Copy this, fill in the What we want column before the first sheet arrives (Part 4), then add one column per lender as sheets land. Rows with no target are rows you've decided are market-standard — decide that consciously, not by omission. All values below are illustrative placeholders.
| Key term | What we want | Lender A | Lender B | Lender C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure (fwd flow / warehouse / bridge→SPV) | Warehouse, SPV day one | |||
| Headline size / committed size | $25M / $10M committed | |||
| Upsize mechanics (right vs sole discretion; gates) | Pre-agreed gates, no re-fee | |||
| Advance rate + mechanism (tiers? gates? DPD decay?) | 85%, whole-book step-ups, no DPD decay | |||
| First-loss / equity required at full draw | ≤ $2M | |||
| Interest: benchmark + spread | SOFR + 8.5% | |||
| Benchmark floor | ≤ 2.5% | |||
| Default interest (flat vs escalating) | +2% flat, cash only | |||
| Day count | actual/365 if we can get it | |||
| Structuring/upfront fee | ≤ 0.5% of committed | |||
| Draw fee | None | |||
| Unused fee | None | |||
| Agent/admin fees | None | |||
| Warrants (%, strike, vesting) | None; fallback: ≤0.5%, 409A strike, milestone vesting | |||
| Guaranty (type, %, denominator, burn-off) | Bad-acts only; fallback 10% of outstandings | |||
| Personal guarantees / key-person terms | No personal; key-person w/ 90-day cure | |||
| Draw mechanics (min, notice, frequency, monthly cap) | Weekly draws, 2-day notice, no cap | |||
| Draw window / amortization period | 24-month window | |||
| Eligibility criteria (attached w/ numbers?) | Full list in sheet — dealbreaker | |||
| Concentration limits + ramp-up holiday | Holiday until $5M; partner cap ≥ 25% | |||
| Financial covenants (min cash formula etc.) | Min cash ≤ greater of $1.5M / 4 mo burn | |||
| Performance triggers: levels and consequences | Graduated ladder only; numbers in sheet | |||
| Cure periods | 5 BD on reporting; 10 BD general | |||
| Cross-default scope | Material debt, actual acceleration only | |||
| Reporting cadence | Monthly tape (weekly only above $10M) | |||
| Underwriting guideline lock scope | Consent only for material loosening | |||
| Origination exclusivity / capacity rights | ≤ 80% of flow, dies on funding refusal | |||
| ROFR / ROFO on next raise | ROFO only, one facility, 12 months | |||
| No-call period / prepay fees / clock resets | 18 mo, no resets, partial prepay OK | |||
| Servicing fee (and waterfall seniority) | 1%, senior in waterfall | |||
| Backup servicer (when required, who pays) | Above $5M, paid from servicing fee | |||
| Reserve account | None; fallback ≤ 2% | |||
| Deal exclusivity length | ≤ 45 days, auto-expiry | |||
| Deposits / work fees / dead-deal exposure | ≤ $25k, refundable if lender walks | |||
| Legal cost cap | $75k cap absent bad faith | |||
| Conditions precedent (full list in sheet?) | Yes — dealbreaker | |||
| Equity-raise conditions | None | |||
| Board observer / info rights | None | |||
| Governing law / venue | ||||
| Dealbreakers triggered? | ||||
| All-in cost at our haircut draw curve (Appendix E) | ||||
| Reference checks (their borrowers, esp. in workouts) | ||||
| Speed through diligence so far |
Two usage notes. Compare on the all-in cost row, not the spread row — run every sheet through the Appendix E model at your haircut deployment curve before ranking. And keep a dated copy each time terms move; the diff history is your negotiation record (Part 7).