Resources | Business Calculators
What is left for you after the loan? Follow the cash flow down to what you keep.
Once you finance a purchase, part of the cash flow belongs to the lender. See how much a business could pay you each year after its loan is covered.
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Business Calculators / Take Home Cash Calculator
Take Home Cash Calculator
How it works
Take Home Cash = Owner Replacement Salary + Cash Remaining After Debt, which is the same as SDE minus the loan payments. Changing the salary moves money between the two parts; it does not change the total.For educational estimates only. Amounts are before personal income taxes. Not financial advice.
Most buyers judge a business by its cash flow (SDE). Once you finance a purchase, though, part of that cash flow belongs to the lender, and the number that matters to you is what is left. This calculator shows that number: your take home cash, the estimated total a business could pay you each year after its acquisition loan is covered.
Enter the price, the business's SDE, the salary you would pay yourself (or a manager) and your loan terms. The calculator works out the yearly loan payments and follows the cash down to what you keep, and it also checks the deal's debt service coverage, the ratio lenders use to decide whether a business can carry its loan. Results are pre-tax and assume the reported SDE holds up after the sale.
Questions
Take Home Cash Calculator: frequently asked questions
What is take home cash?
The cash a business could pay its owner in a year after the loan payments: SDE - annual loan payments. It is your salary plus whatever is left after debt.
Why does changing the salary not change my take home cash?
Because it is all your money. A higher salary leaves less cash after debt, and a lower one leaves more; the total the business can pay you stays the same.
Is take home cash the same as my personal income?
No. It is before personal income taxes, and in practice some cash stays in the business for working capital, equipment and a rainy day.
What should I enter for owner replacement salary?
What it would cost to pay someone to do the job: a market wage for a general manager in that industry. Use it even if you plan to run the business yourself.
How can I increase my take home cash?
Lower the payments: a lower price, a larger down payment, a longer term or a lower rate. After closing, growing the business's cash flow does the rest.
What happens once the loan is paid off?
The loan payments come back to you, so your take home cash rises to the full SDE.
Why show debt service coverage?
Because a lender will. If coverage is below about 1.25x, the deal may not be financeable as structured, however attractive the take home number looks.
How much do I need to put down for an SBA loan?
Usually at least 10% of the price. Seller financing on full standby can sometimes count toward it. Try the Affordability Calculator to see what your cash can buy.
Is this a loan pre-approval or financial advice?
No. It is an educational estimate.
Next Step
Put these numbers to work on a real deal.
Buyer's EDGE is free: save target businesses, model each deal in the Acquisition Center and learn the process in Acquisition Academy. Selling? The Seller Portal starts a confidential sale. Either way, an EDGE advisor can help from the first conversation through closing, financing included.