Physician, dental and therapy offices in Sterling, CO finance exam chairs, imaging units, sterilizers and practice software through vendor programs, banks and equipment finance companies. The right source depends on the item, whether it is new or refurbished, and how the practice is paid by insurers and patients.
Brookmark Financial in Sterling, Colorado explains how medical, dental and therapy practices finance clinical equipment and passes those requests to funding partners, who make their own decisions.
Exam chairs, imaging and sterilizers: what Logan County, CO practices finance
Dental chairs and delivery units, intraoral and panoramic X-ray units, autoclaves, exam tables, therapy and rehab equipment, diagnostic devices and practice-management systems are all financed as equipment. The item secures the loan or lease, which is why a partner wants the vendor quote with model numbers and with installation and training listed on their own lines.
Imaging can run past the price of the machine. Installation can involve room work and electrical changes, so a partner may finance the installed cost or only the unit itself; ask which one before comparing two offers.
Software and computers belong in the plan too. Some partners finance a practice-management system together with its hardware, while others treat a software license as a working capital or term loan question because it has little resale value.
Health care and social assistance carried the largest payroll of any sector in Logan County, CO in 2023: $56.4 million across 77 employer establishments with 1,093 paid employees (County Business Patterns).
Vendor programs, banks and equipment lenders for a Sterling, CO practice
Vendor and manufacturer programs are set up at the point of sale, sometimes with promotional terms on new units. They are convenient, but the offer is tied to that vendor's equipment and can come with a higher price or a service contract folded into the payment.
Banks and credit unions may lend to an established practice on its financial statements and its deposit history. Equipment finance companies lend on equipment across many industries, including refurbished units and equipment bought from another practice.
Whichever source the practice picks, line up the same figures: the price of the unit, the down payment, the rate, the term, the payment dates, every fee and whether a service plan sits inside the payment. Ask the vendor for the cash price as well as the financed price, because a low rate on a padded price can cost more.
| Source | Strength | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor program | Arranged with the purchase | Price, rate and bundled service together |
| Bank or credit union | Reads the practice financials | Collateral and documentation asked for |
| Equipment finance company | Refurbished and practice-to-practice sales | Fees and total cost |
Refurbished units and what a partner checks before funding one
A refurbished chair, autoclave or imaging unit can be financed when its value can be checked. Partners look at the age of the unit, who refurbished it, any warranty from the seller and how easily it could be resold. Equipment bought from a retiring practice needs a bill of sale and proof that no lien is recorded against it.
- Make, model, serial number and year of manufacture.
- The refurbisher's report or the unit's service history.
- Installation, freight and training priced apart from the unit.
- The bill of sale or the purchase agreement.
Older units are often financed over shorter terms than new ones, which raises the monthly payment even when the price is lower.
Setting equipment payments around insurance and patient receipts
A practice is paid on a lag. Insurance claims settle weeks after the visit, and patient balances arrive later still. A payment date set a few days after the practice's usual deposit pattern keeps an equipment payment from landing before the money does.
Some partners offer a deferred first payment while new equipment is installed. A deferral has a cost: interest usually builds during it, so ask for the full schedule in writing, with every date and amount, before signing.
Illustration only, invented figures: a dental office finances a $68,000 chair and imaging package over five years at an annual rate of 9.25%. The monthly payment comes to about $1,420, and the 60 payments total about $85,190 (our arithmetic).
A worked example for a Logan County, CO therapy clinic adding treatment equipment
Illustration only, invented figures: a physical therapy clinic buys treatment tables, a traction unit and rehab equipment for $42,000 together and puts $6,000 down. The remaining $36,000 at an annual rate of 10% over 48 months gives a monthly payment of about $913 and about $7,827 in total interest (our arithmetic).
Offices of other health practitioners, the census group that takes in physical therapists and chiropractors, counted 12 employer establishments in Logan County, CO in 2023 (County Business Patterns).
The equipment loan calculator runs the same arithmetic with your own figures. A build-out of new treatment rooms fits a term loan instead, and supplies and payroll between insurance deposits fit a line of credit.
Questions Sterling, CO practice owners raise before an equipment request
Owners ask whether a unit can be financed before the vendor delivers it (with some partners, against a signed quote), whether a trade-in counts toward the down payment (it can, if the partner agrees), and whether a lease or a loan suits the practice, which depends on how often the technology changes and on the tax picture.
Offices of physicians counted 11 employer establishments and offices of dentists 8 in Logan County, CO in 2023 (County Business Patterns). Requests go through the request form or by phone; Brookmark Financial gathers the details and passes the request to funding partners.
By Brookmark Financial · Updated
