Crownwick Advances, a small-business funding service in Lancaster, PA, built this calculator for shops weighing a CNC machine or other equipment. Enter the price, your down payment, a rate you have been quoted and a term; it returns the monthly payment and the total cost including the down payment.
What the calculator computes
The calculator takes four inputs: the equipment price, your down payment, an annual rate and a term in months. It returns the monthly payment on the amount financed and the total cost of the equipment, which adds your down payment to all the payments. It is a standard amortizing payment estimate, the same arithmetic a simple equipment loan uses.
What it does not compute
- Lease residuals, buyouts or balloon payments
- Fees, taxes, shipping, rigging or installation unless you include them in the price
- Tax treatment of the purchase
- Return on the machine
Those are worth working out separately. A quote that bundles tooling and installation should go in as one price.
CNC machine financing: choosing the inputs
Use the full quoted price, including any tooling, software and installation the vendor will invoice. For the rate, enter one you have actually been quoted; a guessed rate gives a guessed answer. For the term, think about the machine's working life in your shop; partners may keep the term within it, and shorter for used machines.
Run it twice: once with your planned down payment and once with a larger one. The difference in total cost shows what the extra cash up front would save.
Used CNC machine financing
Used machines can be financed, with an inspection, hours or spindle-time records and sometimes an appraisal. Expect a shorter term than for new equipment; enter that shorter term here to see the effect on the payment.
Lancaster County had 200 fabricated metal product manufacturers with employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023), the group that includes machine shops. The manufacturers and machine shops page covers their funding needs.
Return on a machine, by hand
The calculator gives the payment; the return is your arithmetic. Estimate the extra billable hours or the outsourcing cost the machine replaces each month, multiply by your margin, and compare that with the payment. Our post on financing a metal or machine shop in Lancaster County, PA works an example through.
From estimate to offer
When the numbers work, call or send the request with the quote. Equipment financing explains loans, leases and finance agreements; a partner reviews the file and sets the actual terms. More guides are on the guide shelf.
By Crownwick Advances · Updated
