Glenford Financial, a small-business funding broker in San Angelo, TX, sets out how to get a business loan in Texas as a checklist: confirm the entity record with the Texas Secretary of State, set up Comptroller tax accounts, separate business finances, gather records, check UCC liens, match the funding type and read the offer. Lending partners make credit decisions and set terms.
| Entity records | Texas Secretary of State, Business Services and SOSPortal |
|---|---|
| Sales tax permit | Texas Comptroller online tax registration application |
| SBA office for Tom Green County | San Antonio District Office |
| Local advising | ASU Small Business Development Center, 69 N. Chadbourne St. |
| Small employers | 49.1% of county employers had fewer than 5 staff (CBP 2023) |
| Who decides | The lender or lending partner |
Who you will deal with
A business loan in Texas comes from a lender: a bank, a credit union, an online lender, or a lender making SBA-backed loans. A broker such as Glenford Financial prepares and places requests but does not lend or decide. Whichever route you take, the lender reviews the business and the owners, and the steps below make that review easier.
1. Confirm your entity record with the Secretary of State
If the business is an LLC, corporation or other registered entity, its record sits with the Texas Secretary of State. The Texas Secretary of State Business Services pages lead to SOSPortal, the online system for filings (both checked 2026-10-15). Look up your own entity before you apply: the exact legal name, the status and the registered agent should match what you put on every loan document. A lender may run the same search, and a name mismatch or an inactive status stops a file quickly.
2. Set up and check your Texas tax accounts
Businesses that sell taxable goods or services apply for a sales tax permit through the Texas Comptroller's online tax registration application (checked 2026-10-15). Lenders often ask for proof of tax registration and look for unpaid state taxes, because tax debts can take priority over other creditors. A separate guide covers checking franchise tax status and your sales tax permit before a partner does.
3. Separate business money from personal money
In Tom Green County an estimated 10.0 percent of employed residents were self-employed, and most of them, 7.3 percent of all employed residents, ran businesses that were not incorporated (American Community Survey 2020-2024; margins of error plus or minus 1.2 and 1.1 points). Unincorporated owners often run business income through a personal account. A lender reading those statements cannot tell sales from household transfers, so open a dedicated business account and use it for every business transaction, ideally months before you apply.
4. Gather the records a lender reviews
- Business bank statements covering recent months
- Business tax returns, and personal returns for owners with a significant share
- A profit and loss statement and balance sheet, even if prepared in-house
- A list of existing debts and advances: lender, balance, payment and maturity
- For a specific purpose: equipment quotes, contracts, a lease or a build-out bid
- For a new or expanding business: a business plan written for a lender
5. Check what is filed against the business
Lenders search UCC filings to see whether another creditor already has a claim on business assets. An old filing for a loan you paid off years ago can still be on record. Run the search yourself first with the Texas UCC search guide, and ask former lenders to terminate filings that should be gone.
6. Match the funding type to the need
A lender will ask what the money is for, and the answer decides the product. One-time projects suit a term loan, recurring costs a line of credit, machines equipment financing. The comparison page sets the six types side by side.
7. Read the offer before you sign
Check the amount you actually receive, every payment and its frequency, the total of all payments, collateral, personal guarantees, prepayment terms and default clauses. Ask for anything unclear in writing.
How hard is it to get a business loan in Texas?
The difficulty depends on the business, not on the state: revenue history, existing debt, credit, collateral and how clearly the request is explained. Small firms tend to find it harder because their records are thinner, and most local firms are small. In 2023, 49.1 percent of Tom Green County's 2,963 employer establishments had fewer than five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023), and 9,757 businesses had no employees at all in 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024). Clean, separate records and a specific purpose do more for a small business's request than any other preparation.
SBA loans and Texas business loan programs
SBA loans in Texas are made by SBA-approved lenders under SBA program requirements, which cover matters such as eligibility, use of proceeds and owner guarantees; the lender adds its own standards. The SBA San Antonio District Office lists Tom Green County among the counties it serves (checked 2026-10-15), and its site lists the programs and lenders that apply. The Angelo State University Small Business Development Center can help you prepare.
Free help in San Angelo, TX
The Angelo State University Small Business Development Center, at 69 N. Chadbourne St., San Angelo, TX 76903, provides SBA-funded advising and is part of the South-West Texas Border SBDC Network (txsbdc.org, checked 2026-10-15). The City of San Angelo Development Corporation and the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce are the other local contacts; the Concho Valley resources guide explains each one. None of these organisations is affiliated with Glenford Financial.
Where Glenford Financial fits
Once the checklist is done, we can help you pick the funding type and introduce the request to lending partners. How it works describes each stage, and the San Angelo, TX page has more local figures.
By Glenford Financial · Updated