The 3 Best Leases For Commercial Kitchen Equipment
The best equipment lessors offer excellent rates, fast funding, and flexible buyout options. Here are our picks for best equipment leases.
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WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Editor & Senior Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
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REVIEWED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Advertiser Disclosure: Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity.
Commercial kitchens require a substantial capital investment in equipment. While some restaurants may prefer to buy outright, an equipment lease may be the better option in some cases. This is especially true when it comes to equipment that needs to be frequently replaced or upgraded.
If you’re getting your restaurant up and running, you may not have the time to independently research every vendor out there to determine their suitability. Why not leave that part to us? Here are a few solid commercial kitchen equipment financing options.
Learn More About Our Top Picks
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Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
Table of Contents [hide][show]
- Top 3 Equipment Lessors For Restaurants
- Lendio: Best Marketplace For Equipment Leases
- National Business Capital: Best Advisory Services For Leases
- US Business Funding: Best For Operating Leases
- How Restaurant Equipment Leasing Works
- Types Of Equipment Leases
- How Much Does Restaurant Equipment Leasing Cost?
- The Bottom Line On Commercial Kitchen Equipment Leases
Table of Contents
- Top 3 Equipment Lessors For Restaurants
- Lendio: Best Marketplace For Equipment Leases
- National Business Capital: Best Advisory Services For Leases
- US Business Funding: Best For Operating Leases
- Business Loan & Funding Products Review Methodology
- How Restaurant Equipment Leasing Works
- Types Of Equipment Leases
- How Much Does Restaurant Equipment Leasing Cost?
- The Bottom Line On Commercial Kitchen Equipment Leases
Top 3 Equipment Lessors For Restaurants
The best equipment lessors offer excellent rates, fast funding, and flexible buyout options. Here are our picks for best equipment leases for commercial kitchen equipment and more.
- Lendio: Best Marketplace For Equipment Leases
- National Business Capital: Best Advisory Services For Leases
- US Business Funding: Best For Operating Leases
How The Best Commercial Kitchen Equipment Lessors Compare
| Max Borrowing Amount | Rates | Time In Business | Credit Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lendio | $5 million | Starts at 7.5% | Varies | 520 |
| National Business Capital | $5 million | Starts at 7% | 6 months | Varies |
| US Business Funding | $50 million | Starts at 3.5% | 6 months | Undisclosed |
Lendio: Best Marketplace For Equipment Leases
Pros
- High borrowing amounts
- Low credit score requirements (for some lessors)
- Multiple types of financing available
Cons
- Rates can be expensive
- Application process can be slow
Why We Chose Lendio As Best Marketplace For Equipment Leases
Lendio is an aggregator of business financing that matches customers to the right financing from its network of over 75 business funders. Lendio’s partners offer a variety of business financing, including equipment leases and loans. With one simple application, Lendio presents you with offers suited to your needs, saving you the work of finding financing on your own.
Lendio will run a soft credit check on you during this process, but this will not affect your credit score. According to Lendio’s customer service agreement, the process of presenting you with offers should take no longer than 72 hours. Once approved, you can be funded in as little as 24 hours.
Choose Lendio If...
- You want to easily compare equipment loan and lease offers with a single application
- You want to potentially explore other types of small business financing
National Business Capital: Best Advisory Services For Leases
Pros
- High borrowing amounts
- Low credit score requirements (for some lessors)
- Excellent customer service
Cons
- Rates can be expensive
Why We Chose National Business Capital For Best Advisory Services
National Business Capital is another lending marketplace that allows businesses to apply to multiple funders through a single application.
In addition, National Business Capital will assign you an advisor to help maximize your chances of finding a match within their network. This can be very helpful for businesses who haven’t previously used an aggregator to find a lease.
Choose National Business Capital If...
- You’re a new business with a credit score of at least 650
- You have good credit and want competitive rates and terms for your equipment lease
Get Started With National Business Capital
US Business Funding: Best For Operating Leases
Pros
- High borrowing amounts
- Wide variety of lease options
- Funds are disbursed quickly
Cons
- Rates can be expensive
Why We Chose US Business Funding For Best Operating Leases
Businesses looking for short-term equipment leasing options should give US Business Funding a close look. With a wide variety of buyout options, US Business Funding allows businesses to easily upgrade or refinance equipment as needed.
Additionally, US Business Funding is willing to work with businesses as young as six months old, a market segment that can often struggle to find equipment financing.
Choose US Business Funding If...
- You want to choose from a variety of equipment leases with funding up to $50 million
- You’re a newer business that has been in operation for 6+ months
Get Started With US Business Funding
Business Loan & Funding Products Review Methodology
We spend hours researching and evaluating each business loan and funding product that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.
When rating lenders and funding providers, we use a 31-point rubric that looks at rates and fees, services, eligibility requirements, application, sales and advertising transparency, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating. This rubric is applied to traditional term loans, as well as short-term loans, start-up loans, lines of credit, online lending products, merchant cash advances, and equipment financing products.
- Rates & Fees: 20% of the total star rating
- Services: 20% of the total star rating
- Eligibility Requirements: 20% of the total star rating
- Application: 15% of the total star rating
- Sales & Advertising Transparency: 10% of the total star rating
- Customer Support: 5% of the total star rating
- User Reviews: 5% of the total star rating
Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we examine specific attributes like terms lengths, conditions of repayment, credit score and revenue requirements, ease of application, length of time to funding, the ethics involved in promoting the lending product, customer support, and the overall reputation of the lender or funding provider.
Read more about how we rate small business lenders.
How Restaurant Equipment Leasing Works
When considering your equipment lease options, it’s important to fully understand your choices.
While equipment loans work pretty much like any other type of loan, equipment leases merit some further explanation. With an equipment lease, you’re paying a fee to borrow the equipment from the lessor (the leasing company) as opposed to paying down a loan to purchase the equipment. At the end of your lease, you generally must return the equipment to the lessor, though you may be offered the option of purchasing the equipment after your lease term ends.
This arrangement carries with it several advantages:
- You don’t have to make a large down payment for the equipment in question.
- You can switch out your leased equipment for an updated version in the case of certain leases.
- You have some flexibility as to how the equipment appears on your accounting books.
- Leases are more likely to cover additional expenses like delivery and installation.
However, it’s worth noting that leases tend to carry larger interest rates than loans, so you may end up paying more for your equipment overall than with a loan.
Types Of Equipment Leases
Common types of equipment leases offered by lessors include:
How Much Does Restaurant Equipment Leasing Cost?
Obviously, the biggest cost of your equipment will be the price tag of the refrigerator, mixer, or whatever item you are financing. Unfortunately, with equipment financing, you’ll be incurring some additional charges:
- Interest: This is usually the APR of the loan or lease, although some lenders may use a flat rate instead. In either case, the longer your term length, the more money you’ll be spending on the item.
- Origination Fee: This is a closing fee some lenders charge in addition to interest. It’s either a percentage of the amount you’re borrowing (1% – 5% is typical) or a flat fee. This fee is more common with loans than leases.
- Administration Fee: This is a fee charged in addition to interest to maintain your account. It may be a percentage or a flat fee. It’s more common with leases than loans.
- Down payment: A payment you’re expected to make at the time of closing. This is either the portion of the cost that an equipment loan didn’t cover or, in the case of leases, the first (and sometimes last) month’s payment.
- Residual: At the end of a lease this is the amount of money you’d owe if you were to purchase the equipment. In the case of capital leases, the residual may be a trivial formality ($1, for example). In the case of operating leases, it may be substantially higher, typically the fair market value of the asset.
The Bottom Line On Commercial Kitchen Equipment Leases
Hopefully, you now have a better sense of how you can go about leasing kitchen equipment. Restaurant equipment leasing is a complex field to navigate, but financing is not hard to get if you know where to look and have a good idea of what you can afford in terms of lease payments or loan repayments.
Once you do find a good leasing company or lender, make sure you read your contract or lease agreement very carefully.
Not sure a lease is the best option? Check out our picks for best small business loans and best equipment financing companies.
Erica Seppala
Editor & Senior Staff Writer at Merchant Maverick
Erica began writing on small business topics in 2008. She joined Merchant Maverick in 2018 and focuses on loans, accounting, and POS. She is a Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll. She has been cited in MSN, Reader's Digest, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, and Real Simple. She is a graduate of Limestone University and resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
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