Most landscaping companies finance machines and seasons separately: skid steers, sod cutters and crew trucks on equipment terms secured by the machine, and the spring crew and material orders on working capital or a line of credit. Scott County, MN had 125 landscaping employers in 2023 (Census County Business Patterns).
A direct answer, county figures, the equipment and the spring ramp-up worked with invented numbers, what changes when buying an existing company, and a checklist before calling.
The Short Answer: Machines on Equipment Terms, the Spring Crew on Working Capital
Landscaping companies in Scott County, MN pay for two very different things. The first is machines: a skid steer, a compact track loader, a sod cutter, trailers and the crew trucks that pull them. Those last for years, hold value and can secure their own financing. The second is the season: new hires, fuel, sod, stone and mulch, all paid before the first maintenance invoices are collected.
Putting both on one loan makes the machine payment fight with the payroll. Splitting them lets each run on its own clock: the machine on a fixed payment over its working life, the season on money that is paid back when the summer receivables come in.
In Scott County, MN, landscaping services had 125 employer establishments in 2023, with 710 paid employees and an annual payroll of about $37.3 million; 95 of the 125 had fewer than five employees (Census County Business Patterns). Small crews are the norm, and for a small crew a single machine is a big decision.
Finance Lawn Care Equipment When a Shakopee, MN Landscaping Company Needs Compact Track Loaders
A compact track loader is often the second big machine a landscaping company buys, after a skid steer, because it works on soft ground and finished lawns without tearing them up. Financing lawn care equipment like this is standard equipment financing: the dealer quote, the business's recent bank statements and its existing loan payments are the core of the request.
Illustration only, invented figures: a company buys a $64,000 track loader with a bucket and forks, puts $6,400 down and finances $57,600 over 60 months at an annual rate of 8.5%. The payment would be about $1,182 a month, with about $13,305 of interest over the term (our arithmetic).
If the loader replaces a machine that is being sold or traded, the dealer's trade-in credit lowers the amount financed. Get the dealer to put the trade-in value on the quote itself.
Working Capital for Landscaping Contractors: Skid Steers and Spring Ramp-Up
Working capital for landscaping contractors is about spring. Crews start in April, sod and stone arrive by the truckload, the skid steer needs new tracks, and the first maintenance contracts pay at the end of the month or later. A working capital loan sized to those weeks, or a line of credit drawn as each cost lands, carries the ramp-up.
Illustration only, invented figures: a company adds a crew of 6 at $1,150 a week each, and the first contract payments arrive 6 weeks after the crew starts. Wages over that stretch total $41,400 before employer taxes (our arithmetic). Add the first sod and stone orders, and the ramp-up gap is clear before the season begins.
Partners reading a spring request want last year's revenue by month and this year's signed contracts. The gap between the first payroll and the first payment is the number the request should be sized to.
How to Buy a Landscaping Business? What It Means for a Scott County, MN Landscaping Company
Buying an existing landscaping business brings crews, equipment and, most valuable, a list of recurring maintenance contracts. The purchase is usually financed with a term loan sized to the price less the buyer's own cash. Partners read the seller's tax returns, the contract list with renewal dates, the equipment list with ages and hours, and the buyer's experience.
Contracts that renew with the seller personally, rather than with the company, are a risk partners look for. A transition period where the seller introduces the buyer to commercial clients reduces that risk.
Equipment in poor condition lowers the effective price. An independent inspection of the main machines before closing gives the buyer and the partner the same picture.
Sod and Stone Orders: Where It Shows Up in a Landscaping Company's Funding File
Sod and stone orders show up in a landscaping company's funding file as supplier invoices with due dates, set against customer invoices with their own due dates. A partner reading the file looks at how long the company carries materials between paying the supplier and being paid by the customer.
For installation jobs, a customer deposit at signing can cover the materials. Where deposits are not the norm, as with some commercial clients, a line of credit drawn per order and paid down at collection keeps the materials off the company's operating cash.
Keep the supplier statements and the customer invoices for the last season together. They are the evidence for the size of the line.
A Landscaper's Pre-Call Checklist for a Loader or Trailer
Before calling about a loader, trailer or sod cutter, gather:
- The dealer quote with model, year, attachments and any trade-in
- Twelve months of business bank statements
- Last year's revenue by month and this year's signed contracts
- Current loan and lease payments, with balances
- The crew plan for the season: headcount and start dates
With those in hand, a call to (612) 608-4508 covers what is needed to start a request. See landscaping equipment financing for the full trade page and the Shakopee, MN page for local Census figures.
By Wheatvale Lenders · Updated
