SBA's new lending rules changed what an AI business-plan tool is actually for
MshoAlik · reddit · 2026-09-17
A builder of an AI business-plan tool long assumed the pitch was speed: specialists charge $1,200 for a bank-loan plan with a five-year model delivered in seven business days, while his tool drafts one in minutes. Then he studied SBA's lending rules effective October 1 and talked to SBA loan brokers: debt-coverage tests are based on the business's historical earnings and lenders can't rely on projections; every ownership change requires a lender-ordered independent valuation, and most acquisitions of $3M+ need a Quality of Earnings report — none replaceable by generated documents. His conclusion: the draft was never the expensive part. Humans get paid to know which numbers a specific lender will question, to tell clients the loan is too big before applying, and to rewrite the story when the deal changes. The plan writers who last will use AI for drafts and keep charging for judgment.
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