Equipment financing comes in two basic forms. First, qualifying businesses can borrow funds to purchase necessary equipment, everything from bulldozers to barbeques, where the equipment itself serves as collateral for the loan, much as with a car loan or lease. Or, with a Sale Leaseback Agreement, you may be able to borrow money against equipment you already own, and use that cash for expansion or other needs.

Equipment Financing goes by a number of different names. It’s also known as an Equipment Finance Agreement (EFA), Capital Lease, Finance Lease, or $1.00 Buyout (because you can buy the equipment at the end of the lease for one dollar or similar small cash payment). In fact, most equipment leases have a Fair Market Value (FMV) residual, a fancy accounting term that just means you’ll need to make a lump cash payment at the end of the lease if you want to keep the equipment.