Typically, expanding or growing your business is one of the biggest goals for any small business owner. This makes sense because reaching a wider customer base, expanding operations, and increasing production, capacity, and efficiency all can provide huge benefits for a company.
At the same time, when a company tries to grow too fast, the results can be disastrous. For this reason, a wise business owner will protect cash flow during periods of growth. That is an important way to ensure that the financial health of the business stays intact.
Defending your cash flow often involves finding a way to spread out the cost of major purchases. Doing so can ensure there’s always a good buffer to handle emergencies. And by utilizing smart equipment financing solutions, a business can experience several benefits that help them on the path to solid growth.
Before we jump into that, let’s start by looking at what kinds of equipment can be obtained with smart financing to benefit businesses – you might even be surprised by the variety of equipment we finance so you can grow your company.
What Types of Equipment Qualify for Equipment Financing
It is usually easier to qualify for equipment financing than business loans, like SBA loans (Small Business Administration). This means an important first step is knowing exactly what “equipment loans” can all encompass. The fact of the matter is that virtually any business makes equipment purchases that would qualify for an equipment loan. After all, can anyone do business these days without even a phone or computer (or tablet)?
That said, here are some specific types of business equipment from different industries that can qualify for financing:
- Factory and Construction Equipment: Forklifts, excavators, backhoes, cranes, refrigerated trucks, dump trucks, power tools, lathes, press brakes, CNCs, and workbenches.
- Retail Equipment: Cash registers, chip readers, payment terminals for contactless and mobile payments, barcode labelers and readers, and payment software.
- Restaurant and Break Room Equipment: Commercial ovens, grills, fryers, fridges or coolers, dishwashers, microwaves, drink dispensers, tables, and chairs.
- Office Equipment: Desks, chairs, workstations, printers/copiers, cubicles, reception furniture, lighting, projectors, and medical/first-aid equipment.
- Software and Computer Equipment: Laptops, computers, operating systems, software licenses, security systems, and servers.
- Vehicles: Company-issued cars, box trucks, trailers, specialized vehicles, and semis.
- Building Maintenance and Upgrades: Solar panels and other green energy improvements, electric vehicle charging, more energy-efficient appliances like boilers, HVAC, LED lighting, and insulation.
It is worth noting that we could really have included “and more” at the end of each of those lists. While this serves as a decent sampling of the kinds of equipment we help companies finance, it’s certainly not an extensive list of all options. (If you ever have questions about if what you’re thinking about obtaining would qualify for financing, please don’t hesitate to ask – we are always happy to answer any questions you might have!)
Remember, if you need it for your business, it probably qualifies for equipment financing. And when your company needs to make upgrades or expand, financing may be a better solution than you’d expect!
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How Equipment Financing Can Jump-Start Your Business Growth
Even the best-laid plans of a savvy business owner can go awry in a hurry. The company vehicle breaks down, a key piece of machinery suffers a failure, the heating or cooling system breaks, etc. And if you’ve put all your spare funds into expanding operations, these business-critical moments can be highly stressful and frustrating.
The solution to maintaining flexible and healthy balance sheets is equipment financing. With equipment loans, the potential benefits are numerous. You can:
- Maintain healthy cash flow. Smart business owners know that cash flow is critical to keeping a company afloat, and financing is one tool that allows businesses to stay flexible.
- Expand capacity. Rather than expand incrementally in bits and pieces, it is sometimes a better move to make a larger investment and do it the right way the first time. A big expansion is usually a huge capital outlay, so equipment financing can spread the cost out into easy, predictable monthly payments.
- Increase efficiency. Upgrading equipment almost always means a faster, more efficient work environment. Anything from faster computers to machines that create less waste or require less human input can save you money. But if you don’t have the cash on hand to make upgrades, equipment financing can come to the rescue.
- Take advantage of tax benefits. If you’d like to upgrade to energy-efficient equipment, there are often tax breaks that you can take advantage of. Don’t let the cash price of equipment keep you from those tax savings! Instead, partner with a private financing company who can work with you to find sensible solutions. Additionally, some equipment financing options allow you other certain tax benefits, like writing off depreciation or deducting interest payments.
- Keep up with the latest and greatest. Some equipment financing companies offer equipment leasing. For items that quickly become obsolete or depreciate in value, this can be a great option to keep the most advanced technology in your company’s hands.
Creating the best environment for business growth often depends on finding the right equipment financing company. From traditional lenders to independent financers, your approval and payments can vary greatly. That’s why we encourage you to learn more about your options, including private equipment financing companies.
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Why Team Financial Is a Great Equipment Financing Partner
When it comes to equipment loans, many institutions are concerned with their minimum credit score requirements or a small new company’s lack of an extensive business history. That said, you will find that it’s typically the traditional lenders, like banks, that are overly preoccupied with those numbers. An independent lender like Team Financial Group can take a holistic look at your finances to see that your annual revenue is in great shape, and we can be more understanding when one bad choice may have affected your credit score (but it doesn’t completely exclude you from credit approval).
When it comes to purchasing equipment, we understand that sometimes you’re in a bind: production is down and you need to get it back up and running ASAP. To this point, we frequently offer same-day equipment financing agreement approvals because we have the flexibility that other lenders don’t. Costly equipment can make or break small businesses, and we want to see you succeed in whatever industry sparks your passion.
For us, that industry happens to be equipment financing. We work closely with small business owners to help you achieve your goals, with solid advice on your best loan or lease options and competitive interest rates.
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See How We’ve Helped Other Businesses Grow
Team Financial is proud to showcase how our clients, from within a variety of industries, have enjoyed growth and success. While many of these businesses started as clients, we now have professional and personal relationships that put us in a position to help guide them to a brighter financial future.
If you’re considering the possibilities for your own business, be sure to check out our client success stories to see how we’ve worked with other organizations to expand operations and find more happy customers. And if you have any questions, or are ready to start exploring your own equipment financing options, please feel free to reach out and contact us and we will be happy to help you however we can!