Is Your Finance Professional on Your Team?

Let's have a quick chat about how to tell if a representative or company is on your team whenever you're looking for equipment financing. We'll start with a couple of red flags to watch for up front.

1. You’ve never spoken to them, but they sent you a "pre-approval" letter of some kind.

These are often a quick "no." They're starting the relationship off less than transparently and are doing you a favor by letting you know ahead of time.
Next.

2. They guaranteed you a rate without being provided any kind of info about your company, credit, equipment purchase, etc.

Another fast "no." Same reason as above.
Next.

Just avoiding these two kinds of representatives can save you a lot of time, headache, and possibly money. Moving along..

3. Ask good questions-
–What is their approval and funding process like?

–Do they require a deposit check prior to obtaining approval? If so, do you get your deposit back should they fail to secure an approval at the proposed terms? (Pay close attention to the fine print on their proposal).

–What is the structure of the deal? Is it a lease or a finance agreement? If it's a lease, are they clear about the terms regarding the end of the lease? Is there a renewal, balloon payment, etc.? Is it a dollar buyout? If so, make them show you where that's disclosed in your contract.

*Pro tip- If you simply want to own the equipment at the end of the term, you can forgo a lease altogether and request an Equipment Finance Agreement. This is almost always doable except in rare cases.*

These few criteria, along with a few careful questions, will typically show you the kind of person you're dealing with pretty quickly.

When considering a finance partner, questions are your best tools.

You don't have to be a finance expert yourself, but you do need trustworthy professionals in your corner.

By taking a consultative approach, our goal is to be an extension of your team and someone you can build long term trust with.