Replacing four reach trucks is not just the cost of four reach trucks. There is the battery infrastructure, the charger stations, the labor to reconfigure the charging bay, the week of reduced throughput while the old units roll out and the new ones are commissioned, and the gap in operating cash that all of this creates. Financing only the iron leaves the rest of that bill on the company card or sitting in accounts payable. A working capital and equipment financing deal covers the full picture in one transaction.
The structure pairs an equipment note, lease, or TRAC structure on the physical assets with a working capital advance that covers soft costs: installation, freight, operator training, facility modifications, and the operating buffer that keeps payroll current while the fleet transitions. Both components close at the same time, funded by the same underwriting decision, with one conversation instead of two.
We fund combined working capital and equipment deals from $50,000. B and C credit considered. Application-only up to roughly $400,000. Most deals are funded within seven to fourteen days.
What the Equipment Component Covers
The equipment portion of a combined deal follows the same structure as a standalone financing: purchase loan, operating lease, or sale-leaseback depending on ownership preference and tax strategy. New and used equipment both qualify. For fleet transactions involvingelectric forklifts, the equipment note can cover the trucks, the battery sets, and the chargers as a single collateralized package.
Attachments, mast upgrades, and safety accessories can be bundled in as well. If you are addingforklift attachmentslike clamps, rotators, or push-pull devices as part of a fleet refresh, those go on the equipment note alongside the base units. The residual or buyout calculation accounts for the full configured unit, not just the base truck.
Used equipment transactions include older units from dealer stock, equipment at auction, and private-party purchases. The equipment component handles the purchase; the working capital component handles the transaction costs and soft expenses that the equipment note cannot cover. This is particularly useful inmanufacturingenvironments where a fleet transition involves facility changes as well as new iron.
Using Working Capital from Iron You Already Own
Some operations do not need new equipment at all. They need cash. If your operation owns forklifts free and clear, or carries a loan balance well below current market value, acash-out refinanceor sale-leaseback pulls that equity out as operating capital without requiring new equipment to be purchased. The transaction looks like working capital financing but the source of the capital is the equipment you already run.
This comes up in a few specific situations. A warehouse operation that bought a fleet outright three years ago may have six-figure equity sitting in the trucks while the business is cash-constrained heading into a hiring push or a facility expansion. A 3PL bidding on a new contract needs to demonstrate financial stability to a customer but does not have the cash to show it. Sale-leaseback on the existing fleet converts equipment equity to cash, improves the balance sheet, and keeps the trucks on the dock.
The combined working capital and equipment financing structure is also useful when an operation is simultaneously adding new units and pulling equity from existing ones. New trucks come in on a purchase note; existing trucks fund the working capital advance through a leaseback. One underwriting review covers both. The trucks keep running through the whole transaction because the fleet never leaves the floor during the process.
Timeline and How the Deal Closes
Combined deals add underwriting depth because there are two funding components, but they do not necessarily take twice as long. The equipment collateral is evaluated once and used to support both the asset note and a portion of the working capital advance. For application-only deals under roughly $400,000, the submission package is a completed application and recent operating statements. For larger transactions, or where the working capital component is significant relative to the equipment value, we may ask for current year-to-date financials as well.
Approval timelines for straightforward combined deals run a few business days on the credit decision and seven to fourteen days from submission to funded. The working capital advance typically releases at the same time as the equipment funding, so you are not waiting for two separate wire transfers on two separate timelines.
Documentation requirements on used equipment include basic unit information (make, model, year, hours, condition) and, for private-party transactions, a bill of sale. Forwarehousing and distributionfleet deals, we often work directly with the dealer or seller to coordinate the paperwork so the transition from order to funded to delivered is as clean as possible.
We have funded combined transactions forfreight and truckingoperations that needed dock forklifts alongside working capital to cover a terminal lease deposit, and for food-grade distribution centers that needed floor-scrubber and lift-truck packages plus capital to bridge a contractually delayed invoice payment from a retailer. The structure fits wherever the equipment cost and the operational cash need land in the same underwriting window.
New Equipment vs. Used Equipment in Combined Deals
New equipment deals carry a more predictable residual and a cleaner collateral picture, which supports a slightly more aggressive working capital advance relative to equipment value. The lender knows what a new Toyota 8FGCU25 or Hyster H50XT is worth because there is an active market and consistent dealer pricing. Used equipment requires more specific evaluation: the exact year, hours, and condition determine how much working capital the lender will layer on top of the equipment note.
That said, used fleet transactions often involve larger dollar amounts because the per-unit cost is lower and buyers acquire more units at once. An auction purchase of eight to twelve used cushion-tire units at $15,000 to $25,000 each is a $120,000 to $300,000 transaction that falls squarely in the application-only range, with meaningful room for a working capital component on top.Auction and private-party financingis available as a standalone structure as well, for buyers who only need the purchase funded without a working capital component.
Working Capital and Equipment Financing: Common Questions
Fund the Equipment and the Operation Together
Tell us the equipment you need, the soft costs you need to cover, and how much working capital would help the transition. We will build a combined structure and get back to you with a payment and advance number before the week is out. One application, one closing, one payment to track.Equipment refinancingand standalonesale-leasebackstructures are also available if the combined approach is more than you need right now.