Guide · Whether you'll qualify
You just bought a business. Does its history count toward funding, or are you a startup?
By Alex Makowski Published
It depends on how you bought it. If you bought the company itself — the entity, its bank account, its EIN — the deposit history continues and funders read it as yours, usually after a few months under your ownership. If you bought the assets into a new entity with a new account, the funder sees a new business with a few months of deposits, and the seller's years mostly do not transfer. Either way, send the seller's statements; they explain the business even when they do not count.
In this guide
- 01Stock purchase versus asset purchase, from a funder's chair
- 02What helps in the asset-purchase case
- 03The trap in the first year
- Won't affect your credit
- Free, no obligation
- Up to $500K
01
Stock purchase versus asset purchase, from a funder's chair
Buy the entity and its bank account continues: the statements run unbroken through the sale, the deposits are the same customers paying the same way, and a revenue-based funder reads the business as the business it always was. Most want to see a few months under the new owner before they fund, to confirm the customers stayed, and then the full history counts.
Buy the assets into a new LLC with a new account: the funder's clock starts at your first deposit. You have the customers, the equipment and the name, and a three-month-old bank account. Under six months you are read as a startup, whatever the sign on the door says. The seller's statements help the underwriter understand the business; they do not usually move the date.
02
What helps in the asset-purchase case
The purchase agreement, the seller's last twelve months of statements, and your own since closing, side by side, showing the deposits continued at the same level. A funder that can see the same $60,000 a month before and after the sale will sometimes credit the continuity even on a new account — not all will, but the ones that do are the ones to apply to. Equipment bought in the sale can be refinanced as equipment, which needs no history. And a seller note, if you have one, is a reason to keep the first advance small.
What each underwriter weighs
03
The trap in the first year
A business changes hands, a few customers leave, the new owner takes an advance sized to the old deposits, and the daily debit is set for a business that is now smaller. Apply on your own months, not the seller's, and size the ask to what you are actually depositing. The seller's history is context. Your statements are the application.
Written by
Alex Makowski, Owner
Alex Makowski owns and runs Business Loans for America and has been placing funding for U.S. small businesses since 2021. Businesses he has worked with have secured $50M+ in financing across 1,200+ placements. He writes and reviews every guide on this site.
FAQ
Related questions.
- Can I use the seller's tax returns?
- For a bank or SBA lender assessing the acquisition, yes, they are central. For a revenue-based funder after the fact, they are context; the deposits under your ownership are what get underwritten.
- Does keeping the seller's EIN and account help?
- Substantially, for funding purposes. It also carries the seller's liabilities and history, good and bad, which is why buyers' lawyers often prefer an asset purchase. Ask both before closing; the structure decides the funding for a year.
- The seller had a cash advance. Am I responsible?
- If you bought the entity, its obligations came with it unless the agreement says otherwise, and the funder's UCC filing may still be on the assets. If you bought the assets, check for liens before closing. Either way, find out before a funder does.
Guides
More on whether you'll qualify
Restricted industries
Cannabis, adult, gambling, firearms, money services, crypto and nonprofits are declined by most funders before the file is read.
Judgments and collections
Collections on the personal file barely register. An unsatisfied judgment against the business is a different matter.
Partners and ownership
Most funders pull every owner over 20 to 25 percent. The one who signs the guarantee is the one who matters most.
When to go again
The honest answer is a condition, not a number of days.
Can you get business funding with a 580 credit score?
Can you get a business loan after only 8 months?
Sources
- U.S. Small Business Administration — LoansFederal loan programmes, eligibility and what the SBA does and does not guarantee.
- IRS — Small Business and Self-EmployedFederal tax guidance for small businesses, including recordkeeping and deductions.
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Find out what you qualify for before you need it.
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