June 21, 2021

10 Industries That Benefit from Equipment Financing

Author

FF

Fora Financial

Staff

Tags

• Medical Business Loans

• Restaurant Loans

Whether you need to increase your production capacity, efficiency, or quality, you may benefit from equipment financing. Put simply, equipment financing allows you to upgrade, repair, or replace existing equipment. Of course, some businesses benefit more than others from this kind of additional working capital. In this post, we’ll list 10 industries that often see significant benefits as a result of using equipment financing.

Which Industries Benefit From Business Equipment Financing?

1. Restaurants

Replacing or upgrading restaurant equipment is a costly but worthwhile investment. After all, your staff uses types of equipment such as commercial dishwashers, ovens, freezers, safety equipment, and ventilators almost every day. If you let this equipment wear out, you’re putting your restaurant’s reputation and your employees' safety at risk. With an equipment lease or loan, you can make these necessary upgrades without significant restrictions on your cash flow.

2. Construction firms

In the incredibly competitive world of the construction industry, equipment can be one of your greatest advantages. With construction equipment financing, there are many ways you can press this advantage.  For example, by leasing your construction equipment, you can avoid the upfront expense of purchasing. Plus, you can switch out your tools for newer models every few years. Just keep in mind that you may face penalties if you break your lease. Therefore, it’s important to weigh the benefits and downsides of leasing.

3. Manufacturing companies

Manufacturers are often a great fit for equipment financing because they are so reliant on expensive heavy machinery. Keeping up with market demand while maintaining low operating costs, means you’ll need to regularly maintain, upgrade, and replace equipment. Financing your equipment leaves additional cash flow for other important expenses like payroll, materials, marketing, and more.

4. Medical offices

In medical offices, reliable technology is a must-have if you want to maximize your staff’s efficiency. Given the universally high prices of medical devices, medical equipment financing can greatly benefit practices of all types. Of course, the type of technology you purchase depends on the type of medical practice that you own. So, make sure you carefully research which technologies will help expand and/or improve your practice.

5. Photographers

Any professional who must wait to get paid until they’ve completed the job, like photographers, faces cash flow issues. Add in the expense of travel, sales and marketing, software, and camera equipment, and cash flow can become a major challenge. With equipment financing, photographers can reduce their cash outlay for expenses such as:

• New lenses
• Cameras
• External lighting
• Backdrops
• Anything else that improves their services

6. Food trucks

Selling food out of a truck means avoiding the significant expense of leasing space for your restaurant. Still, even if you buy or lease a used food truck, it'll still be a considerable cost for your business. In addition, small business owners in this industry will also need to afford:

• Refrigeration systems
• Fryers
• Ovens
• Griddles
• Washing stations

Without restaurant equipment financing, food truck owners often struggle to find enough cash to invest in other costs, such as marketing. So, it may be beneficial to pursue a business loan for various expenses.

7. Auto repair shops

For an auto repair shop, it’s often difficult to come up with cash for modern equipment before generating enough revenue. However, to generate sufficient revenue, you'll need:

• Well-functioning engine hoists
• Brake lathes
• Strut compressors
• Vehicle lifts
• Transmission jacks

Depending on your individual scenario, pursuing an equipment loan or lease can help you spread out your equipment costs.

8. Transportation/trucking companies

There’s a range of different businesses within the transportation industry, but every one of them could use equipment financing. From trucking and towing companies to medical transport and taxi services, transportation companies can use equipment financing to pay for:

• Vehicle repair
• Towing equipment
• Additional storage
• Health and safety equipment (for medical transport)
• All-weather equipment (i.e. winter tires)
• Backoffice technology upgrades (i.e. workflow automation software)
• Vehicle repair, maintenance, and replacement

By using a loan to purchase equipment, you can ensure you have enough funds to continue growing your transportation operation.

9. Gyms and fitness centers

Outdated or insufficient equipment options at your gym is one of the surest ways to lose customers to competitors. At the same time, offering options that your prospects can’t get anywhere else can be a game-changing competitive advantage. However, small gyms struggle to compete with big-box gyms with massive equipment budgets. Financing provides an alternative opportunity to compete. Rather than committing cash to new gym equipment, consider leasing or financing your purchases. That way, you can continue to spend your free cash flow on attracting new members and serving existing ones.

10. Landscaping companies

If you’re running a landscaping business, you’d likely be surprised at the many ways equipment financing can help you. There’s the obvious benefit of having more reliable, cost-efficient equipment, but it’s more than that. Additional mowers, weed whackers and other tools make it possible for your team to take on more and larger jobs. Plus, you open up greater availability for last-minute requests. On top of all that, new tools can also allow you to expand your service offerings. In these ways (and more) equipment financing can help you greatly expand your customer base.

Conclusion: Make Your Equipment Work for You

Running and growing a successful business in any industry can be a rewarding challenge to overcome. To learn more about how equipment financing solutions can benefit your business, check out our guides on equipment leases and loans.

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