This equipment financing loan calculator estimates the monthly payment and total cost, including the down payment, from the price, down payment, annual rate and term you enter. Palmbrook Funding, a small-business funding broker in Rapid City, South Dakota, provides it for Black Hills owners comparing equipment offers. Real terms come only from lending partners.
What to enter
- Equipment price: the full price from the quote, including installation if it is financed.
- Down payment: what you pay up front from your own cash.
- Annual rate: the rate on the offer you are checking, or one you want to test.
- Term: the number of monthly payments.
The calculator treats the amount financed as price minus down payment, repaid in equal monthly payments.
Checking the arithmetic
Start with a rate of zero to see the mechanics. A hypothetical $36,000 machine with $6,000 down, financed over 60 months at a rate of zero, gives a payment of $500 and a total cost of $36,000: the $6,000 down plus 60 payments of $500. Any positive rate raises both the payment and the total cost above the price; the difference is the financing cost.
What the calculator leaves out
It does not include sales tax, delivery, insurance, documentation fees, a lease's end-of-term buyout or residual, or payments made weekly or on an irregular schedule. For a $1 buyout lease, add the buyout by hand; for a fair-market-value lease, the end-of-term purchase price is unknown until then, so the calculator cannot total it.
Comparing two equipment offers
- Enter the first offer's price, down payment, rate and term; note the payment and total cost.
- Enter the second offer.
- Add any fees from each offer by hand.
- Compare total cost first, then whether the payment fits your monthly deposits.
A longer term lowers the payment but usually raises the total cost.
Reading the result against your deposits
A payment that fits the average month may not fit the slowest one. Before relying on a result, compare it with your weakest recent month of deposits, not the typical one, and check what other payments already come out of the same account. If the payment only works in good months, a longer term, a larger down payment or a cheaper machine may be the safer choice.
Typical equipment loan terms
Terms usually track how long the equipment will stay useful. Partners set them case by case, so we do not quote typical rates or terms. Ask each partner how the term relates to the equipment's age and expected life.
Why Pennington County, SD owners run these numbers
Pennington County had 519 construction, 298 food service and 325 outpatient health care employer establishments in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023): the three sectors that buy the most machines, kitchens and clinical equipment. Contractor financing looks at the trades in detail, equipment financing explains loans, leases and EFAs, and a term loan can cover equipment plus a fit-out. More tools and guides are on the guides page.
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