In 2025, 42% of small business applicants received the full amount of financing they sought, 36% received some or most, and 22% received none, according to the Federal Reserve's 2026 Report on Employer Firms (Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey). That overall split does not tell an installer which of their projects will clear underwriting.
Most installers guess from price. A large battery energy storage proposal feels harder to finance than a small water filtration job, so reps brace for a tough conversation before they have seen the file. This post separates what the named sources measure from what they do not, project type by project type, so you can set expectations without promising an outcome. For the broader quoting and offer playbook, start with the contractor guide to offering customer financing in 2026.
> Key Takeaways
> - In 2025, 42% of small business applicants received the full amount sought, and 22% received none (Federal Reserve, 2026 Report on Employer Firms).
> - Secured equipment finance approved 77.4% of applications industry-wide in July 2026 (Equipment Leasing and Finance Association CapEx Finance Index, August 2026). That is a different survey, so the two figures are not directly comparable.
> - Published data does not split approval rates by battery, EV charger, water filtration, truck, or real estate project. Every application is underwritten separately and is subject to approval and eligibility.
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What Does the Federal Reserve Data Show About Full Approval?
Most small business applicants do not get everything they ask for. The survey is administered by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks with community and business groups. In 2025, the Federal Reserve found that 42% of applicants received the full amount sought, 36% received some or most, and 22% received none (Federal Reserve, 2026 Report on Employer Firms). Partial approval is a common outcome, so a contractor should plan for a counteroffer as well as a yes or no.
The middle group matters most for a sales conversation. A partial approval usually means a smaller line than the customer requested, a different term, or a conditional offer that asks for more paperwork before funding. Each of those outcomes changes what the customer has to decide, so the installer's job is to know which one is likely before the proposal goes out, not after the customer has already said yes to the full number.
Those overall shares blend every kind of request into one number. A loan for a single piece of equipment, a line of credit for payroll, and a merchant cash advance all land in the same bucket. That is why an overall rate is a starting point for conversation, not a forecast for one job.
Why Doesn't One Financing Approval Rate Fit Every Project Type?
The Federal Reserve's 2025 figure of 42% full approval is an average across every small business credit product in the survey. It cannot tell you how a battery storage request or a truck purchase will fare. The summary figures do not break full approval out by battery, EV charger, water filtration, or real estate use, so any product-level rate you see quoted should be checked against the full report before you repeat it to a customer.
Our reading, which is analysis rather than a measured rate, is that the file matters more than the sticker price. Underwriters typically look at the applicant's credit history, cash flow relative to the proposed payment, existing debt, time in business, and what the lender can recover if the loan defaults. Those factors apply in every product category. The product changes how they are weighted and how much paperwork they require.
A larger proposal can still be the easier file if the asset is clearly installed, titled, and documented. A smaller request can be harder if the applicant has a thin credit history or little documented income. Ticket size is one input, not the decision. So when a rep says a project type is hard to finance, the useful follow-up question is what they mean. In most cases the answer is that the applicant's file is thin, not that the category is disfavored.
Why does this matter for the quote? Because a rep who blames the product will set a different expectation than a rep who blames the file. The first rep tells the customer that the battery system is the problem and loses the sale when the customer shops elsewhere. The second rep asks for the missing income documents and keeps the project moving. Both reps face the same underwriting process, but only the second one is working on the thing that changes the result.
!Installer and customer reviewing a financing approval on a tablet at a sunlit kitchen table
What Does Equipment Finance Data Say About Secured Lending?
Equipment finance is the closest published benchmark for installed systems. The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association's CapEx Finance Index put the industry-wide average at 77.4% in July 2026, after easing 2.1 percentage points that month (Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, CapEx Finance Index, August 2026). The index measures equipment finance applications, so it is a reference point for secured equipment, not a rate for any one installer's project.
The logic behind secured lending is straightforward. When a lender can recover a defined asset, it can size the loan around that asset's value and resale market. That is why equipment finance is a useful reference for installed battery systems, EV chargers, and filtration equipment, even though none of those products is a machine on a factory floor. The lender still needs the borrower's cash flow to cover payments, so collateral helps the file but does not replace the credit review.
The gap between these two numbers reflects different surveys, different time periods, and different measures, so read them side by side only as context. What they share is a direction: secured equipment finance clears more often than the broad small business average. That supports the idea that installed, titled equipment is a more familiar file for lenders, without proving it for any one product.
How Do Battery Storage and EV Charger Requests Compare?
Battery storage and EV chargers are both installed assets, which is why they are often discussed as equipment-type financing. Published data does not give a verified approval rate for either product, so this section describes the pattern qualitatively.
A battery energy storage file is typically judged on the applicant's credit, income, and debt-to-income, plus the installation documentation: the interconnection approval, the equipment specification sheets, and the signed scope of work. Battery storage terms run from 6 to 240 months, subject to approval and eligibility. Because the system sits on a customer's site, reviewers also want a clear warranty and an installer who can show a track record. For the underwriting checklist, read battery storage credit requirements.
EV charger requests are more varied. The applicant may be an installer's business customer, a property manager adding chargers to a parking structure, or an employer electrifying a lot, and each has a different file. A property manager usually brings a lease and a building budget. An employer usually brings a capital plan. EV charger financing uses flexible terms, subject to approval and eligibility. Speed is a separate question from approval. For how long decisions take, see the EV charger approval-time breakdown.
Setting these two apart is useful. A fast decision is not the same as a favorable one, and a sales conversation that treats them as one number will set the wrong expectation. The practical question for a rep is who will own the asset and who signs the paperwork. When the business that will own the charger is the applicant, the file looks like equipment finance. When the person across the table is a tenant or a short-term operator who will not keep the asset, the lender has less to recover, and the operator's own cash flow carries more of the decision.
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How Do Water Filtration and Truck Purchases Compare?
Water filtration requests vary widely in size, from point-of-use filters under a kitchen sink to whole-home systems and commercial installations for food service or light manufacturing. A residential buyer's decision centers on personal credit and monthly budget. A commercial buyer's decision centers on the business's revenue, existing debt, and the operating reason for the system. Because the same product category covers both, the credit questions depend on the applicant more than on the category.
No verified Tier 1-3 source in this post publishes a water filtration approval rate, so treat the category as an underwriting conversation, not a statistic. A rep who quotes a filtration approval rate from memory is repeating a number nobody can source. For the credit-score side of this vertical, see credit score for water filtration financing.
Truck purchases are a different transaction. The buyer is the carrier, and the lender reads the operating history alongside the equipment. The ELFA 77.4% figure covers equipment finance generally, not trucks specifically, so it should not be quoted as a truck approval rate. The Federal Reserve survey covers small businesses across industries, not trucking firms, so it is context here too.
Lenders reviewing a carrier typically ask about time in business, driver qualifications, existing freight or route contracts, and the truck's resale value, which depends on age and mileage. Those inputs are what move a truck file, and they are the same inputs that separate a strong request from a weak one. For what carriers should gather before applying, see truck financing credit requirements for carriers.
Does Business-Purpose Real Estate Approve Less Often?
The published figures reviewed for this post do not give a verified full approval rate for real estate-backed requests, so this post makes no claim that they approve less often. What is clear is the process. Real estate collateral needs an appraisal and title work before a lender can size the loan, and those steps add documentation that equipment files often do not need. Each step also takes time, so the timeline for a real estate file is usually longer than the timeline for an equipment file of similar size.
Business-purpose loans fund an investor's project, not a place to live. That distinction shapes the file. The lender will want a scope of work, a budget, a timeline, and an exit plan, such as a sale, a refinance, or a long-term hold. The strength of the sponsor's experience with similar projects also carries weight, because a first project and a fifth project present different risk to a reviewer.
For a contractor, the useful step is preparation. Collecting the scope, the line-item budget, and the expected timeline before the investor applies makes the file easier to review. For how that classification works, see business-purpose loans for investors, and for appraisal questions, see appraisal disputes and supporting your value.
!Wide daylight view of a residential street of finished single-family investment homes with driveways
What Should a Contractor Tell a Customer Before Applying?
Set the expectation that the file decides the outcome, not the ticket size, and that every application is subject to approval and eligibility. A customer who hears that at the outset is less likely to feel blindsided by a counteroffer or a request for more documents. Tell them the process takes the steps it takes, and that a decision in minutes is not the same as an approval.
Start with the documents. Ask the customer which income records, tax returns, and business statements a lender will request, and say so before the application goes in. Then explain the three realistic outcomes from the Federal Reserve data: the full amount, some or most, or none. Naming all three keeps a partial offer from feeling like a failure. Finally, explain what happens next in each case, so the customer knows whether a counteroffer means a smaller project, a different term, or a request for more paperwork.
Before quoting, walk through the intake questions, then explain what happens after a customer applies. If a request is declined, the next step is a conversation about the file, not a dead end. For those steps, see what happens after a customer applies for financing and how to handle a financing denial. For the speed side of the conversation, see financing approval speed as a sales tool.
!Installer and customer reviewing signed financing paperwork outdoors in daylight after a proposal
How Should Installers Use These Patterns When Quoting?
Patterns, not percentages, should drive how you quote. With 42% of applicants receiving the full amount and 36% receiving some or most in 2025, a quote that assumes full funding on the first pass creates a predictable problem: a counteroffer that arrives after the customer has already committed to a project scope. A better quote shows the full project price and a clear path to a smaller first phase, so a partial offer does not reset the sale.
Three habits help. First, collect the file before you quote. A complete set of income and asset documents shortens the back-and-forth and reduces the chance of a surprise request late in the process. Second, keep the decision speed and the approval outcome separate in your head and in your sales notes. A quick answer is useful for scheduling, but it is not evidence that the file will clear. Third, ask the lender what documents would move a file from partial to full, rather than assuming the answer.
Think about the customer on the other side of the table. A homeowner, a property manager, and a carrier each hear a counteroffer differently. A homeowner hears it as a personal verdict. A property manager hears it as a budget problem to take back to an owner. A carrier hears it as a cash flow question. Matching the explanation to the buyer's role keeps the conversation focused on the file rather than on the installer.
Frequently Asked Questions
{ question: "Do some project types get approved more often than others?", answer: "Published data does not give verified approval rates by battery, EV charger, water filtration, truck, or real estate project. The Federal Reserve's 2025 survey shows 42% of small business applicants received the full amount sought, and 22% received none. Each application is underwritten separately and is subject to approval and eligibility." }, { question: "Is there an Eos Loan approval rate by project type?", answer: "No published Eos Loan approval percentage by project type appears in this post. Eos Loan is a direct lender, and every application is subject to approval and eligibility before any outcome is known." }, { question: "Why do equipment finance rates look higher than the overall average?", answer: "The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association reported a 77.4% industry-wide average for equipment finance in July 2026. That index and the Federal Reserve survey are different measures from different time periods, so they describe context rather than a single comparable rate." }, { question: "Does a faster financing decision mean a higher chance of approval?", answer: "No. Decision speed and approval outcome are separate measures. A quick decision can still be a denial, and a slower file can still be approved. Each request depends on the applicant's credit, income, documentation, and the asset being financed." } ]} />The Bottom Line on Approval Rates by Project Type
Published data gives a clear overall picture: in 2025, 42% of small business applicants received the full amount sought, and equipment finance approved 77.4% of applications in July 2026. It does not give a verified approval rate for each of your project types, and this post does not invent one. What you can do is set expectations around the file, not the price tag.
No lender, including Eos Loan, can promise an outcome before reading a complete application. Eos Loan is a direct lender, and we would rather walk through your project type and documentation before you quote a customer than surprise anyone later.
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This is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Financing is subject to approval and eligibility. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.
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About the author: Eduardo Donadi is the CEO of Eos Loan, a direct lender financing essential projects, including battery energy storage, EV chargers, water filtration, truck fleet expansion, and business-purpose real estate.
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Sources
- Federal Reserve, 2026 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey (2025 full amount, some or most, and none shares: 42%, 36%, 22%), retrieved 2026-10-06, https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/reports/survey/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms
- Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, CapEx Finance Index July 2026: Demand Surges on AI Investment (77.4% industry-wide average, down 2.1 percentage points in July), August 25, 2026, retrieved 2026-10-06, https://www.elfaonline.org/research/capex-finance-index/elfa-capex-finance-index-july-2026
- Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey program page (survey administered by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks since 2016), retrieved 2026-10-06, https://www.clevelandfed.org/en/publications/small-business-credit-survey