Every equipment funder finances one list of gear for one type of borrower. If your equipment or credit falls outside it, you're declined. The Broker Shop works with equipment funders — financing everything from work trucks to medical lasers — and negotiates the rate.
Equipment financing is the cheapest way to buy business gear because the equipment itself is the collateral. But every funder has a list of what they will and won't finance, and a credit box to match. The right funder funds you in 24-72 hours at a low rate; the wrong one declines you or wants 30% down. Here's how to land the right one.
Why one equipment funder isn't enough
Equipment funders specialize. One only does titled vehicles. Another won't touch restaurant equipment. A third wants 650+ credit for soft costs like software. Apply to a funder whose list doesn't include your gear — or whose box doesn't fit your credit — and you're declined, even though a dozen other funders would have funded it gladly.
One funder = one equipment list
They finance the gear they like, for the borrowers they like. Wrong equipment type or a slightly low score and you're out — or stuck with a big down payment.
The right funder = your gear, funded
One application reaches funders that finance trucks, kitchen equipment, lifts, lasers, machinery, and tech. We match your equipment to the funders that fund it and negotiate the terms.
Going to one funder vs. The Broker Shop
| What matters | Going to one funder | The Broker Shop |
|---|---|---|
| What equipment they finance | Their one approved list | Trucks, machinery, kitchen, medical, tech — the right funders |
| Down payment | Often 10-30% | As low as 0-10% with the right funder |
| If your gear isn't on their list | Declined | Routed to a funder who finances it |
| Who negotiates your rate | No one | We do, across the right funders |
| Cost to you | Varies | $0 — the funder pays our fee |
The equipment is the collateral — use that leverage
Because the equipment secures the loan, equipment financing is often the lowest-cost capital a business can get — 7-25% APR, far below an MCA. But that's only true if you reach a funder that finances your specific gear at a competitive rate.
The Broker Shop matches your file to the equipment funders whose guidelines you meet, matches your equipment to the ones that fund it, and negotiates the rate down. Funded in 24-72 hours, free to you.
Match My Equipment to a Funder →What actually determines your cost
When financing equipment, these factors decide your cost:
- Equipment type & resale value — gear that holds value (trucks, machinery) gets the best rates.
- New vs. used — used equipment may need a slightly higher down payment.
- How many funders compete — one funder's rate vs. 50+ bidding for the deal.
- Your credit & revenue — 550+ credit and $10K+/month open most equipment funders.
- Whether anyone negotiates — a broker pushes the rate and down payment down.
Compare how equipment financing works, or financing vs. leasing.
How do you choose an equipment financing company?
Choose on fit, not on brand. Compare six things across funders: whether they finance your specific equipment type, the down payment they require, whether the term matches the gear's useful life, whether the lien is on the equipment alone or on your whole business, what an early payoff costs, and how much paperwork they need. The best funder is the one whose answers line up with your file.
That list matters because equipment funders are specialists, not generalists. A funder built around Class 8 trucks prices a title it can repossess and resell through an established auction market. A funder that finances dental chairs or CNC machinery is underwriting a much thinner resale market and prices accordingly. Send the same application to both and you will get two very different answers — not because one is better, but because only one of them wants your collateral.
The lien question is the one owners most often miss. Some equipment funders file a lien limited to the financed gear; others file a blanket lien covering all business assets, which can block or complicate a business line of credit or working-capital facility later that year. Ask which one you are signing before you compare rates, because a cheaper deal with a blanket lien can cost you the next deal. As a broker rather than a funder, The Broker Shop puts your file in front of funders that finance your category and lets them compete on those terms.
What do equipment financing companies require to approve you?
Most equipment funders want three things: a quote or invoice for the specific equipment, evidence you can carry the payment, and a business old enough to have a track record. Below roughly $150,000 many funders work application-only — no tax returns, decision in a day or two. Above that threshold they generally ask for full financials.
The equipment itself is doing most of the work in that decision. In U.S. commercial law, financing that a business incurs to acquire specific goods creates a purchase-money security interest in those goods — the funder's claim attaches to the gear it paid for, which is why equipment deals underwrite more loosely than unsecured working capital and why a mid-500s credit profile is often workable when the collateral is strong. If your credit is the weak point in the file, our guide to business funding with bad credit covers what actually moves a decision.
Time in business is the other lever. Under a year, most equipment funders want a larger down payment or a personal guarantee with real substance behind it; past two years with clean deposits, application-only pricing opens up. Used equipment is financed routinely, but expect a shorter term, since funders will not amortize past the point where the collateral is worth less than the balance.
How Section 179 changes what equipment financing really costs
Section 179 lets a business deduct the cost of qualifying equipment in the year it is placed in service instead of depreciating it over years. For tax years beginning in 2026, the IRS sets the maximum Section 179 deduction at $2,560,000, reduced dollar-for-dollar once total qualifying property placed in service passes $4,090,000. That timing difference is why the sticker rate is not the whole cost.
The practical effect: a financed purchase can be deductible in the year the equipment goes into service even though you are paying for it over several years, so the deduction and the payments do not line up on the same schedule. Whether that helps you, and by how much, depends entirely on your taxable income, your entity type and what else you bought that year — so treat the figures above as the published limits, not as a calculation of your outcome, and ask a tax professional before you let a deduction drive a purchase decision.
What it does change is how you compare offers. A funder that can close before your year-end and one that closes in January are offering materially different deals even at an identical rate, because "placed in service" is what starts the clock. If timing matters to you, say so up front — it belongs in the comparison alongside the down payment and the term.
Frequently asked questions
Sources: IRS Publication 946 — How To Depreciate Property, Section 179 dollar limits · Cornell Legal Information Institute — UCC § 9-103, purchase-money security interest
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