Wheatmead Funding, a small-business funding broker in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, arranges equipment financing through lending partners: loans, finance leases and equipment finance agreements for ovens, coolers, store fixtures, tools, medical equipment and work vans. Normally the item itself is the security. Partners review the quote, the business record and credit history.
| What it is | Money tied to one named asset |
|---|---|
| Structures | Loan, finance lease or EFA |
| Security | Usually the equipment itself |
| Eau Claire County, WI food service | 263 employer establishments (CBP 2023) |
| Not covered | Trucking and agriculture |
How equipment financing works
You pick the equipment and get a written quote. A partner pays the seller, and you repay over a term that roughly matches the equipment's working life. Because the partner can recover the item if payments stop, the equipment itself does much of the work that collateral does in other structures.
Many partners ask for a down payment. To see how a down payment changes the monthly figure, use our loan calculator with down payment; it returns the payment and the total cost including what you put down.
Finance lease or equipment loan
| Equipment loan | Finance lease | Equipment finance agreement (EFA) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns it | You, from the start | The lessor, until the end of the lease | You, with the funder holding security |
| At the end | Paid off and yours | Buy it, return it or renew | Paid off and yours |
| Suits | Long-life assets you will keep | Equipment that ages or gets upgraded | Owners who want title now and a short contract |
Tax and accounting treatment differs between these, so ask your accountant which suits your books before choosing.
Used equipment and work vehicles
Partners fund used equipment, though some limit the age or want an inspection or appraisal. A dealer invoice usually moves faster than a private sale.
Whatever the age, the quote should list make, model, year and serial number; partners match those details to the title or bill of sale before they pay the seller.
Contractor vans and pickups used for the business can be financed as equipment. Wheatmead Funding does not arrange trucking or semi-truck financing, and our partners do not fund agriculture.
What Eau Claire County, WI businesses finance
- Restaurants: walk-in coolers, ranges, hoods and point-of-sale systems. The county had 263 food service and drinking place employers in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023).
- Retailers: shelving, display cases, registers and stock-room equipment, across 382 retail employers (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023).
- Contractors: compact machines, trailers and tools. Construction had 210 employer establishments in the county, 63.8 percent of them with fewer than five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023).
- Medical and dental practices: chairs, imaging and diagnostic equipment, across 217 ambulatory health care employers (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023).
The sectors page covers each of these in more depth, the county business figures give the wider picture, and our post on opening a restaurant in Eau Claire, WI works through a full kitchen budget.
When a term loan suits equipment better
If the purchase is one part of a larger project, such as a fit-out that includes equipment, construction work and signage, a term loan can cover the whole job under one schedule.
Read these lines before signing for equipment
- Total of all payments, plus the down payment and any end-of-term purchase price.
- Whether the partner files a lien only on the equipment or on all business assets.
- Who insures the equipment and who pays for repairs.
- What happens if the equipment fails before the contract ends.
The steps from quote to funding are on how a request moves.
By Wheatmead Funding · Updated