Equipment Financing for New York Salons and Barbershops

What counts as equipment in a salon

When owners talk about opening or expanding a shop, the list is long. The chairs, build-out and product inventory are the categories that matter most. Within those, the items that usually count as equipment are the ones you could pick up and move or that are installed for the business to use:

• Styling and barber chairs and stations
• Shampoo bowls and backwash units
• Hooded dryers, steamers and color-processing equipment
• Mirrors, cabinetry and reception furniture
• Point-of-sale terminals and booking hardware
• Laundry equipment for towels and capes

Build-out work, such as plumbing for new sinks, is sometimes handled differently than the equipment itself. Ask how a funder treats installation costs before you sign.

Why finance the equipment rather than pay cash

A salon owner who pays cash for a new station is making a bet that no other expense will pop up that month. Equipment financing spreads the cost of an asset across the period in which it earns revenue. We do not publish rates or terms, and what a funder offers depends on your statements and the purchase. The general reasoning is that a chair that brings in booked appointments pays for itself over time, so paying for it over time makes sense.

The question that should drive the decision is how many more appointments that new chair or bowl allows. If the answer is none, because you already have unfilled chairs, the equipment is not the constraint.

A step-by-step view of an expansion

1. Count your current utilization. Are the chairs you already have booked most of the day, or are some sitting idle?
2. Price the full add. A station is a chair, a mirror, a cabinet and sometimes plumbing. Total it, with delivery and installation.
3. Check the staffing side. A stylist or barber must fill the chair, and recruiting has its own timeline.
4. Get a quote on the equipment. A quote or invoice makes the request concrete.
5. Apply with the plan in hand. The more specific the purchase, the cleaner the request.

Illustration: adding two stations

For illustration only, not our terms or a typical outcome. A barbershop adds two stations at a combined cost of $9,000 for chairs, mirrors and cabinets, with a new stylist at each. If each chair brings in a few booked clients a day, the added revenue builds over several weeks as the books fill. In the meantime, the owner pays for the equipment out of the revenue it helps produce, rather than out of the operating account that also pays rent and product costs.

Used equipment and secondhand fixtures

Many New York salons buy used chairs and fixtures, especially when a neighboring shop closes. If you are considering a used purchase, tell us. Funders differ on how they handle secondhand equipment, and having an invoice or bill of sale in hand will help.

Applying

The application takes about five minutes. We ask for about three months of business bank statements, with no tax returns. The credit pull is soft, FICO scores of 500 and above are considered, and sole proprietors can apply. Funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000, and funds can arrive in as little as 24 hours. Start your application.