Global Cash Flow Calculator.
Business + guarantor, one DSCR.

What "Global Cash Flow" Actually Means

When a privately held business applies for a loan, lenders rarely accept the company's standalone DSCR as the answer. Owner-operators move money between their personal and corporate accounts constantly: a strong year produces large distributions; a soft year sees the owner inject capital back into the business. A meaningful coverage ratio has to look at both pockets at once. That blended view is global cash flow analysis, and it is the dominant cash-flow underwriting framework at community banks, regional banks, and SBA preferred lenders.

The arithmetic has two clean sides. On the business side you start at EBITDA and subtract the items that aren't available for debt service: cash taxes paid, distributions to owners, and unfinanced capital expenditures. The result is CFADS — cash flow available for debt service. On the personal side you take each guarantor's gross annual income, apply an effective tax rate to convert it to spendable dollars, and subtract their living expenses. What remains is each guarantor's personal net cash flow.

Add the two together and you have global cash available. Divide that by the sum of existing debt service, personal debt obligations, and the proposed new payment, and you have your Global DSCR.

The Underwriter's Ladder

• ≥ 1.50x — investment-grade by community-bank standards. Pricing concessions are reasonable to ask for.
• 1.25x – 1.50x — the comfort zone. SBA 7(a) and most community-bank term loans want to live here.
• 1.20x – 1.25x — covenant-tight. Expect a personal guarantee, springing covenants, and monthly borrowing-base reporting.
• 1.10x – 1.20x — watchlist. The deal can still close, but with restricted distributions, lower advance rates, and a guarantor liquidity covenant.
• < 1.10x — declines on coverage. The business cannot service the proposed debt without making the guarantor personally illiquid.

Why the Personal Side Isn't Optional

A common founder objection: "the business will pay the loan, why are you looking at my personal income?" Two reasons. First, the personal guarantee is only credible if the guarantor has the cash to honor it. A high earner with $300,000 of after-tax income and modest living expenses can absorb a missed business payment for a quarter or two; a guarantor with no excess personal cash flow cannot. Second, owners frequently move cash through the entity in ways that distort the standalone P&L — generous distributions, related-party rent, owner salary above or below market. Looking at both sides at once neutralizes those games and tells the lender what the household can actually service.

How to Use This Calculator With Real Financials

1. Pull EBITDA from the last fiscal year's tax return or audited financials. Don't use a TTM number unless the lender asks for it.
2. Cash taxes is the actual amount paid to the IRS and state — not the income-tax expense line on the P&L. For pass-through entities, model it at the owner level instead.
3. Distributions are the net amount the owner pulled out — K-1 distributions for S-corps, owner draws for LLCs.
4. Unfinanced capex is the total capital spending minus any equipment loans or leases that financed it. If you bought a $400,000 truck with a $360,000 loan, only $40,000 is unfinanced.
5. For each guarantor, use the after-tax Schedule C / W-2 / 1099 income reported on their personal 1040, not gross. The default 22% effective rate is a reasonable proxy if you don't have the exact figure.
6. Personal debt service is from the personal financial statement: mortgage P&I, auto loans, student loans, minimum credit card payments. Exclude rent — that's already inside living expenses.

Interpreting the Implied Loan Capacity

The "implied additional loan" output backs out the principal that the headroom debt service can service at the rate and term you provided. It uses the standard annuity present-value formula and represents the maximum incremental loan that keeps the business at exactly your target DSCR. In practice, leave 10%–15% of buffer below that ceiling — credit committees rarely take the math to the line.

Related Tools and Reading

• SBA 7(a) & 504 Calculator — model the proposed loan's monthly P&I before plugging it in here.
• FCCR Simulator — for deals with operating leases or commercial mortgages, the bank may run FCCR alongside DSCR.
• CCC & LOC Sizer — if the request includes a revolver, size it from the working-capital gap.
• DSCR, Explained Like an Underwriter Would — long-form walkthrough of why 1.25x is the magic number.
• SBA 7(a) vs. 504: Which Program Fits — once you know the loan can be serviced, pick the right wrapper.