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Business banking · Washington

New business leads for business bankers

A restaurant arranges its money before its walls: the deposit, the contractor’s first draw, and the equipment loan get set up while the build-out is priced. The Morning Sheet catches the earliest permit filing and puts the address in front of you first.

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Sample lead · SeattleExample
Business name hiddenUnlocks in app
Full-Service Restaurant · Seattle · King
Two signals confirmedLiquor license filedKitchen build-out permit
Business’s verified direct lineDetected October 2026
  • 3Counties live · King, Pierce, and Snohomish
  • 31Food businesses in the build-out now
  • 7 daysExclusive in your territory
  • FreeFirst month, no card
Public-record filings

The window

The bank is picked before the first draw

Banking is one of the earliest decisions on this list. By the time a restaurant files for its building permit, the owner has a deposit to wire, a contractor asking for a draw schedule, and a bid for equipment that someone has to finance. The banker who has already met the owner usually writes the SBA 7(a) or the equipment note.

The operating account, treasury services, the merchant account, and a line of credit for the first slow months often stay open longer, settled over the build-out and right up to opening. Those are worth a call even after the loan is placed.

  1. Lease and plansBefore any filing

    The owner
    Forming the entity and wiring the lease deposit from a new business account, often at the bank the owner already uses.
    For you
    The first checking account usually opens now, before anything shows up in the public record.

  2. Building permit filedUsually 3 to 11 months out

    Your window
    The owner
    Drawings are in review and the contractor’s bids are back. The owner is pricing the build-out and sizing the loan.
    For you
    Bring an SBA 7(a) or equipment term sheet and a draw schedule the contractor can live with.

  3. Permit issued, build-out startsWeeks after the filing

    The owner
    Work starts and the first draw goes out. The construction money is committed.
    For you
    The build-out money is placed. Pitch the operating account, treasury, and a line for opening month.

  4. Final inspectionThe last weeks of the build-out

    The owner
    Inspections pass, equipment lands, and the opening budget is real. The owner knows what the first months will cost.
    For you
    A working capital line and the merchant account are still open. Both are usually settled before opening day.

  5. Business licenseWithin about five weeks of opening

    The owner
    Registering the business, hiring, and setting up payroll. Money starts moving every two weeks.
    For you
    Last stretch for the operating relationship. Bring the payroll and merchant pieces as one conversation.

  6. Opening dayDay one

    The owner
    Daily deposits land in the account chosen during the build-out. Card settlements lag and food is paid up front.
    For you
    The relationship is set. A banker who arrives now waits for a bad experience to move it.

Timings are typical for a Washington restaurant, from the openings we have measured. Several steps rest on fewer than 30 openings, so read them as a rough guide. Read more: The measured business banking timeline · How business bankers and lenders find new businesses before they open.

See who is in this window now

Why it closes

The cost of calling late

  • The loan is already placed

    Build-out financing gets arranged while the permit sits in review. A banker who hears about the restaurant at its opening is months behind the lender who funded the hood and the walk-in.

  • Deposits follow the loan

    Lenders usually ask for the operating account alongside the note, so the deposit relationship goes to whoever did the financing. Winning it back means moving payroll, merchant, and autopay all at once.

  • Switching costs climb every month

    After opening, every vendor has an account number on file and every employee is on direct deposit. The owner has no reason to re-paper all of it to save a few basis points.

What you get

Getting ahead with a lead

  • Leads from the first filing

    A restaurant reaches you at its building permit filing, months before it opens and while the loan is still being sized. Shops, clinics, and salons arrive at their new business license.

  • What is being built, and where

    Every lead carries the address and the filing behind it, so you know what kind of business is coming, where it will be, and where to find the owner on site.

  • A head start on the field

    On First Look, a lead is exclusive in your territory for 7 days before it moves to Second Look. That is time to set a meeting while the project is still a set of drawings.

  • New restaurants, cafes, and bars, plus new shops, clinics, salons, gyms, and child care centers.
  • The address, the expected opening when the filings give one, and the filing behind each lead.
  • The business’s line where we have verified it.
  • On First Look, exclusive in your territory for 7 days, then the lead moves to Second Look.

How it works

How MorningSheet gets you there first

  1. We read the public record

    Permits, licenses, liquor and health filings: the trail every business leaves before it opens.

  2. We verify and score it by hand

    We confirm it across two filings, verify the business’s direct line, and score it 0–100 on how soon it opens.

  3. You call before anyone else

    It lands in your inbox with the reason to call and the business’s direct line. You book the meeting first.

Right now

31 restaurants and food businesses in the build-out now

Counted from the latest public record in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties. New shops, salons, and clinics reach the feed on top of these.

Common questions

Business banking leads, answered

How early can I reach a new business about banking?

At its first public filing. A restaurant shows up when it files for its building permit, months before it opens and while the build-out is being priced. Shops and service businesses usually show up at their new business license, closer to opening, when the operating account and a credit line are the open questions.

Are the leads exclusive?

On First Look, yes, for 7 days. During that window no other banker in your territory gets the lead from us. Then it moves to Second Look, which is shared.

What can a banker still win after the build-out is financed?

The operating account, treasury and remote deposit, the merchant account, and a line of credit for the first months, when card settlements lag and food is paid up front. Those often stay open through the build-out and get settled in the weeks before opening.

Does this work for SBA lending?

Yes. An SBA 7(a) or equipment financing for a restaurant gets arranged while the build-out is priced, around the permit filing. Reaching the owner then means underwriting the plan with them, rather than refinancing a note someone else wrote.

What kinds of businesses are in the feed?

New restaurants, cafes, and bars, plus new shops, clinics, salons, gyms, and child care centers in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties. Restaurants tend to show up earliest, at the building permit. The others usually arrive at their business license.

Where do you have leads today?

King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in Washington. We read the public record there every day and add new areas where reps ask for them.

How do I try it?

Your first month is free, and there is no card to enter. You can also unlock this week’s King County sample on this page before you sign up.

Other trades

Sell something else to new businesses?

Fund the build-out, then keep the deposits.

New businesses in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties, from the earliest permit filing. Drop your email below and a real sample week from our King County feed unlocks right here. No password, no card.

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