Small business lending might be built to serve small businesses, but it often isn’t designed to support the success of those operations. With equipment financing, small businesses need lending services that can be flexible to the needs of their specific business model—not the other way around.

Traditional small business lending creates too much friction in the application and approval process for equipment financing. From the documentation required to the long timelines before funds are approved and distributed, businesses in need of specialized equipment often can’t afford to wait and see whether those banks will deliver the financing they need to remain ahead of their competition.

Even when you don’t offer in-house financing to your customers, their access to reliable funding affects your revenue streams and, ultimately, your outlook as a business. For that reason alone, it’s important to consider the ways your business might help connect clients to financing through solutions-focused vendor finance programs.

When businesses seek out financing to make essential equipment purchases, credit always comes into play. If your company has challenged credit, you could quickly see your financing options dry up, putting your business in a tough situation.

In need of financing for new business equipment? For most business owners, a traditional bank may be the first place you think of when it comes to seeking out financing for these purchases—but it isn’t necessarily the best option.

As a manufacturing or equipment resale business, you might prefer to limit the scope of your services to your customers in order to focus on what you do best.

If you need financing to afford a major equipment purchase for your business, you might assume that a small business loan from a traditional bank is going to be your best option to afford this purchase outright.

Even when manufacturers and resellers prefer to stay out of the financing process, they can still play a role in connecting customers with equipment finance options, positioning their company as a one-stop shop for all of a client’s business equipment needs.

If you’ve never worked with an equipment financing company before, you probably have some questions about these unique financing options, as well as the approval process you can expect. Equipment financing is a distinct form of funding that is different from other financing and leasing programs offered by other banks and institutions, and it can provide key benefits and value that support your company. 

When your company requires specialized equipment, the up-front costs of launching a business can be cost prohibitive. This equipment doesn’t come cheap, but without revenue coming into your business, the task of affording this equipment is a barrier to entry for many small businesses.

Equipment financing agreements (EFAs) solve these challenges by providing the funding necessary to acquire essential equipment and spread out its cost over time. If you’re in need of specialized equipment but don’t have the liquidity to afford this purchase outright, an EFA loan might be the perfect financial tool for your business.