Methodology and sources

Every number on this site is computed from public SBA loan records, with no estimates, models, or adjustments. This page documents the files, the fields, the formulas, and the brand matching so that any figure can be reproduced.

Source files

U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 FOIA data, as of June 30, 2026, downloaded September 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. Government Work). Six files:

• FOIA_7a_FY1991_FY1999_asof_260630.csv
• FOIA_7a_FY2000_FY2009_asof_260630.csv
• FOIA_7a_FY2010_FY2019_asof_260630.csv
• FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv
• FOIA_504_FY1991_FY2009_asof_260630.csv
• FOIA_504_FY2010_Present_asof_260630.csv

Fields used: Program, FranchiseCode, FranchiseName, ApprovalFY, ApprovalDate, GrossApproval, LoanStatus, ChargeOffDate, GrossChargeOffAmount, PaidInFullDate, ProjectState, BankName (7(a)) or CDC_Name (504), BusinessAge, TermInMonths, InitialInterestRate, JobsSupported, NaicsDescription. Of 175,492 loan records carrying a franchise name, the 50 brands with the most loans approved since FY2010 are covered (fuel brands, insurance and financial-services agency codes, and the SBA placeholder "Temporary Franchises" were excluded because they are not franchise businesses a buyer researches).

Definitions

• Disbursed loans: status paid in full, charged off, still open (SBA status EXEMPT) or closed. Cancelled and undisbursed loans are excluded everywhere.
• Resolved loans: paid in full or charged off. Still-open loans have no outcome yet and are excluded from rates.
• Charge-off rate (resolved): charged off ÷ resolved. This is the headline figure. It can overstate the eventual rate for a cohort if loans that will later be repaid are still open, and understate it if loans that will later fail are still open; using only cohorts approved FY2010-2019 limits both effects.
• Dollar loss rate: GrossChargeOffAmount summed ÷ GrossApproval summed over disbursed loans.
• Matured cohorts: loans approved FY2010 through FY2019, giving at least six and a half years to resolve as of June 30, 2026.
• Verdict bands: the brand's matured charge-off rate divided by the franchise-wide matured rate (9.5%). Under 0.5x = Low; 0.5x to 0.85x = Below average; 0.85x to 1.2x = Typical; 1.2x to 1.8x = Elevated; above 1.8x = High. Brands with fewer than 30 resolved matured loans are not banded.
• Percentile: position among the 104 brands in the SBA files with at least 30 resolved matured loans, whether or not they have a page here.

Benchmarks

mature = approved FY2010-2019; window = FY2010-2026; recent = FY2022-2026; all = FY1991-2026.

Brand matching

SBA's FranchiseName field is free text entered by lenders, so one brand appears under several spellings and several codes. Each brand page uses the union of the spellings below. Matching is by anchored pattern on the upper-cased name; the raw names and their loan counts are listed so the match can be checked.

Limits

• Only SBA-financed units appear. Cash, conventional, and franchisor-financed units do not.
• A charge-off is a loan outcome; it is not proof a unit closed, and a closed unit is not always a charge-off.
• Lender-reported fields (jobs, business age) are not audited by SBA.
• Recent cohorts are immature; their rates will rise.
• SBA revises status quarterly; figures change when files are republished.

Corrections

If a figure on this site does not match the SBA file, email support@techstackconsulting.io with the brand and the figure; corrections are published with the date.