How we make money: The Business Funding Club is a referral service, not a lender and not a broker. We refer businesses that ask for capital to ROK Financial. ROK and the lenders it matches you with make every funding decision. ROK pays us when a business we refer receives funding. It is free to you, and nothing here is an offer of credit. Read the full disclosure.

Illustration of a compact excavator and skid steer on a cleared site at dawn

For contractors buying machines

Rent it for one job. Finance it when your backlog keeps it running.

A machine that runs most weeks on bid work can earn its keep. One that sits in the yard between jobs costs you either way. This page is for a contractor financing equipment for the business, not customer financing. The Business Funding Club is a free referral club, not a lender: we send your request to ROK Financial, and ROK and the lenders it matches you with review it and make every funding decision.

Start your application

A referral club, free to apply. ROK Financial and its lenders review every request and make all funding decisions. How we’re compensated.

Prefer to go straight to the funder? You can apply on ROK's own site. It carries our referral ID.

The math

The math on a machine

  1. BID DAY

    Your price assumes the machine

    The excavation or trenching line items in your bid only work if the right machine is on site when the job starts.

  2. MOBILIZE

    You get it to the site

    The machine, the trailer, the truck and an operator. Operators often need a commercial driver's license to haul equipment to jobsites[1].

  3. MONTH END

    You bill the work, not the machine

    On a federal fixed-price job, progress payments are based on estimates of work accomplished[2]. The machine is never a line on the pay app. It gets paid for through the work it does.

  4. CLOSEOUT

    Part of the pay waits

    On a North Carolina public project of $150,000 or more, the owner can hold up to 5 percent of each periodic payment[3]. The equipment payment comes due every month either way.

A machine is a growth purchase. It lets you bid work you would otherwise sub out or turn down. The squeeze is timing: the payment runs on a fixed calendar, and the money the machine earns arrives on the owner's calendar, minus retainage.

By Marcus L. Barber, Publisher · Reviewed by Marcus before publishing · Updated · How we write and check facts

Buy, rent or finance: the utilization test

Most businesses do not pay cash for equipment. In the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's 2024 Horizon Report, 82 percent of end-users used some form of financing for their equipment and software acquisitions[4]. The first question is whether to own the machine at all.

The test is utilization: how many weeks a year the machine would actually work. For example, add up last year's rental bills for the same class of machine. Compare that with what owning costs: the payment, insurance, maintenance, transport, storage and idle weeks. If the same rental shows up job after job, owning starts to make sense.

How the utilization test usually points (general guidance, not a rule)
Your situationUsually points to
One job, or an attachment you rarely needRent
The same machine class rented on most jobsFinance and own
Testing a new line of work, like trenchingRent first and track the hours
A signed contract that runs for monthsFinance and own

The machines contractors finance most

Operators run excavation and loading machines, bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, and tractors with forklifts or booms[1]. Heavy and civil engineering construction employs 30 percent of these operators, and specialty trade contractors 28 percent[1].

  • Excavators, from minis for utility work to full-size machines for site work.
  • Skid steers and compact track loaders for grading and attachments.
  • Backhoe loaders for trenching and loading on smaller sites.
  • Telehandlers. OSHA requires lift trucks to post their rated capacity and applies its powered industrial truck operator training rules to construction[5].
  • Dump trucks and trailers, which move everything else.

New, used and the dealer quote

New or used, get the deal in writing. A complete quote helps any lender understand the request.

  • Make, model, year and serial number
  • Hours on the meter, for used equipment
  • Attachments and extras included
  • Delivery, setup and training, and who pays for each
  • Warranty terms, or a plain statement that there is none
  • Service records, for used equipment

Check a used machine against OSHA's rules

OSHA's earthmoving rules cover loaders, tractors, bulldozers, graders and similar equipment. Seat belts are required on machines with rollover protection, brakes must stop and hold the machine fully loaded, and a machine with an obstructed rear view may back up only with a reverse alarm or a spotter[5]. Count any fix as part of the price.

Ask whether the deal is a loan or a lease. ROK describes equipment financing as either, and says the equipment is most often on a lease-to-own plan[6].

Matching the machine to your pipeline

Finance against signed work, not a hoped-for year. Total U.S. construction spending ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,203.1 billion in August 2026, 1.7 percent below August 2025[7]. The national number moves slowly. Your backlog is what pays the note.

  1. List your signed jobs and the months each one needs the machine.
  2. Mark when each job bills, and how much retainage the owner holds.
  3. Ask when the first payment is due, and whether it starts before the machine is working.
  4. Keep a cushion, or a line of credit, for payroll and fuel while pay apps are out.

Section 179 and depreciation: ask your tax pro

IRS Publication 946 explains how a business can elect a Section 179 deduction instead of depreciation for certain property, and covers a special depreciation allowance[8]. Neither the Club nor ROK gives tax advice. Talk to your tax preparer before you buy, and do not buy a machine only for a deduction.

What ROK will want to see for a machine

ROK's partner application lists at least 4 months in business and $10,000 or more in monthly gross sales, which is $120,000 a year[9]. ROK's equipment financing page lists time in business, FICO score, equipment type, annual revenue, industry and geographic location among the factors it weighs[6]. Lenders commonly review:

  • The dealer or seller quote, with serial number and hours
  • Recent business bank statements showing your draws
  • Signed contracts the machine will work on
  • Rental invoices for the same machine class, if you are replacing rentals
  • Equipment you already own and what is still owed on it

ROK and its lenders decide what they need and whether to fund. The Business Funding Club does not.

Financing that fits this kind of gap

Which one fits your business, if any, is a conversation to have with ROK’s advisor once they have seen your file. These are the types that usually come up.

Common questions

Should I rent or finance an excavator or skid steer?

Look at your rental bills from the past year. If you rent the same machine class job after job, owning may cost less than renting it again. If the machine is for one job, one season or work you are still testing, renting usually fits. Count insurance, maintenance, transport and idle weeks on the ownership side, not just the payment.

Can I finance used construction equipment?

Ask ROK. It says its equipment financing can cover almost any tangible business asset, and equipment type is one factor in its review[6]. For a used machine, have the serial number, hours, photos and service records ready, and check it against OSHA's earthmoving rules[5].

Is this about financing for my customers?

No. This page is about a contractor financing equipment for the business itself: the machines, trucks and trailers your crews use. ROK does not offer customer or consumer financing through the Club.

What does The Business Funding Club cost?

Nothing. The Business Funding Club is a free referral club, not a lender or a broker. We send your request to ROK Financial. ROK and the lenders it matches you with review it and make every funding decision. If your business is funded, ROK pays Digital Solomon, which runs the Club, a referral commission. You never pay the Club anything.

Sources

  1. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Construction Equipment Operators U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, checked October 16, 2026
  2. FAR 52.232-5, Payments Under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts Acquisition.gov (U.S. General Services Administration), checked October 16, 2026
  3. N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-134.1, Interest on final payments due to prime contractors; payments to subcontractors North Carolina General Assembly, checked October 16, 2026
  4. Horizon Report Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, checked October 16, 2026
  5. 29 CFR 1926.602, Material handling equipment Occupational Safety and Health Administration, checked October 16, 2026
  6. Get Equipment Financing For Your Small Business ROK Financial, checked October 16, 2026
  7. Monthly Construction Spending, August 2026 (Construction Spending, C30) U.S. Census Bureau, checked October 16, 2026
  8. Publication 946 (2025), How To Depreciate Property Internal Revenue Service, checked October 16, 2026
  9. Business Financing application (ROK Financial partner page) ROK Financial, checked October 16, 2026

Before you start

What ROK looks for.

Stated plainly so you don’t spend time on a form that isn’t built for your business yet. These are the minimums ROK lists on its partner application. Meeting them is the starting line, not a decision.

  • 4 monthsminimum time in business
  • $10,000minimum monthly gross sales
  • U.S.based and operating

Credit history is one input among several. ROK reviews the whole picture: revenue, deposits, time in business, and what the money is for. What to have ready.

Start your application

A referral club, free to apply. ROK Financial and its lenders review every request and make all funding decisions. How we’re compensated.

Prefer to go straight to the funder? You can apply on ROK's own site. It carries our referral ID.

Plainly

What we are, and what we are not.

We are a referral club. We introduce small businesses to ROK Financial. That's the whole service, and it's free to you.

We are not a lender and not a broker. We don't fund anything, we don't quote figures, and we don't negotiate on your behalf. If someone tells you what your financing will look like before ROK has reviewed your file, that person is guessing.

We are paid by ROK, not by you. When a business we refer gets funded, ROK compensates us. You are never charged a membership fee or an application fee, by us or by anyone acting for us. Full disclosure here.