Calculator
Enter what the equipment costs, how you would pay for it and what it adds to the business. See the monthly net effect, the dated payback month and what happens if revenue comes in 30% lower.
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Updated October 13, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Illustrative arithmetic only. This is not an offer or a quote; real terms depend on your file and the funder.
A financed piece of equipment pays for itself when the profit it adds each month is larger than its payment plus the costs of running it. The calculator measures that gap, then counts the months until the cash you put down is earned back. If the gap is negative, the equipment is a cost you carry from the rest of the business, however good the purchase looks on paper.
It fits owners who can point to the work the equipment will do: a second truck for booked routes, an oven for a wholesale contract, an imaging unit that keeps patients in house. It fits less well when the revenue is a hope rather than a schedule. In that case the better move is often to wait until the work is booked, rent first to prove demand, or put more down so the payment is smaller.
Assumptions: the payment is fixed, the equipment brings in the same revenue every month, and the margin you enter is what is left after materials and direct labor, before the equipment payment. Taxes, depreciation and resale value are left out on purpose; ask your accountant how they apply to you. Dates step one calendar month at a time from your first payment date.
A catering company prices a $60,000 combi oven line. It puts $6,000 down and finances the rest at an illustrative $1,250 a month for 48 months, first payment December 1, 2026. A signed wholesale contract adds $6,000 of monthly revenue at a 45% margin, and the oven adds $600 a month in power, upkeep and insurance.
| Base case | Revenue 30% lower | |
|---|---|---|
| Added gross profit | $6,000 x 45% = $2,700 | $4,200 x 45% = $1,890 |
| Minus operating costs | $2,100 | $1,290 |
| Minus payment = net effect while paying | $850 | $40 |
| Payback of the $6,000 down | Month 8 (Jul 1, 2027) | Month 52 (Mar 1, 2031) |
| Cash position after 48 payments | +$34,800 | -$4,080 |
In the base case, 7 months returns $5,950 and month 8 crosses the $6,000 down payment. The total paid is $6,000 down plus 48 x $1,250 = $66,000, so the money itself costs $6,000 on top of the oven. The downside case is the real test: at $40 a month the down payment is still $4,080 short when the last payment clears, and it takes 4 more months of the full $1,290 to get back to zero. The oven still works, but only if the contract holds. To cover the payment and running costs the oven needs $1,850 / 0.45 = about $4,111 of added revenue a month.
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
The revenue is booked or proven, the base case is positive, and the downside case stays near zero or better while you pay.
The base case is positive but the downside goes clearly negative. A larger down payment, a longer term or a smaller machine moves the numbers before you sign.
The base case is already negative, or payback runs past the useful life of the equipment. Rent, buy used, or wait until the work is under contract.
Industry matters before the numbers do. Construction files follow their own published rule (5 years in business, $500,000+ in monthly revenue, 10+ deposits a month and a commercial location), and trucking files need regional or local routes with Amazon, FedEx or UPS contracts. We do not promise funding for residential remodeling or long-haul trucking. Read the full sheet on funding requirements.
The application asks for the same items on every request: your most recent business bank statements as PDFs downloaded from the bank, business details (legal name and DBA, EIN, start date, address, industry), average monthly revenue, the amount and what it is for, and owner details for the credit review. For equipment, "what it is for" is the machine and its price, so have the seller's quote ready. About 3 months of statements is the usual starting point; full financials are usually requested only above $250,000. Build the set with the document pack, or tick through the document readiness checklist.
Once the payback holds up, test the payment against your weekly cash in the payment burden calculator, and compare real quotes in the offer comparison calculator. Read how equipment financing works, then check what you qualify for. It starts with a soft credit pull and the application takes about 5 minutes.
The share of the added revenue that is left after materials, direct labor and other costs that rise with each job. If a $1,000 job uses $550 of food and staff time, the margin is 45%. Do not subtract the equipment payment; the calculator does that.
New equipment most often disappoints on volume: a contract starts late, a route is lighter, a season is slow. The payment and running costs stay the same when that happens, which is what makes the gap dangerous. You can test a cost increase by raising the operating cost field.
No. It measures cash in and cash out each month. Tax treatment of equipment can change the after-tax picture, so ask your accountant.
Enter 0. Payback then becomes the first month the running total is zero or more, which is month 1 if the net effect is positive from the start.
You can, but the payment comes from daily or weekly sales over a shorter period, so the monthly net effect is usually lower. Compare both in MCA vs equipment financing.
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