After months of tinkering, the Small Business Administration in the fall finally may have gotten its newest offering just right.

Small businesses with higher interest rates or facing balloon payments on their loans now have the opportunity to refinance using an SBA 504 loan.

The program actually launched a year ago, according to Sean Avery of the Community Economic Development Co. of Colorado, but the guidelines for the program were too conservative and many businesses either didn’t want to use the program or were not eligible.

The SBA then relaxed the guidelines and businesses have begun to take advantage of the program.

Avery’s company has refinanced seven loans through the program, with both the size of the loans and the types of companies running the gamut. The smallest loan Avery refinanced was for $300,000, but loans up to $5 million are eligible.

Companies from construction firms to music stores have benefitted from the program, according to Avery. The loans can be used to refinance up to 90 percent of the appraised value of existing commercial mortgages.

To qualify for refinancing under the program, businesses must meet many of the same requirements for a