Funding options
Equipment financing
The machine is the collateral. That is what makes this the cheaper shape for a truck, a lift or a piece of kit with a long working life, and the wrong shape for almost anything else.
About two minutes. No credit pull to start. Free to you. Funding partners pay Addy for the introduction. Not an offer or an approval.
- How it is priced
- Interest at an annual rate, usually fixed, on the amount financed. A down payment is common, and a documentation fee.
- How you repay
- Fixed monthly payments over a term matched to the equipment, commonly two to seven years. Some end in a balloon or a buyout.
- What owners use it for
- A second truck, a lift, a jetter, a dryer bank, a laser, an oven. Anything with a long life and a serial number.
Amounts, rates and terms come from the funding partner and depend on what your file shows. I do not set them, and I cannot promise them.
What it is
The plain version.
Equipment financing is a loan, or sometimes a lease, for one specific asset, and the asset secures it. If the business stops paying, the lender takes the machine. That security is why the rate is usually lower than a term loan or a line, and far lower than an advance.
The term is matched to the equipment’s working life, which is the sensible way to pay for something that earns for years: a truck that will run for seven years paid over five, not out of the next nine months of deposits. Dealers, manufacturers and specialist lenders all do this, and a quote from the dealer is worth having before you ask anyone else.
Watch three lines: the down payment, any documentation fee, and whether the term ends with a balloon payment or a buyout. Each moves the real cost without moving the rate.
What the money costs
- Amount financed
- $60,000
- Illustrative rate
- 9% a year
- Repaid over
- 60 monthly payments
- Monthly payment
- about $1,246
- Interest paid
- about $14,700
Illustration only, not a quote. I picked the rate to show the arithmetic; a partner sets the real one, and a down payment, a documentation fee or a balloon changes the picture.
The same $60,000 machine bought with a merchant cash advance at 1.30 would mean remitting $78,000, or $18,000 for the money, out of the next several months of deposits, for a machine that will earn for years. That mismatch is why a truck on an advance is the classic wrong tool.
How it works
Four steps, and the one that surprises people is the last.
- 1
You pick the equipment
A quote or an invoice for the specific machine. The request is for that, not for a sum of money.
- 2
A partner reads the file and the asset
The business’s deposits and credit, and what the equipment would be worth if it had to be sold.
- 3
The seller is paid
Usually directly by the lender, with your down payment alongside it if there is one.
- 4
You pay monthly over the term
Matched to the life of the machine. Check what happens at the end: you own it, you buy it, or you hand it back.
What partners may read
What a funding partner may look at.
- What the equipment is, how old it is, and what it would resell for
- The quote or invoice, and who the seller is
- Monthly deposits, and whether the business can carry the payment
- How long the business has been trading
- The owner’s personal credit
- The down payment you can make, which moves both the payment and the answer
My read of what underwriting tends to weigh, not a list anyone published and not a test I score. Every partner sets its own criteria and none has told me what they are. Partners underwrite and decide; my job is to make the request readable so the answer comes back either way.
When it fits
- The purchase is one asset with a long working life and a resale value
- You have a quote or an invoice in hand
- The equipment starts earning as soon as it arrives
- You want the cheaper money and can wait a little for it
When it is the wrong tool
- The need is the working capital around the machine: stock, wages, the months before it earns. That is a line or an advance
- The asset is old or specialist enough that a lender cannot price a resale
- You will replace the equipment inside a year
- You cannot document the purchase. Cash deals with no invoice do not finance
Questions
The ones owners actually ask.
Still stuck? The guides go further:
How does equipment financing work?
You pick the machine and get a quote; a partner reads the business and the asset, pays the seller directly alongside any down payment, and you pay fixed monthly instalments over a term matched to how long the equipment earns. The machine secures the loan, which is why the rate is usually lower than unsecured money. Check what the end of the term looks like: you own it, you buy it, or you hand it back. Put the machine through the calculator.
Is it a loan or a lease?
Both exist. With a loan you own the equipment and the lender holds a lien until it is paid. With a lease you pay to use it and may buy it at the end. Ask which you are being offered and exactly what the end of the term looks like.
Do I need a down payment?
Often. Some partners finance the whole price; most want something down. It moves the monthly payment and sometimes the rate, so ask what changes if you put more in.
Can I finance used equipment?
Usually, if it has a resale value a lender can check. Older or specialist kit is harder, and the term is often shorter.
Should I ask the dealer first?
Yes. Dealer and manufacturer programs are often the cheapest money for the machine, and a quote in hand tells you what any other partner has to beat.
Will applying pull my credit?
Not with me. The form on this page is information, not an application, and I do not run credit. A funding partner may run credit as part of its own underwriting, and it will tell you when it does.
Do I need an EIN?
Almost always. It is free from the IRS and takes about ten minutes online. I wrote a short guide on getting one.
Get funding options
Tell me about the business.
One form covers every shape on the shelf. Tell me about the business and roughly how much you're after; partners who work with businesses like yours take it from there. About two minutes, no credit pull from me.