Wildbend Funding Group, a small-business funding service in Newark, Ohio, offers this equipment payment calculator for Licking County, OH contractors, landscapers and other owners pricing a machine. Enter the price, down payment, an annual rate and the term to see the monthly payment and total cost including the down payment. Whatever rate you type is a planning assumption only.
What the calculator does
It takes four inputs: the equipment price, your down payment, an annual interest rate you choose, and the term in months. It returns the monthly payment and the total cost, which is every monthly payment plus the down payment. That is all it computes; it is an amortization tool, not a quote.
- Price: the amount on the quote or listing, including anything you plan to finance with it.
- Down payment: the cash paid at signing.
- Annual rate: an assumption for planning. Try several values.
- Term: how many monthly payments you plan to make.
A worked example: used compact excavator
Illustration only, with invented figures: a contractor finds a used compact excavator for $68,000 and puts $8,000 down, financing $60,000 over 48 months at an assumed annual rate of 10. The calculator shows a monthly payment of about $1,522 and a total cost of about $81,040 including the down payment. Change the rate to 13 and the payment rises to about $1,610. Neither number is an offer or a typical rate.
The useful question is whether the machine earns the payment. If owning it saves about $2,400 a month in rental charges, a payment near $1,500 leaves room; if it only replaces occasional rentals, it may not.
What it does not calculate
Several things change real-world costs that this tool leaves out, so work them by hand:
- Sales tax, delivery and fees: add them to the price if you plan to finance them.
- Trade-ins: subtract the trade-in value from the price, or enter it as part of the down payment.
- Leases: a lease with a residual or buyout is priced differently; this tool assumes a loan paid to zero.
- Seasonal or skip payments: the tool assumes equal monthly payments.
- Weekly figures: to compare with a weekly rental, multiply the monthly payment by 12 and divide by 52.
Using it for different machines
The same inputs work for a zero-turn mower, a skid steer, a commercial oven or a CNC lathe. Contractors can read more on the contractor funding page, and landscapers on the landscaping page. For how partners look at new and used machines, see equipment financing, and for other tools and guides, the guides page.
By Wildbend Funding Group · Updated