Financing for your Spa or Salon

Financing Your Salon Equipment

Do you own a Hair Salon or Full Service Spa? I’m sure you’ve come across the need to upgrade your equipment. Maybe your shampoo bowl cracked or the leather is tearing in your chairs. There’s many different types of Equipment in Spas & Salons, whether you’re looking to finance the furniture and fixtures or upgrade your hair processors, dryers, massage chairs or even the reception desk. Who doesn’t like new Equipment?

We all know that Equipment financing is much easier to get when you have good credit compared to having bad credit. But How do you qualify for financing if you have bad credit?

There’s a reason why Spa & Salon equipment financing is hard to get. Especially if you’ve attempted getting bank financing, you’ll get turned down a majority of the time. Why? Salon equipment collateral is considered “soft” and has little or no value outside of your salon. It is difficult for the lender to sell salon equipment to recover some of their capital if you default.

This is certainly different from posting commercial vehicles as collateral – commercial vehicles retain value, and are easier for the lender to recover costs.

We get a lot of inquiries from salon owners with below-average credit looking for a capital. If we’re going to be transparent – the chances of getting an approval isn’t likely because of the approval process mentioned in our Beginners Equipment Finance and Lease Guide

Here’s what a salon should do to qualify for financing…

As the owner of a Full Service Spa or Salon, you probably have two questions on your mind as you approach a financing company.

#1: Questions to ask yourself before applying for equipment financing
Use Common sense to assess the situation, do you need the equipment now? Is your Credit Score high enough to get financing? Can you afford to save up and get the equipment in a year?

#2: How much does the equipment financing cost?
We discuss both questions in detail. First, let’s see if you qualify for salon equipment financing or not.

If you have a good credit score of 650 plus, then you should have no trouble getting the financing you need. But there are circumstances when even the good credit won’t help much. For example, if you have good credit right now, but were bankrupt a couple of years ago, you might find it hard to get financing – especially if you have a startup business.

If you have a very good credit score, but have no real history of borrowing, then believe it or not, you might struggle to get financing. You need to establish a credit history that goes beyond just your student loan and credit card debt.

In either case, the credit problem can go away as long as you are able to get a strong co-signer. It could be someone – a close friend or a family member – who has excellent credit and sufficient assets. That should be enough to get you to qualify for the financing.

What about getting financing for your salon when you are not a start-up?

If you own a salon that has been around for a while and has a track record, then it is much easier for you to get financing. You need to show that you’ve got an actual business and show the financials to prove revenue generated for the previous years

Even if you have a below average credit score of 550 to 600, if you can show that you have a real money making business, that would certainly get you the financing you need. The only thing is that with good credit, you will need to pay less for the financing and with below average or bad credit you will have to pay more for the same.

It’s important to look at the bigger picture when deciding if you need the equipment. We recommend calculating the potential additional revenue that you can bring with newer equipment and seeing if the monthly payment makes sense. If you’re ready to get Salon Equipment after this article, fill out our Online Application.