This Working Paper outlines the methodology underlying the new EIF SME Access to Finance (ESAF) Index, which aims at monitoring developments in SMEs’ access to financial resources in the EU. The index, which is newly developed and will be periodically updated, fills a gap since such an approach did not exist previously. Composite indicators are a useful tool in the policy maker’s toolbox, as they are able to summarise a complex phenomenon in one statistics summary that is straightforward to track over time, or to compare between countries.