Restaurant equipment financing is exciting. You have your bakery location all picked out and it’s time to set it up. But as you daydream about all the amazing bread and cakes you’ll make you realize, “I don’t know anything about financing bakery equipment.”
If you want to learn how to equip your bakery, read on.
Consider Your Menu
You might be thinking, “Well this is silly. I’ve already got my menu.” And that’s great! But it’s still a good idea to think it through.
Let’s say you’re including bread on your menu. If it’s the main focus of your bakery it might make sense to get a bread proofer. Financing bakery equipment like this is perfect for proofing many loaves at once while freeing up your oven to bake. You should also consider steam ovens. They work best to create that crunchy crust and soft crumb we all love.
However, if your focus is more on the cakes and pies, a conventional oven might make more sense. Conventional ovens use fans to circulate the hot air and are great for large amounts of pies, cakes, and pastries.
The best part is that they come in many sizes to fit your bakery. You can start out with a smaller unit and then upgrade later if you like. Just be sure to comb through your menu and note what bakery equipment you need.
Okay, you’ve got your menu all planned out. Now comes the next question: Will you go with a planetary mixer? Or a spiral mixer? While most mixers look similar, there are some key differences.
Planetary: Did you ever use a KitchenAid stand mixer? That’s a planetary mixer. It’s called planetary because the attachment inside the bowl rotates around like a planet. They are super versatile and can handle anything from batters, meringues, and even bagel dough. They come in many sizes to fit your bakery, from countertop to floor standing.
So if you want a mixer that will grow with your menu, consider the planetary.
Spiral: They are called spiral because one motor turns the spiral arm while another turns the bowl. Spiral mixers are usually large and take up a lot of floor space, so keep that in mind. They aren’t used as much as planetaries, but they get the job done. They are best used for bread and pizza dough. So if your bakery is going to be all about that dough, the spiral mixer could be for you.
Decide if You’ll Lease or Finance
By now you’ll have a pretty good idea of what equipment you’ll need. Now it’s time to decide if you’ll lease or finance.
Leasing: Like leasing an apartment, you don’t own the equipment. There is a monthly fee. The company you’re leasing from may have the option to buy once this lease is up. Because you’re not locked into ownership, you can switch equipment at the end of your lease.
For instance, let’s say you’ve been baking cakes fine but want to focus more on bread. You could lease a spiral mixer for a while to test it out. You can always switch back to a Hobart planetary mixer if things aren’t going how you planned.
Financing: Financing bakery equipment is like a mortgage. You own the equipment and make monthly payments on it to own it outright. This is best if you already know what equipment you want. The tried and true workhorse ovens, mixers, and tools that have done well.
Work With Alternative Financiers
When it comes time to financing bakery equipment, you have to think carefully. Who you decide to finance with determines how much you can finance and, in some cases, if you can finance at all.
We know this sounds scary, but you can get restaurant equipment financing. You just have to know who to finance with. So why do we suggest an alternative financier and not a bank? For a few reasons.
Banks like to work with sure things. And they can have a super narrow definition of what a “sure thing” is. So you could have the next “cronut” in the works but unless a bank has seen success from it before, they won’t work with you. In a lot of cases, banks want your business plan and credit score to be almost unnaturally good. If you have bad credit you’re out of luck.
An alternative financier works a little differently. They look beyond your credit score to get you the restaurant equipment financing you need. Plus, they work with people who have bad credit and don’t mind how long you’ve been in business. You could be in business for three days or three years and they will still work with you.
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