Time in Business and Skid Steer Financing: What a Startup Buying a Bobcat S76-2 Actually Needs to Qualify

3 days ago

6 min read

Startup contractors shopping for skid steer financing often assume they'll be declined outright for not having enough time in business — and that assumption stops a lot of founders from even applying. A new business buying its first Bobcat S76-2 isn't automatically disqualified. Understanding what underwriters actually mean by 'time in business,' and what can substitute for it, changes how a brand-new contracting company should approach financing its first real machine.

What 'Time in Business' Actually Checks

Time in business is a proxy lenders use for a more specific question: does this business have a demonstrated track record of generating revenue and managing obligations? A business that's been operating for two or three years with consistent invoicing and bank activity has a visible pattern an underwriter can evaluate. A business that incorporated six months ago doesn't have that pattern yet — not because the owner is untrustworthy, but because there's simply less data to look at. Different lenders set different minimum thresholds, and some equipment lenders work with businesses that have far less operating history than a bank would typically require.

Why a New Business Isn't Automatically Declined

Equipment financing is different from an unsecured business loan in one important way: the machine itself is collateral. A lender financing a Bobcat S76-2 for a brand-new company has the equipment's resale value standing behind the loan, which lowers the lender's risk compared to an unsecured product with no collateral at all. That's a big part of why equipment financing is often available to newer businesses in situations where other forms of credit aren't — the asset does real work toward the approval, not just the business's track record.

What Can Substitute for Time in Business

Strong personal credit — an owner's own payment history carries real weight when the business itself has a short track record.
Relevant industry experience — years spent working for another contracting company before starting your own, even without a prior business credit file, is worth disclosing.
A larger deposit — putting more money down lowers the lender's exposure and can offset a thin operating history.
A co-signer or guarantor with an established credit profile — someone willing to stand behind the loan can bridge the gap while your own business builds its own track record.
Verifiable contracts or a signed job in hand — proof that revenue is coming, even if it hasn't shown up in twelve months of bank statements yet.

Structuring a First-Machine Purchase as a Startup

A startup buying its first skid steer should expect the deposit conversation to look different than it would for an established contractor. Businesses with a longer track record and strong credit sometimes see $0-down approval. A genuinely new business more commonly sees a deposit somewhere in the 20% to 40% range, depending on the rest of the credit picture — not because the lender doubts the business, but because that deposit is doing some of the work that two or three years of operating history would otherwise do. This applies nationwide, not just in any one region — a new excavation or landscaping company in any state faces the same basic underwriting logic.

A First-Year Contractor's Actual Path to Approval

Picture someone who spent six years operating skid steers and running crews for an established landscaping company before deciding to start their own business. On paper, the new company has zero months of operating history — no business bank statements, no filed business tax returns, nothing a traditional underwriter could point to as a track record. But that same person has six years of directly relevant industry experience, a personal credit score built over a decade of responsible borrowing, and a signed contract with their first client already in hand. An equipment lender willing to look past the bare 'time in business' number and weigh those other factors can approve a Bobcat S76-2 purchase for that founder in a way a traditional bank loan likely wouldn't. The equipment itself, serving as collateral, is what makes that flexibility possible — it's a fundamentally different risk calculation than an unsecured loan would require.

Documentation That Helps a New Business Even Without a Track Record

Personal tax returns for the past two to three years, even if they reflect W-2 income from prior employment rather than business income.
A signed contract, letter of intent, or purchase order from your first client, showing real, verifiable revenue is coming.
A simple business plan or cash-flow projection — doesn't need to be elaborate, but should show you've thought through how the machine pays for itself.
Proof of any relevant licensing, certifications, or industry credentials that demonstrate competence in the trade.
Bank statements from a personal account showing responsible cash management, even if there's no business account history yet.

None of these substitute perfectly for years of business operating history, but together they give an underwriter a fuller picture than the bare time-in-business number alone would suggest, and that fuller picture is often enough to get a startup approved.

What Changes Once You Hit the One- and Two-Year Marks

Time in business isn't a single cliff you either clear or don't — it's closer to a sliding scale where more underwriting flexibility opens up at each milestone. A business at six months looks different to a lender than one at twelve months, which looks different again from one at twenty-four months with two full years of bank statements and tax returns to review. If your first skid steer purchase happens right at the startup stage, it's worth knowing that your second or third machine, financed a year or two later once you have an actual track record, will likely come with meaningfully easier terms — a real incentive to build that history deliberately, with on-time payments on the first loan, rather than treating the first purchase in isolation from everything that comes after it.

Building Business Credit Starts With This First Machine

A properly structured equipment loan, reported to business credit bureaus, is one of the most effective ways a brand-new contracting company starts building an actual business credit profile — separate from the owner's personal credit. That profile is what makes the second and third equipment purchases progressively easier, and it's also what eventually supports other forms of business credit, like a line of credit or a bonding relationship, that are much harder to get with zero credit history at all. In that sense, financing your first Bobcat S76-2 responsibly isn't just about getting the machine — it's the first real building block of your business's independent credit identity.

Don't Let Assumption Stop You From Applying

The single biggest mistake a new contractor can make around skid steer financing isn't a weak application — it's never applying at all because of an assumption that a short time in business means automatic rejection. Equipment-secured financing genuinely works differently than an unsecured loan, and a Bobcat S76-2 you're putting to real work is doing real collateral value for your approval, not just your own thin track record. Apply, be upfront about your experience and your plan, and let an underwriter who actually works with startups make the call.

Set Yourself Up for an Easier Second Purchase

Treat your first year of payments on the S76-2 as more than just a monthly obligation — treat it as the foundation for every future financing conversation your business will have. Set up automatic payments so nothing is ever late by accident, keep your business bank account clean and separate from personal spending from day one, and revisit your own progress at the twelve-month mark. By the time you're ready for a second machine, you'll likely qualify for meaningfully better terms than you did on this first one, simply because the track record you're building right now will have caught up to where your experience and ambition already are.

Starting Is the Hardest Part — Financing Shouldn't Be

Starting a contracting business is already hard enough without a mistaken assumption about equipment financing stopping you from even trying. The machine is the collateral. Your experience and your plan are the substance behind the application. Don't let a short time in business talk you out of applying before you've even had the chance to find out what you actually qualify for.

How BFC Works With Startup Contractors on Skid Steer Financing

BFC finances skid steers and other equipment for startups as well as established contractors, and we don't treat a short time in business as an automatic decline. If you're starting a new company and a Bobcat S76-2, a Bobcat T76-2, or any other skid steer is your first real purchase, apply and let us walk you through what substitutes for seasoning in your specific situation — personal credit, experience, deposit, or a combination of all three.

For a direct comparison involving this same machine, see our breakdown of the Bobcat S76-2 Pro vs. CAT 272D3 XE flagship skid steer comparison, and our piece on refinancing a skid steer or track loader using built-up equity once your business has more history behind it.

Ready to Move Forward?

Whatever structure fits your business, the fastest way to find out is to run the numbers on your actual machine. Visit our home page to see how BFC works with contractors nationwide, start a free, no-obligation equipment financing application to see what you qualify for, browse our equipment for sale and financing marketplace if you're still shopping for the right machine, or subscribe to the BFC blog for more financing strategy breakdowns like this one.