Every lender in this record that publishes a minimum time in business asks for at least six months, three ask for twelve and one asks for twenty-four. A business that started this month clears none of them. That is worth stating first, because the useful question for a startup is not which lessor is best but which four routes exist when the published door is closed.
The four routes, and what each really costs
A personal guarantee against a strong personal credit file, which is the most common and means the risk is yours whatever the paperwork says. A larger deposit, typically well above the ten to twenty per cent an established business would put down, which is the fastest lever but consumes the cash a startup has least of. Vendor or dealer finance from the seller, which is frequently the most accommodating because the seller wants the sale and can repossess easily. And a co-signer or a partner with trading history, which works and puts a relationship behind a machine.
Why lessors draw the line at six to twenty-four months
Not because a new business is untrustworthy, but because the failure rate in the first year is the highest it will ever be and the lessor's recovery on a repossessed machine is worst exactly when many are being repossessed at once. A trading minimum is a crude proxy for having survived that period. Understanding it that way makes the negotiation easier: anything that reduces the lessor's downside, a deposit, a guarantee, a liquid standard machine rather than a bespoke one, does more than any amount of explanation about the plan.
What to line up before the first conversation
The specific machine with a price and a serial number, because a lessor is underwriting an asset and cannot start without knowing which one. Personal credit and personal financial details, since the guarantee will be the thing that carries the deal. Any contract or letter of intent from a customer, because a confirmed order is one of the few things that substitutes for trading history. And a realistic deposit figure. Nine lenders in this record publish a bar; the other seventeen will tell you theirs if you ask, and for a startup those conversations are more useful than applications.
Questions people ask about startup equipment leasing
Can a startup lease equipment at all?
Yes, and not through the published door. Every lender here that publishes a trading minimum asks six months or more, so a startup is looking at a personal guarantee, a larger deposit, dealer finance or a co-signer, usually two of the four together.
How big a deposit will a startup need?
No lender in this record publishes a deposit figure. Expect substantially more than the ten to twenty per cent common for an established business, and expect it to fall as trading history accumulates, which is a reason to revisit the terms after a year.
Is dealer finance better for a new business?
Frequently it is the only yes available, because the seller wants the sale and can recover the machine easily. Compare it against one independent quote on total cost of borrowing, and check what happens at the end of the term.