Figuratively is our excellent service. But how we literally go “over and above” is by financing soft costs and extras. Indeed, a full 25% of your entire loan amount can be soft costs and extras. 

When you finance equipment anywhere else, there’s a good chance you’ll have to reach into your own pocket for these soft costs and extras. 

And what are these soft costs and extras that Crest will finance but others won’t? I’m happy the question came up – here’s a partial list:

• Taxes – Uncle Sam wants his cut. Fortunately, Crest Capital can finance this part for you as well. 
• Delivery – As the items you finance get larger, the chances of a delivery cost typically rise. We can handle that too (tipping the driver is on you though.)
• Installation – Does your newly-financed equipment need to be professionally installed? Sometimes this carries a charge, which you can finance if you use us. 
• Training – Some equipment has optional training you can purchase. We can include this as part of your deal.
• Upgrades and Add–Ons – Does your equipment dealer offer the super cool deluxe package, but the bank only wants to finance the boring base model? Come to Crest Capital – we’ll get you the equipment you really want. 
• Maintenance and Service Agreements – As equipment gets more technologically sophisticated and complicated, the need for routine maintenance and extended warranty service agreements rises. We can include these in your deal as well.

So yes, soft-cost financing is definitely something that most borrowers are interested in. And again, with Crest Capital, a full 25% of your deal can be soft costs that you’d normally pay out of pocket for. This allows you to leave your wallet at home (well, like I stated, just bring enough for a tip – we don’t finance that!)  

To my 11-year-old self, $10 may as well have been a limitless fortune. It felt incredibly freeing to have $10 to spend. I could buy a ton of candy, a magazine or two, a toy, and still have money left over.

I still feel that way today at certain times, particularly when I have some extra money and I go shopping for “Fletch Stuff”. There’s just something about having the funds to buy both what you need, and what you want. And maybe even have enough left over for a little extra.  

This Is Exactly What Equipment Financing Feels Like

You need new equipment for your business. And when you know you have ample funds to “go shopping” with, it changes the entire dynamic of your equipment purchase. No longer are you constrained by cash on hand, and no longer do you have to settle for a lesser model due to cost.

Even better is when you have an equipment lender who will finance MORE than the price of the piece of equipment – this allows you to buy attachments, add-ons, optional modules for software, maintenance agreements, training, installation… everything you need.  

Crest Capital has made it easy to get a good idea if you can “go shopping” – our pre-approval tool has been used by thousands of companies, letting them know they can be a kid in a candy store, just like I was when I was 11. It’s a really good feeling.

And like my last post mentioned, businesses who sell equipment would do well to offer financing. Give your customers that same feeling my grandfather gave me, and let them shop till’ they drop!

Fletch out.

True story:

Once, at a trade show, I was talking to the owner of a regional retail/service chain (12 stores in all, plus a small warehouse) about soft cost financing. We got to talking about “training”, because that’s one of the soft costs that a good equipment financing company will finance.

He told me he bought a fairly robust point of sale system, complete with shipping and inventory features. But the bank wouldn’t finance training (they didn’t even finance the entire price, but that’s another story), so he instead went with the included bare bones one-day seminar, and not the week long, hands-on training option.

The result was while the system was easy enough to pick up at basic level, key advanced features were glossed over. One such feature was real-time inventory (as opposed to the daily/weekly/monthly reports they ended up using for the first year.) He estimated that simply using this advanced feature from the beginning would have resulted in more efficient ordering and inventory turnover. In short, learning about this would have paid for itself. If only the bank would have agreed to add training to the financing…

If it’s available, financing training with any equipment purchase can be a very smart move. Obviously, not everything you purchase will require training, but for computer systems, point of sale systems, some more advanced machines (like CNC Machines), financing training can be a very cost-effective move. Especially since the cost of the training is stretched out over years – for most deals, adding training to monthly payments amounts to a few extra dollars, which makes it a no-brainer.

An addendum – we helped my trade show contact with financing other products, and the “deal closer” was the fact that we financed soft costs. It makes those extras and add-ons very attractive, and easy to buy. So whether it’s maintenance agreements, training, or other soft costs like delivery and setup, a good equipment financing company will happily include it in any deal.