Signing Your Equipment Finance Agreement

After the Approval

From Credit Decision to Signed Agreement

Send us the seller’s invoice

The invoice tells us exactly what is being financed, from whom, and for how much, including any tax, delivery and installation you want folded into the agreement. That is everything we need to prepare the paperwork. You can send it by email or fax.
Review the finance agreement

We send you the agreement built from the invoice and the approved terms. Check the equipment description against the invoice, the amount financed, the term, the monthly payment and the first payment date. If anything on the invoice changes, tell us before signing rather than after; the agreement follows the invoice.
Sign where marked, and return it

Arrows mark every place a signature is needed. For a closely held company the owners sign the personal guaranty as well as the agreement, which is standard in equipment financing. When in doubt, sign by the arrow. Return the signed pages to us and the agreement is complete.
Crest pays the seller

With the signed agreement in hand, Crest Capital pays the seller directly, including tax, delivery and setup. The seller releases the equipment, and from there it is yours to put to work.

The Pages

What the Agreement Contains

The equipment schedule: A description of the equipment taken from the seller’s invoice: make, model, serial number where there is one, and the seller’s name. Read it against the invoice; it is the one part of the agreement that is specific to your purchase.
The payment terms: The amount financed, the number of monthly payments, the payment amount and the date the first payment is due. On a Crest Capital agreement the rate is fixed for the full term, so the payment on the last page is the payment you will make every month.
The security interest: The clause that makes the equipment the collateral for the agreement. It covers the equipment described in the schedule and nothing else; there is no blanket lien on the rest of your business. On an equipment finance agreement Crest releases its interest when the final payment is made; on a lease, the end-of-term option in the agreement decides what happens next.
The personal guaranty: For a closely held company, the owners’ promise to stand behind the agreement personally. Lenders ask for it because, in a small company, the owners’ and the company’s finances are intertwined; the five Cs of credit guide explains why.
The standard terms: What happens if a payment is late, who insures the equipment, and how a payoff is handled. Early payoff is allowed, with minimal or no prepayment penalty; because the financing cost is fixed at signing, there is no advantage in paying off early.

After You Sign

Delivery, Payments and Adding Equipment Later

Your monthly payments begin on the date in the agreement, not on the day you sign. If you chose a deferred, step-up or seasonal plan, that schedule is written into the payment terms. Keep the signed agreement with your tax records: under an equipment finance agreement or a $1 buyout lease you own the equipment for tax purposes, and the agreement and invoice document the cost basis and the placed-in-service date for the Section 179 deduction.

Need more equipment next year? We will work with you there, and a master agreement lets additional equipment schedules be added without starting over. If you financed $25,000 or more this year, see the Section 179 Bonus program, which is registered on the application rather than the agreement.

Common Questions About Signing

Once we have the seller’s invoice, we send the agreement, and reviewing, signing and returning it can in most cases all be done the same day. Crest then pays the seller directly.

The seller’s invoice, by email or fax. It carries the equipment description and the price, including any tax, delivery and installation to be financed, and it is everything we need to prepare the finance agreement.

Crest Capital pays the seller directly after the signed agreement is returned, including tax, delivery and setup. You do not pay the seller and wait for reimbursement.

Yes, we will work with you there. A master agreement allows additional equipment schedules to be added later, which works like a line of credit for equipment.

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