Are You Eligible?

Two questions tell you if you qualify.

Did you pay the tariff yourself? Refunds go to whoever paid Customs directly. If your supplier paid the tariff and sold the goods to you, your supplier qualifies, not you. The next move is a conversation with your supplier about whether their refund affects your pricing.

Was the tariff an IEEPA tariff? Eligible tariffs are commonly called “fentanyl,” “trafficking,” “reciprocal,” and “baseline” tariffs, plus some on goods from Brazil and India. Several other categories, such as those listed below, are not in scope:

• Section 232. Duties of 10% to 50% on steel, aluminum, copper, and related products, applied for national security reasons.
• Section 301. Duties on Chinese goods imposed in 2018 over technology and intellectual property practices.
• Section 201. Temporary safeguard measures under the Trade Act of 1974 used when an import surge causes serious injury to a U.S. industry.
• Anti-dumping duties. Duties on imports priced below fair market value.

If you are not sure which type you paid, your customs broker can tell you.

The Four Steps to Take Now

Talk to your customs broker first. They will be your front line for the new system. Then:

1. Update your contact information with Customs. CBP Form 5106 is the form. Make sure your email is current.
2. Set up your ACE Portal account. Register here. New accounts take 3 to 4 weeks. Start this first.
3. Sign up for direct deposit. Refunds come electronically. Enroll in ACH here.
4. Have your customs broker check your records for excluded shipments. A few categories are not in the initial refund pool, including drawback claims, pending protests, anti-dumping cases the Department of Commerce is still working through, and shipments not in the ACE Portal.

A tax note: how a refund is treated depends on how you originally recorded the duty expense. Consult your tax professional before the refund posts to your account.

The official source is the Customs IEEPA Duty Refunds page.

The post The Tariff Refund Window Is Open. Here Is What Small Business Importers Need to Do. appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

Profitability growth held positive through the first quarter, but small business payroll growth has been negative for three consecutive months, and overall spending has been relatively unchanged. Owners are tightening, even where the topline does not require it.

Where the Pressure Is Coming From

The cost picture explains a lot of it. According to the report, wholesaler inventory costs are running more than 60% above year-ago levels, and gasoline spending jumped 23% year over year in March. Two forces are doing most of the work.

Tariffs have continued to ripple through small business supply chains, and oil prices have increased significantly in the first quarter after Middle East disruptions in late February.

For small businesses that depend on either input, the operating environment is meaningfully more expensive than it was a year ago.

The Pullback Is Not Uniform

The slowdown is not happening everywhere.

Construction and manufacturing employment is still tracking around 40% above its 2023 average, which suggests project-driven trades are still hiring.

The slowdown shows up most in services and retail, where margin sensitivity is higher, and hiring can be tightened quickly. The same business cycle is producing different operating decisions depending on the sector.

Profitable, But Cautious

For most small business owners, the practical question is whether the topline justifies the cautious posture they are holding. Profitability that holds in a high-cost environment is real, but it is also the kind of margin profile that creates a planning paradox. The cash is there to invest; however, the conditions look uncertain enough to make holding feel safer.

Making the Call With Your Own Numbers

The owners managing this best look at their actual cash position before defaulting to the broader sentiment. They run their planning cycles with real numbers from their own business rather than the headlines.

Pulling back is a reasonable response to the current data, but it is still a decision the owner makes, not one the aggregate data makes for them.

Your cash position may support a different move while others wait. Schedule a complimentary discovery session, and let’s walk through it together.

The post Why Many Small Businesses Are Pulling Back Despite Profitability appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

Each year since 1963, National Small Business Week, typically celebrated during the first week in May, has served as the nation’s official recognition of the contributions small businesses make to the economy.

America’s 36 million small businesses make up 99% of all businesses in the country, create two out of every three new jobs, and employ roughly half of the American workforce. It is a week worth celebrating. It is also a good moment to look at the current small business index, conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with clarity.

The latest index surveyed small business owners between February 25 and March 11, 2026. The U.S. Chamber’s Chief Policy Officer noted that the survey was conducted largely after the outbreak of military conflict with Iran, and that the uncertainty is clearly weighing on confidence. Though it remains to be seen whether this translates into changes in current operations.

The Surface Numbers Look Stable

The findings reveal a widening gap between how owners feel about their own businesses and how they feel about the surrounding environment. Nearly seven in ten owners (69%) rate their business as being in good health. That is stable and a testament to the resilience this sector consistently demonstrates. But look more closely at the cash flow numbers, and a different picture begins to form.

Seventy-two percent of owners say they are comfortable with their current cash flow. Solid on the surface. But the share who say they are very comfortable has fallen to just 20%, down from nearly 31% just six months ago. That drop tracks with a broader slide in economic confidence: only 28% of owners say the U.S. economy is in good health, down 10 points from Q4 2025.

When Confidence Slips, Decisions Follow

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. When that confidence erodes this quickly, it tends to show up in decisions before it shows up in financials.

And it already is: plans to increase hiring dropped 12 percentage points from Q4 2025, plans to increase investment fell 7 points in the same period, and the share of owners expecting revenue growth slipped from 65% last quarter to 61% today.

Owners are not panicking, but they are pulling back. This tracks closely with what we observed late last year, when rising costs and margin pressure were already signaling that owners would face tougher cash flow decisions heading into 2026.

What This Means for Your Business

It is worth asking whether your current cash position is strong enough to give you options, not just stability.

The index identifies inflation as the top challenge facing small businesses, a distinction it has held for 17 consecutive quarters. In that context, owners who maintain access to capital and financial flexibility are better positioned to act during shifting conditions, whether that means protecting operations or moving when competitors cannot.

Our team works with business owners to strengthen strategy, improve financial readiness, and stay lender-ready in an uncertain environment. Schedule a free discovery session, and let’s explore potential actions to strengthen your position.

The post The Q1 2026 Small Business Index Has a Message for National Small Business Week appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

Fifteen consecutive quarters of declining applicant credit quality, running from the second quarter of 2022 through the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Small Business Lending Survey.

The trend has moderated since its low point in 2023, but it has not reversed. The gap between where most small business applicants stand and where lenders want them to be remains real and, for many owners, wider than they realize.

What is driving the decline

As we explored in a recent post, 72% of lenders identify weak borrower financials as the leading reason for small business loan denial. The fifteen-quarter decline in applicant credit quality reflects exactly that gap playing out across the broader market.

Lenders assess a combination of signals, including cash flow consistency, outstanding debt levels, the owner’s personal debt-to-income ratio, personal wealth, and liquidity. When any of these signals weakens, the overall picture of creditworthiness weakens with it.

The current economic environment is adding pressure. Rising input costs driven by tariffs have compressed margins for many small businesses, reducing the net income and cash flow figures that lenders rely on most. When revenue stays flat, but costs rise, the financial story lenders read becomes harder to defend.

What this means for your business

Credit standards have also tightened every year for the past four years. Lenders are not evaluating applicants against a static bar. They are evaluating them against an increasingly cautious set of expectations, shaped by nearly four years of observed deterioration in applicant quality across the market.

The businesses that succeed in this environment are not necessarily the strongest on paper. They are the ones who understand what lenders are looking for and have taken deliberate steps to get there.

Our Becoming Bankable® program is designed to help business owners build exactly that kind of financial profile. Learn more here.

Our team works with business owners to strengthen strategy, improve financial readiness, and stay lender-ready through shifting conditions. Schedule a free discovery session, and let’s explore potential actions to improve your position.

The post Small Business Credit Quality Is Declining. Here Is What That Means for Your Business. appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

By the time a lender delivers their answer, your financials have already told them what they need to know. Understanding what they are looking for is the first step toward changing the outcome.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Small Business Lending Survey for the fourth quarter of 2025, 72% of lenders identify weak borrower financials as the most common reason for denying a small business loan application. That single finding points to a broader truth: lenders are fundamentally trying to answer one question. Can this borrower repay?

What borrower financials actually means

Borrower financials are not a single number. It is a picture built from several signals working together.

Cash flow patterns show whether your business generates consistent income to cover its obligations.

Debt levels indicate how much you are already carrying relative to your business’s production or output. The ratio of what you owe to what you earn, or your debt-to-income ratio, is particularly influential.

When lenders evaluate credit quality, more than half point to the owner’s personal debt-to-income ratio as a very important factor in their assessment.

Beyond financials, lenders frequently cite credit history and collateral as additional reasons for denial. Together, these factors form the lens through which every application is reviewed, regardless of bank size or loan type.

What this means for your business

Credit standards have tightened every year for the past four years, according to the same survey. The profile that qualified a business for credit previously may not meet the bar today. Lenders are looking at a more complete picture of the owner, not just the business entity.

The businesses that navigate this environment successfully are the ones that treat lender-readiness as an ongoing discipline rather than a pre-application checklist.

Our Becoming Bankable ® program is designed to help business owners build and maintain exactly that kind of financial profile. Learn more here.

Our team works with business owners to strengthen strategy, improve financial readiness, and stay lender-ready through shifting conditions. Schedule a free discovery session, and let’s discuss how we can help you.

The post Small Business Loan Denial: What Lenders See Before You Get the Answer appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

Applications are simple. Decisions are quick. Funding can happen in days instead of weeks.

That convenience matters, especially when cash flow is tight or an opportunity cannot wait.

But it often comes with a tradeoff.

Approval Does Not Equal Affordability

Recently published Federal Reserve data show that approval rates vary across lender types, but not as widely as many assume.

Including both full and partial approvals, online lenders approve about 77% of applicants. Large banks approve closer to 69%, while small banks and finance companies are both near 80%.

Online lenders offer easier access than large banks, but they are not the highest-approval channel overall.

Looking Beyond Approval

Getting approved is only part of the decision.

Approval may mean receiving less than requested. Even when funding is secured, the cost of capital shapes long-term performance.

For online lenders, approvals are almost evenly split between fully approved (38%) and partially approved (39%). By contrast, large banks (43%) and small banks (57%) fully approve a greater share of applicants than they partially approve (26% and 23%, respectively).

Faster access can solve an immediate need. But higher-cost financing can reduce margins, limit flexibility, and affect future financing options.

Cost and Experience Tell a Different Story

Meaningful differences also show up in cost and borrower experience.

Only about 35% of borrowers report being satisfied with online lenders, compared to roughly 65% for large banks and more than 75% for small banks and credit unions.

Borrowers also report that financing costs are often higher than expected, particularly with alternative lenders.

Higher rates, additional fees, and tighter repayment structures can increase total borrowing costs and put pressure on cash flow.

Who Is Applying Matters

Part of this difference comes down to the borrower.

Businesses using alternative lenders are typically newer or do not meet traditional lending standards. Banks and credit unions tend to serve more established, lower-risk businesses.

That helps explain both the approval rates and the differences in cost and satisfaction.

Preparing Before You Need It

Businesses that are better positioned financially tend to have more options and access to more favorable terms.

Our Becoming Bankable® program was designed to help business owners strengthen their financial position before they need capital. It is a 12-module program that helps owners build the financial systems, documentation, and discipline lenders expect.

If you are planning to seek financing or want to improve the options available to you, consider scheduling a complimentary discovery session to discuss your lender readiness.

The post Why Online Loans Feel Easier but Cost More appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

But the reality inside many small businesses looks different.

Recently published Federal Reserve data shows that 46% of small businesses report currently using AI tools, while another 15% say they plan to adopt AI in the near future.

What happens after adoption is where the story becomes more interesting.

More Output, Same Teams

Among firms already using AI, about 71% report increased productivity, while roughly 31% report higher sales. At the same time, most firms report little or no change in employment levels.

In other words, many small businesses are using AI to do more work, not to reduce their workforce.

For smaller companies, the most immediate value of AI often appears in areas such as marketing content, customer communication, administrative tasks, and data analysis. These tools help teams move faster and handle more volume without expanding headcount.

In many cases, AI is acting as a productivity multiplier rather than a labor replacement strategy.

A Consistent Pattern Across Reports

This pattern is not unique to the Federal Reserve data.

In our previous discussions of the 2025 Bank of America Business Owner Report and the 2026 JPMorgan Chase Business Leaders Outlook, business owners and leaders expressed a similar view. AI is being adopted to improve efficiency and support existing teams, not to reduce headcount.

Taken together, these insights point to a consistent trend. Small businesses are using AI to expand capacity and improve output, while hiring decisions are still being driven by broader economic and labor market conditions.

What This Means for Business Owners

For business owners, the more relevant question may not be whether AI will replace jobs, but how effectively these tools can help your current team operate.

The businesses that benefit the most from AI are often those that integrate it into existing systems and processes rather than relying on it as a stand-alone solution.

Like many technologies before it, AI is changing how work gets done long before it changes who is doing the work.

The post Small Businesses Are Using AI, But Not to Replace Workers appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

In reality, the result often lands somewhere in between.

Recently published Federal Reserve data shows that just about half of small businesses receive the full amount of financing they request. In the most recent survey, 52% of applicants received the full amount they asked for. The rest received less than requested or no funding at all.

What makes this especially interesting is how consistent the pattern has been. In the previous two survey years, the share receiving full funding was 52% and 51%.

In other words, this is not a one-year anomaly. Roughly half of applicants receive the full amount they request, and roughly half do not.

Approval Does Not Always Mean Full Funding

Many loan outcomes fall somewhere between approval and denial.

In the latest survey, about 29 percent of applicants received only part of the financing they requested, while about 19 percent received none.

Partial funding can still help a business move forward. But it may not fully support expansion plans, equipment purchases, or working capital needs.

How Lenders Size a Loan

Lenders do more than decide whether to approve a loan. They also determine how much the business can reasonably support.

That decision usually comes down to a few practical factors:

• Cash flow and the ability to service debt
• Existing debt obligations
• Available collateral
• Overall risk profile of the business

Even when a lender is comfortable approving the loan, those factors may lead them to approve a smaller amount than requested.

Preparing for the Funding Conversation

If you are planning to apply for financing, ask yourself a simple question: Can your business support the amount of capital you are requesting?

Our Becoming Bankable® program was designed to help business owners work through these questions before approaching a lender. We help owners understand the 5 C’s of Credit, review financial positioning, and see their business the way a lender does.

Thinking about applying for financing? Schedule a complimentary discovery session, and let’s discuss your lender readiness together.

Preparation cannot guarantee full funding. But it can significantly improve the odds that a financing request aligns with lender expectations.

The post Why Many Small Businesses Don’t Receive the Full Funding They Request appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

So, what actually happens when a loan request moves from conversation to credit review?

Recently published Federal Reserve data gives us a clearer picture. In the 2026 Report on Employer Firms, among businesses that did not receive the full amount of financing they requested, 46 percent said lender requirements were too strict. Thirty-seven percent reported having too much existing debt. Thirty percent cited a low credit score. Twenty-nine percent pointed to insufficient collateral. 2026 Report on Employer Firms

These are not small technicalities. They are the kinds of issues that can quietly derail an application.

Credit challenges rarely stand alone. High utilization, layered debt, uneven payment history, or limited collateral tend to build on each other. An owner may feel confident walking into a meeting, only to discover that leverage levels or credit patterns change the lender’s comfort level.

National Credit Education Month is not just about checking your score. It is about understanding how your full financial profile is viewed across the table. Is your debt load already stretched? Are payments consistent? Does your credit history reflect discipline over time? If additional collateral were required, would it be available?

Preparation shifts that conversation.

Our Becoming Bankable® program was created to help business owners address these questions before they apply. We break down the 5 C’s of Credit in practical terms, review financial statements and debt structure, and help you see your business the way a lender does.

Credit education is not about reacting to a denial. It is about positioning your business to avoid one.

The post Small Business Credit Readiness: Why Lenders Still Say No appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.

Many underestimate how much personal credit influences loan review and approval.

When lenders evaluate a business loan application, they commonly apply the 5 C’s of Credit: Character, Capacity, Capital, Collateral, and Conditions. Credit appears under Character, but it can shape how the entire application is perceived.

Personal Credit Still Carries Weight

Even if your business operates as an LLC or corporation, most traditional lenders require a personal guarantee. That means your personal credit profile becomes part of the underwriting analysis.

While standards vary, many banks prefer to see personal FICO scores in the upper 600s to 700+ range for stronger consideration. Lenders also review patterns such as credit utilization, often ideally below 30 percent, payment consistency, total debt obligations, and any public records.

Business owners can monitor their personal credit through platforms such as Credit Karma and obtain official reports from AnnualCreditReport.com.

Business Credit Matters Too

Lenders may also review business credit reports from Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business. A PAYDEX score of 80 or higher is typically considered strong payment performance.

Business credit reflects vendor relationships, trade payment history, and overall financial discipline. Strong business credit can reinforce credibility, while weak or thin files may raise additional questions.

Credit Is Only One Part of the Decision

Strong credit can improve loan terms and increase lender confidence. Weak credit can lead to higher rates, smaller loan amounts, or additional collateral requirements.

However, credit alone does not secure approval. Capacity, reflected in cash flow and financial statements, often carries equal or greater weight.

If you need to strengthen your personal credit profile, explore the free financial wellness resources available through our partnership with GreenPath Financial Wellness.

Planning to apply for a business loan or line of credit soon? Is your business lender ready? Take our free lender readiness assessment. Our Becoming Bankable® Series is designed to help you learn the language of lending, optimize your business systems, and position your company to unlock the capital needed to fuel your success story.

The post Small Business Lender Readiness Starts With Credit appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | Your SMB Experts | Consulting services for small and mid-sized businesses.