to a loan with a maturity of less than
          the number of months specified above under Spread Cap Change
          Point.  

          To change this number, type a long number: 2.5 for two and a half
          percent.

          SPREAD CAP ABOVE CHANGE POINT

               Default value: 2.7500%

          This is the maximum interest rate, expressed in percentage points
          above Prime, applicable to a loan with a maturity of more than
          the number of months specified above under Spread Cap Change
          Point.  

          To change this number, type a long number: 2.5 for two and a half
          percent.

          REFINANCING GUARANTY % ILLUSTRATED

               Default value: 80%

          At times, the SBA may be unwilling or unable to issue its guaran-
          ty on funds used for refinancing to the full extent permitted by
          law.  When temporary conditions (or your preference) cause you to
          consider a reduction in the percentage guaranty applicable to
          refinancing, change this number.

          To change this number, type a long number: 75.5 for 75-and-a-
          half percent.

          REFINANCING GUARANTY % CEILING

               Default value: 80%

          See Refinancing Guaranty % Illustrated above.  Change this value
          only when the Published National Regulations change.

          To change this number, type a long number: 75.5 for 75-and-a-
          half percent.







          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               26
                                                                         26














          SBA GUARANTY CEILING

               Default value: $750,000

          There are two maximum values to be aware of in connection with an
          SBA loan: the percentage and the absolute amount.  A loan to a
          medical practice to buy the building it occupies can qualify for
          an 80% guaranty, but, if the amount of the loan is $1,500,000,
          then the SBA will be limited to a 50% guaranty because of the
          absolute limit of $750,000.  Congress tends to increase this
          limit while, since 1980, the Administration has tried to reduce
          it; this, like the Refinancing percentage, is a number to watch
          if you are involved in SBA lending.  

          To change this value, type an integer (no need to type the comma
          as the program will add it for you).

          SBA GUARANTY AMOUNT (CALCULATED)

               Default value: 0

          This is an "integrity check" for troubleshooting purposes.  If
          this number is ever anything but zero, it means that, somehow,
          numbers have found their way into the program where they do not
          belong.  If you see an amount other than zero here, you should
          make a copy of your original PLAN.EXE file to use with your
          existing PLAN.CFG file or, if you prefer, start fresh from copies
          of both PLAN.EXE and PLAN.CFG.

               You cannot change this value from the keyboard.

          SBA GUARANTY FEE (on Gtd Portion)

               Default value: 2.00 per cent

          SBA charges a fee for its guaranty, and the SBA regulations allow
          that fee to be passed through to the borrower.  For more than
          twenty years, this fee was 1%; shortly after losing a pitched
          battle with Congress to abolish SBA in 1986, the Reagan Adminis-
          tration lobbied hard for an increase in the guaranty fee to 5%. 
          Congress and the Administration settled on 2%.  The fee thus
          became a politically charged number, and it may change again.

          To change this value, type a long number: 1.25 for one-and-one-
          quarter percent.








          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               27
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          EXTRA FEE FOR CONSTRUCTION FUNDS

               Default value: 2.00 per cent

          SBA Regulations allow the lender to charge a service fee for loan
          funds that are used for construction.  The ceiling for this fee
          is presently 2% and the lender has the option to charge less.

          To change this value, type a long number: 2.50 for two-and-one-
          half percent.

          SINKING FUND SPREAD

               Default value: 2.50 per cent

          Recognizing the planning problems a variable interest rate and
          variable monthly payment amount can cause, some lenders and some
          SBA offices have allowed loans to be set up with an installment
          amount pegged to a rate of interest that is higher than the
          actual rate.  The amount of each payment that is not consumed by
          the actual principal-and-interest payment calculated on the
          actual rate of interest is applied to reduce the principal
          balance of the loan and thus acts, in turn, to reduce the amount
          of interest charged on the following payments.  This lets the
          business plan on a fixed-dollar payment amount which, if it
          remains higher than the actual, calculated variable payment
          amount, will result in having the loan paid off earlier.

          In effect, what you do with the sinking fund method is to say
          that, if your payment is going to be calculated on the basis of
          moving Prime plus 2.5 percentage points, you will set up a
          payment budget figure of today's Prime plus 5 percentage points
          (the regular 2.5 point spread plus the 2.5 point sinking fund
          spread).  This payment amount gets applied against the loan (if
          the SBA and the lender allow such an arrangement to be formalized
          - and some SBA offices and lenders do not allow it) first, to
          cover the actual interest that has accrued on the unpaid princi-
          pal balance since the last payment with the rest of the payment
          directly to reduce the principal balance.  

          Where the lender or the SBA will not allow a formal sinking fund
          arrangement, borrowers often set up a money market account. 
          Every month, they pay the budgeted payment into the money market
          account, and pay the actual payment from the money market ac-
          count.  If the sinking fund spread is high enough, the amount in
          the money market account will accumulate and allow the borrower
          to pay the loan off early or to make capital improvements.

          To change this number, type a long number: 3.5 for three-and-a-
          half percent.



          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               28
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          COST CAP

               Default value: 10.00 per cent

          SBA Regulations allow lenders and others to charge fees to
          borrowers for such services as packaging, document preparation,
          and similar expenses.  You can set up boundaries for these fees
          by choosing SETUP from the WELCOME screen  The Cost Cap tells the
          SBA LOAN PLANNER to add up all of the fees and to ignore any
          amounts above the Cost Cap percentage.

          To change this number, type a long number: 10 for ten percent. 

          MATURITY LIMITS

               Default values:
                     7 years for Working Capital 
                    25 years for Real Estate purchase and construction
                    10 years for machinery, equipment, furniture, fixtures
                         and leasehold improvements.

          These are the maximum limits as set in the SBA Regulations or in
          usual practice.  Note that the Regulations do not require that
          maturity on working capital funds be limited to 7 years, and
          that, if you can prove that machinery and equipment to be pur-
          chased has a longer economic life than 10 years, longer maturi-
          ties may be granted.

          To change these numbers, type the number of years as an integer.

          OTHER HIDDEN COMMANDS

          There are hidden commands to help you deal with a stall (an
          event, sometimes requested but other times unwanted, when the
          program appears to freeze on the screen), to change printers,
          recalculation methods and the appearance of the program on your
          screen.  Most people will never have a need to use any of these
          commands and those people who prefer to use them will use them
          only rarely.

          Preceding sections of this manual have covered the three Alt
          commands:

               Alt + G to GO again after a stall,

               Alt + X to EXIT after a stall, and

               Alt + R to RECONFIGURE.

          The remaining hidden commands use the "slash" key (usually found
          next to your right Shift key - the one you shift to type a
          question mark) and one or more letter keys.  If you have used any

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               29
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          major spreadsheet program, these commands will be very familiar
          to you.

          The slash commands, like the Alt commands, will only work after
          the program has stalled.  There are two ways to produce a stall:

               At the WELCOME screen, hold the Control key and type C, or

               At the RESULT screen, turn your printer off and type P.

          PRINTER Commands

          If you don't want to use a generic printer on Parallel Port 1,
          you can choose your interface and change settings by stalling the
          program from the WELCOME screen (by holding the Control key and
          typing C) and typing the slash key.  This will bring up a menu in
          the upper left corner of the screen; type W for Worksheet, G for
          Global, D for Default, and P for Printer.  You will then have a
          menu of Printer choices; consult your printer's manual for
          guidance about making changes.

          The choices you make will be valid only for one session.  After
          you have made your choices, hold the Alt key and type G to Go
          back to the Welcome screen menu.

          VIDEO Commands

          To change the way the program appears on the screen, stall the
          program from the WELCOME screen (by holding the Control key and
          typing C) and type the slash key.  This will bring up a menu in
          the upper left corner of the screen.  Type V for Video.  This
          will bring up the Video menu.

          The first three choices on the Video menu are COLOR, LED/B&W, and
          MONO/HERC.  Only one of these choices will work for you, depend-
          ing on what kind of video card and monitor the program finds
          installed in your system.

          You can change the colors your monitor uses, as well as the
          number of lines and columns on the screen (if your card and
          monitor support such changes).

          Remember to use the Video commands only on your working copy of
          the program so that you don't run the risk of setting the colors
          to some combination that gives you a blank monitor (a blank
          monitor is no help in setting the colors back to something you
          can see).

          The choices you make will be valid only for one session.  After
          you have made your choices, hold the Alt key and type G to Go
          back to the Welcome screen menu.


          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               30
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          TECHNICAL SUPPORT and SUGGESTIONS

          This is program is distributed either free or for a nominal
          charge that covers reproduction and mailing.  Consequently, we do
          not offer technical support.

          We will, however, make every effort to questions, comments and
          suggestions that are mailed to:

          Ward Harrington
          Small Business Loan Information Center
          Suite E3422
          601 Van Ness Avenue
          San Francisco  CA 94102







































          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               31
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          Index

          ACCOUNTS PAYABLE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
          Adding machine mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
          Alt + G to GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 29
          Alt + R   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
          Alt + X to EXIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 29
          ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM PAYMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
          AMOUNT AND PURPOSE OF THE LOAN  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21

          BUSINESS CARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7, 9

          Cannot locate PLAN.EXE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6, 8
          Code of Federal Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
          CONFIG.SYS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
          CONSTRUCTION  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13, 14
          CONTINUE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
          COST CAP  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
          Costs and fees  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15

          DETAILS OF THE SBA GUARANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
          DRAWDOWN PERIOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17, 22

          Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
          EXIT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
          EXTRA FEE FOR CONSTRUCTION FUNDS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28

          FEE ALLOWANCE INCLUDED IN LOAN  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
          FEES & COSTS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
          Fixtures  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
          Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
          FURNITURE AND FIXTURES  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14

          GO  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11

          Hidden Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11, 29

          INITIAL INTEREST RATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
          INITIAL MONTHLY PAYMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19, 20, 22
          Install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6, 8
          Interest Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
          INTEREST RATE BASIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
          INVENTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15

          LARGE LOAN MAXIMUM GUARANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
          LARGE LOAN THRESHOLD  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
          Leased premises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14, 16
          LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14

          Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
          MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
          Maturity  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               32
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          MATURITY LIMITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
          MATURITY USED FOR ILLUSTRATION  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
          MAXIMUM MATURITY  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
          Memory  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
          MISCELLANEOUS COSTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
          Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5, 8, 30

          ORIGINATION COSTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
          ORIGINATION FEES & COSTS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
          OTHER USES OF LOAN FUNDS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15

          PACKAGING FEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
          PAYMENT OPTIONS TO CONSIDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
          POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR FINANCING FUNCTION  . . . . . . . . 3
          PRIME RATE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
          Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 18
          PRINTED REPORT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
          Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5, 8
          PRINTER Commands  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30

          QUICK START . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
          QUIT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
          RATE SPREAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
          REAL ESTATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13, 29
          RECONFIGURATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 24
          Refinancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 13, 14
          REFINANCING GUARANTY % CEILING  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
          REFINANCING GUARANTY % ILLUSTRATED  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
          Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
          Repayment Period  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
          REPAYMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
          RESULT SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 18
          Review  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12, 14

          S.O.P. 50-10-3  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
          SBA Answer Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
          SBA GUARANTY AMOUNT (CALCULATED)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
          SBA GUARANTY CEILING  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
          SBA Guaranty fee  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18, 21, 27
          SETUP   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9, 11
          Sinking Fund Amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
          SINKING FUND SPREAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
          SMALL LOAN MAXIMUM GUARANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
          SPREAD CAP ABOVE CHANGE POINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
          SPREAD CAP BELOW CHANGE POINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
          SPREAD CAP CHANGE POINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
          Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 29
          Straight Line Amortization  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
          SUGGESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
          SUM OF PAYMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2, 3
          Sum Of Payments method  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
          SUMMARY REPORT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18

          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               33
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          TECHNICAL SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31

          VIDEO Commands  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
          VIEW  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18

          WEIGHTED AVERAGE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2, 3
          Weighted Average method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19, 20
          WELCOME screen  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6, 9, 11, 12
          WORKING CAPITAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15, 18, 29












































          SBA LOAN PLANNER                                               34
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