If a borrower has paid the franchise fee and is seeking SBA financing, the franchise fee payment will be counted toward the total down-payment requirement.  Any expense for legal, accounting, training, travel, equipment deposits, utility deposits, lease deposits, architect fees or general contractor deposits will also be counted.  Keep in mind, equity credit will require the payments to be made from accounts that can provide verification of seasoned funds.  This means, the payments must not be borrowed (put on credit card or line of credit).  It does not mean that a borrower cannot use a credit card, it just means that if they want equity credit, they will need to show that the credit card was paid.  Seasoned funds are funds in accounts for 2 to 3 months.  It is a great idea to keep good records for all expenses (invoices, receipts, dates, accounts/cards used to pay).  We will advise about how to track and present all of this documentation during the closing process.