Guide · Equipment financing, explained
Can a new business get equipment financing?
By Alex Makowski Published
More easily than any other funding product, because the asset carries much of the risk. Startup and first-year programmes exist across the market. Expect a larger deposit — often 20 percent or more — a personal guarantee, and more weight on your personal credit and industry experience than a trading business would face.
In this guide
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01
Why this is the accessible product
Revenue-based funding needs deposits to underwrite, and a new business does not have six months of them. Equipment financing has an asset instead.
Funders run specific new-business programmes because the collateral position makes them workable in a way unsecured lending to a startup is not.
For a haulier buying a first truck or a shop buying a first line, this is very often the only real route to the equipment.
02
What they will want
A meaningful deposit. Twenty percent is a common starting point and more is not unusual.
Your personal credit, weighted more heavily than it would be for an established business, and a personal guarantee more or less as standard.
Industry experience. Years working in the trade before starting the business genuinely counts, and it is worth putting in writing rather than assuming it is obvious.
Evidence the asset earns: signed contracts, a lease on premises, letters of intent. Anything showing revenue on the other side of the purchase.
03
Getting the best result
Choose a standard, resaleable asset for the first purchase. Specialised equipment is much harder to finance without trading history.
Keep everything in the business bank account from day one. Six months of clean business banking is what unlocks every other product later.
Repay this cleanly. A first equipment loan repaid on time is the fastest way a new business becomes fundable for everything else.
Written by
Alex Makowski, Owner
Alex Makowski owns and runs Business Loans for America and has been placing funding for U.S. small businesses since 2021. Businesses he has worked with have secured $50M+ in financing across 1,200+ placements. He writes and reviews every guide on this site.
FAQ
Related questions.
- How new is too new?
- There is no universal floor — deals are written for businesses trading weeks rather than months, on the strength of the deposit, the asset and the owner's background.
- Will I need a personal guarantee?
- Almost certainly, for a new business. It is close to universal on this product regardless of age.
- Is it cheaper than an advance?
- Considerably, and it is available earlier. If what you need is equipment, this is the product — not working capital.
Guides
More on equipment financing, explained
If you default
They take the asset — and can still pursue the shortfall.
What counts as equipment
If it has a serial number and a resale market, it can usually be financed.
Financing vs leasing
Do you want to own it at the end, and how fast does it date?
The down payment
Usually 10–20%, and often negotiable against a stronger file.
Used equipment
Yes, and age caps matter more than condition.
Credit score needed
Matters more than for an advance, less than for a bank loan.
Sources
- U.S. Small Business Administration — LoansFederal loan programmes, eligibility and what the SBA does and does not guarantee.
- Consumer Financial Protection BureauFederal consumer-finance regulator. Publishes guidance on credit terms and disclosure.
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