Frequently Asked Questions

Equipment financing is a lease used to acquire business equipment — trucks, machinery, medical or restaurant equipment — without paying the full purchase price up front. Instead of draining working capital, you spread the cost over a term that matches the useful life of the asset. The equipment itself usually serves as the collateral, which is why approvals are faster and more accessible than unsecured business leasing. As a broker, we work differently from a single bank: we take one application and present it to the lenders in our network most likely to approve your profile, industry, and equipment type. You get the equipment working for your business right away while payments come out of the revenue it generates. At the end of a lease term you can typically purchase the equipment, upgrade it, or return it, depending on the structure you choose.

There is no single minimum credit score for equipment financing in Canada, because different lenders serve different credit tiers. Banks and credit unions generally want strong established credit, while independent and alternative lenders in our network approve a much wider range of profiles — including newer businesses and owners rebuilding their credit. What matters as much as the score is the whole picture: time in business, revenue, the equipment's value as collateral, and the size of your down payment. Because the equipment secures the contract, funders take on less risk than with unsecured financing, which keeps the door open for applicants a bank would decline. As a broker, our job is to match your file to the lender most likely to say yes at the best available terms, rather than forcing every applicant through one credit policy. If your credit is bruised, tell us up front — it changes which lenders we approach, not whether we can help.

It depends on how long the equipment stays useful and how you want to manage cash flow and taxes. Buying — usually through an equipment leasing — makes sense for assets that hold value and stay in service for many years: trailers, machining equipment, some heavy machinery. With a $1-buyout lease you build equity and the asset is yours at term. Leasing shines when technology turns over quickly or you want lower payments: you use the equipment during the term, then choose to purchase it, upgrade to newer equipment, or return it. Leasing can also offer accounting and tax treatment advantages, since payments may be expensed differently than a purchase — your accountant can confirm what applies to your situation. Many of our clients mix both: $1-buyout leases for long-life iron, operating leases for technology and vehicles they plan to refresh. Because we broker both structures across our lender network, we can price the same equipment both ways and let you compare real numbers instead of guessing.

Leasing is a powerful tool, but it isn't free of trade-offs and we believe you should see them clearly before signing. Over the full term, total lease payments can add up to more than a straight purchase would have cost, since the lessor is financing the asset and carrying risk. You don't build equity during the term unless your lease includes a purchase option, and some structures carry end-of-term obligations — return conditions, buyout amounts, or renewal clauses — that surprise businesses that didn't read them up front. Early termination can also be costly if your needs change mid-term. The way to manage all of this is structure: choosing the right lease type, a realistic term, and a clear end-of-term option before you commit. That is exactly what a broker is for — we walk you through the buyout, the term, and the total cost of each offer from our lender network so you compare leases on substance, not just on the monthly payment.

Yes — startups can absolutely finance equipment in Canada, though the path is different than for an established company. Banks typically want two or more years of operating history, which shuts out new businesses by default. The lenders in our network include several that specialize in startup files, where the decision leans on the owner's personal credit, industry experience, the strength of the business plan, and the equipment itself as collateral. A larger down payment or a shorter first term can also strengthen a startup application. Owner-operators buying their first truck, new clinics equipping a practice, and first-location restaurants are all files we place regularly. The equipment being financed matters too: assets with strong resale markets are easier to approve for a new business than highly specialized gear. If you're pre-revenue, talk to us before you commit to a purchase — knowing what you can be approved for shapes what equipment you should be shopping for.

In many cases, yes. Bruised credit narrows your options at the banks, but the commercial truck financing market in Canada includes lenders who work specifically with challenged-credit files — it's a core part of what they do, not an exception. What they look at is the full story: how recent the credit issues are, whether you have industry experience behind the wheel, the down payment you can bring, and the truck itself, since a well-maintained unit with strong resale value is solid collateral. Expect a bad-credit approval to carry a higher rate or a larger down payment requirement than a prime file — that's the honest trade-off. The strategy many owner-operators use is to accept those terms to get rolling, make twelve months of clean payments, and then refinance at better terms once their file has improved. Our job as a broker is to find the lender who says yes today and position you for better terms tomorrow.

The best structure depends on the truck, your business stage, and your cash flow — there is no single right answer, which is exactly why comparing commercial truck financing options matters. A $1-buyout truck lease builds equity and suits owner-operators planning to run the unit for its full life. A lease keeps monthly payments lower and works well for fleets that refresh units on a cycle, with a purchase option at the end if you decide to keep the truck. Dealer financing can be convenient but reflects one lender's programs; a broker puts the same application in front of multiple transportation lenders and lets the offers compete. Key questions to settle before you sign: new or used unit, how many kilometres you'll run per year, the term versus the truck's remaining life, and what down payment keeps your working capital safe. We finance highway tractors, straight trucks, and vocational units across Canada, with decisions typically inside a quick turnaround.

Rates for heavy equipment financing in Canada vary widely because they're priced to the file, not the machine alone. The main drivers are your credit profile and time in business, the age and condition of the equipment (new excavators price differently than ten-year-old dozers), the term length, and the down payment. Established businesses with strong credit financing newer iron sit at the low end of the market; startups or challenged-credit files financing older used equipment pay more, reflecting the lender's risk. Rather than quote a number that may not apply to you, we do something more useful: we submit your file to the heavy-equipment lenders in our network and bring back real offers you can compare side by side. Rates also move with the Bank of Canada's policy environment, so a quote from last year — or a rate a competitor advertises for their best-case file — tells you little about what your business qualifies for today. A real quote costs nothing and doesn't obligate you.

Yes — used equipment is financed every day in Canada, and for many businesses it's the smarter buy. A three-year-old excavator or a low-kilometre used truck delivers most of the productive life at a fraction of the new price. Lenders finance used equipment from dealers, at auction, and in many cases through private sales, though private-sale deals involve extra verification steps like lien searches and equipment appraisals. What lenders care about is the asset's remaining useful life and resale value: the lease term generally can't outlive the equipment. Expect slightly different terms than new-equipment financing — sometimes a shorter maximum term or a modest rate premium on older assets — but approval is routine when the equipment holds value. We arrange used equipment financing across categories: construction machinery, trucks and trailers, manufacturing and restaurant equipment. Bring us the listing or auction lot you're looking at, and we'll tell you what financing on it realistically looks like before you commit to the purchase.

An equipment sale-leaseback converts equipment you already own into working capital without losing the use of it. You sell the equipment to a lender for a lump sum based on its appraised value, then lease it back on a fixed term — the machines never leave your yard and your operations don't skip a day. Companies use sale-leasebacks to fund growth, consolidate expensive debt, cover a large contract's upfront costs, or steady cash flow through a slow season. The strongest candidates are businesses with owned, lien-free equipment that holds value: construction fleets, trucks and trailers, manufacturing lines. The considerations to weigh: you give up ownership during the term, total lease cost exceeds the lump sum you receive, and end-of-term buyout terms should be crystal clear before signing. We structure sale-leasebacks through lenders in our network who specialize in them, and we make sure the appraisal, the term, and the buyout are all working in your favour, not just the lender's.

Canadian farm operations have several routes to equipment financing, and the right one depends on the operation and the asset. Equipment leases through commercial lenders cover tractors, combines, seeding and tillage equipment, grain handling, and dairy or livestock systems — new and used, dealer or auction. Terms can be structured around agricultural reality: seasonal or annual payment schedules that match harvest revenue instead of forcing twelve equal payments on a business that earns most of its income in two months. Dealer programs and captive financing exist for major brands, but they represent one lender's terms; brokering the same purchase across multiple agricultural lenders frequently surfaces better structures. Government programs and grants come and go and are worth checking with your provincial agriculture ministry, but they rarely cover the timely purchase of a specific machine — that's what commercial financing is for. We arrange farm equipment financing across Canada with decisions typically quickly, so you can move when the right equipment comes up.

The cost has two parts: the equipment itself and the financing on top of it. A full commercial kitchen — cooking line, refrigeration, ventilation, dishwashing, prep — commonly runs from tens of thousands into six figures depending on the concept, and that's precisely why most restaurants finance rather than pay cash during their most capital-hungry phase. The cost of financing restaurant equipment depends on your credit profile, whether the business is new or established, the term you choose, and whether the equipment is new or used. Rather than tying up opening capital that you'll need for leaseholds, inventory, staff, and the slow first months, financing spreads equipment cost across the revenue the kitchen generates. Leases are popular in food service because equipment like refrigeration and cooking technology gets replaced on a cycle anyway. We finance single pieces and full kitchen packages, for first locations and expansions alike. Send us your equipment quote and we'll return real payment options — that's a far more useful number than any generic estimate.

Yes. Food trucks are financed in Canada as commercial vehicles fitted with restaurant equipment, and lenders in our network handle them regularly — new builds, used trucks, and trailer conversions. A food truck file combines two asset types, the vehicle and the kitchen build-out, and the strongest applications document both: the truck’s mechanical condition and value, plus the equipment list for the build. Because many food truck operators are first-time business owners, lenders look at personal credit, food-industry experience, and the down payment; a solid, realistic plan for where and when you’ll operate strengthens the file further. Used trucks with existing equipment are often the most financeable entry point, since the total price is lower and the collateral value is established. Startup food trucks are a file type we know well — if you’re comparing a new build against a used unit, talk to us before committing, because the food truck financing terms available on each can change which one actually costs less to get rolling.

Clinics, dental practices, veterinary hospitals, diagnostic labs, and aesthetic medicine providers all finance equipment routinely — imaging systems, dental chairs and CAD/CAM, lasers, surgical and lab equipment. The two main structures are leases, and leasing is especially common in medicine because the technology refresh cycle is short: a lease lets a practice run current-generation equipment and upgrade at end of term instead of owning aging technology outright. Healthcare files are generally well-received by lenders because practices have stable, predictable revenue, which translates into competitive terms. Financing also lets a practice acquire revenue-generating equipment — a new imaging modality, an aesthetic laser — where the equipment's own billings cover its payments. New practices deserve a note: startup medical and dental files are financeable on the strength of the professional's credentials and earning trajectory, even without years of practice history. We arrange medical equipment financing across Canada for both established practices and professionals opening their first location.

Both happen, and which applies to you depends on the strength of your file. One hundred percent financing — real equipment financing with no money down, sometimes with soft costs like delivery, installation, and training rolled into the deal — is genuinely available for established businesses with solid credit acquiring equipment that holds its value. For newer businesses, challenged credit, or older used equipment, lenders typically want a down payment, commonly in the range of ten to twenty-five percent, because it lowers their exposure and shows commitment. A down payment isn't purely a hurdle: putting money down reduces your payment, can improve your rate, and shortens the path to equity. The honest answer to 'do I need one?' is: let's find out with a real application rather than assume. As brokers we know which lenders in our network run true zero-down programs and which files they approve for them — so if full-cost financing is available for your situation, we'll find it, and if it isn't, we'll tell you exactly what down payment unlocks an approval.

For most standard transactions, expect a quick credit decision once you submit a complete application — and funding shortly after the paperwork and any equipment verification are done. Speed depends mostly on file completeness: an application with the equipment quote or invoice, recent bank statements, and accurate business details moves through underwriting quickly, while missing documents are what actually cause delays. Larger or more complex transactions — multi-unit fleet deals, private sales requiring lien searches and appraisals, or structured facilities — naturally take longer than a single dealer-sold machine. This is an area where the broker model works in your favour: we know each lender's turnaround times and documentation quirks, we package your file the way their underwriters want to see it, and we route time-sensitive deals — an auction closing, a piece another buyer is circling — to the lenders who move fastest. If you have a deadline, tell us when you apply and we'll work the file to it.

Commercial trailer financing is generally one of the more approachable asset classes, because trailers are durable, hold their value well, and have a deep resale market — all things lenders like in collateral. Dry vans, reefers, flatbeds, drop decks, and specialized units are financed routinely across Canada, new and used, for fleets and single owner-operators alike. Approval difficulty tracks the usual factors: your credit profile, time in business, down payment, and the age and condition of the trailer. Reefers get a little extra scrutiny on the refrigeration unit's hours and service history, since the reefer unit is a major part of the value. A newer operator or a bruised-credit file may see a down payment requirement where an established fleet gets zero-down terms, but declines are less common than in unsecured lending. We place trailer files with transportation lenders who understand the asset — often paired with tractor financing in the same transaction — with decisions typically quickly.

Business equipment financing covers almost any asset a business uses to operate or generate revenue. The obvious categories are vehicles and heavy iron — trucks, trailers, excavators, loaders, forklifts — but the market is much wider: manufacturing and CNC machinery, medical, dental and veterinary equipment, restaurant and food-processing equipment, agricultural machinery, IT hardware, office fit-outs, printing equipment, fitness equipment for gyms, and aesthetic lasers for clinics. New and used both qualify, from dealers, auctions, and often private sales. Lenders evaluate the asset on useful life and resale value, so equipment with an established secondary market is easiest to approve; highly customized or software-heavy assets can still be financed but may need the right specialized lender — which is exactly the kind of matching a broker does. Soft costs like delivery, installation, and training can often be rolled into the same facility. If you're unsure whether something qualifies, ask us with the quote in hand: the answer is yes more often than most business owners expect.