Let’s face it, renovations are an ongoing process for many shops
as additional spraybooths and other equipment are added and new
space becomes necessary due to growth. If these renovations are
minor fixups (e.g. adding a couple of offices), shop owners can
usually pay for the improvements out of cash flow. Not so for
major equipment purchases and renovations. In these cases, most
shop owners need to look to outside sources for financing.
If you’re one of these shop owners, you can stop shaking your
head and wondering where the money will come from. Six financing
alternatives available to body shop owners for major equipment
acquisitions and capital additions or improvements are equity,
venture capital, conventional bank financing, Small Business Administration
7(A) guaranteed loans, Small Business Administration 504 loans
and leasing.
Equity
The American Heritage Dictionary defines equity as "the residual
value of a business or property beyond any mortgage thereon and
liability therein." On your balance sheet, equity is commonly
referred to as "owner’s capital" or "stockholder’s
equity." As the American Heritage Dictionary indicates, equity
is the value of the portion of your business that you own over
and above what you owe. "Own" is the key word here.
If you’re looking to expand or renovate your shop, equity is an
alternative source of financing. If you have personal resources
that enable you to inject additional equity to finance the expansion
yourself, then you won’t need outside sources; if you already
have much of your personal net worth tied up in your shop – like
most shop owners do – it’s unlikely that you have large amounts
of personal cash available. In this case, if you’d like to use
equity for a major expansion, you’ll need to consider outside
sources.
You might go to friends or family for equity capital or to other
sources. Whether the equity investor is someone you know well
or not, what you’re doing in accepting equity capitalization is
giving up a portion of the ownership of your business for access
to capital for expansion. The equity investor then shares in future
profits of the business as the residual value of the shop increases
or decreases.
An equity investor will sometimes want to become directly involved
in the day-to-day operation of the business in which he’s invested.
If you do seek outside equity, be sure to establish upfront whether
or not you or he expects direct involvement. A word of caution:
Even if the equity investor doesn’t become directly active in
your business, you can rest assured that the investor will become
quite interested in the success (or lack thereof) of your shop.
This might not be all bad, though. Oftentimes, the fresh opinions
a co-owner offers can be very helpful, particularly if they’re
from a macromanagement standpoint. Of course, the opposite can
be true if the investor decides to try to micromanage your shop.
Although you’re giving up a portion of your ownership, don’t give
up controlling ownership – retain at least 51 percent. Also try
to negotiate a buy-back agreement upfront. You can build in certain
stipulations that allow you to buy back the stock from other investors
after a certain period of time or based on certain parameters
(i.e. sales or profitability reaching a certain level).
The key advantage of equity:
- It provides a source of capital with no specified repayment
agreement. While the co-owner will share in the successes of your
body shop relative to the amount of equity invested, he’ll also
share in a proportionate amount of risk.
The key disadvantage of equity:
- You’re giving up a portion of the ownership.
When should you consider equity? Equity typically is used only
for substantial projects. If you’re looking to build a new facility,
double the size of the building in which your shop is located
or add a second location, then equity might be a viable alternative.
Venture Capital
Venture capital is a kissing cousin to equity. In fact, the terms
"capital" and "equity" are somewhat interchangeable
in the business world. Venture capital comes from a venture capitalist,
and a venture capitalist essentially is a professional investor
with funds available to help businesses grow.
Some specifics on venture
capitalists:
- They’re looking for high potential rates of return and a method
of exit. - They generally don’t invest in startups, but in new, rapidly
growing businesses. Some exceptions exist, but most are looking
for a minimum project size of $1 million. - They’re generally interested in businesses that can eventually
grow to $25 million or more in annual sales. - They’re looking for a potential 500 percent to 1,000 percent
return on investment. - They’ll want to own anywhere from 25 percent to 70 percent
of your business. - Venture-capitalists typically use a combination of common-stock
purchase, debentures and lending to fund a rapidly growing entity.
At some point, they want their investment to be paid off completely.
The key advantages and disadvantages of venture capital are virtually
the same as those for traditional equity:
The advantage of venture capital:
- Funds are made available with flexible repayment terms that
are typically tied to the future profits of the business.
The disadvantage of venture capital:
- Some ownership and control are relinquished.
When should you consider venture capital? Because the majority
of body shops are smaller, one-shop operations, venture capital
isn’t a viable source of financing for most owners. For some of
the larger, multishop owners looking to expand by opening new
shops or acquiring existing body shops, however, venture capital
might prove a valuable source of financing.
Conventional Bank Financing
Conventional bank loans are the most common form of outside financing
for body shops. Unlike venture-capital and equity sources, conventional
bank financing involves no co-ownership, so the bank doesn’t "share"
in your success – the bank is only renting you money. But because
the reward is lower, the risk tolerance of a conventional bank
loan is much lower than that of an equity partner or venture capitalist.
Banks are cash-flow lenders and will focus primarily on the historical
performance of your shop when considering a loan request, which
means the banker will need to be comfortable that you can generate
sufficient profitability to repay the loan being considered. If
you’ve recently had a bad year or two, you might still qualify
for conventional bank financing if you have a good explanation
for the loss (i.e. lost a big account, moved during the year,
etc.) and have taken steps to fix the problem.
Advantages of conventional bank loans:
- The biggest advantage is the relatively low cost of the money.
Bank interest rates typically range from prime to prime plus two
points (current prime rate is 8.25 percent). Most banks use the
"The Wall Street Journal" prime, which is published
daily. Some banks also are willing to provide fixed rates for
real-estate and equipment loans that might be needed to fund shop
expansions. In today’s interest-rate environment, you could expect
to pay anywhere from 8 percent to 12 percent for most conventional
bank fixed-rate loans. - You maintain control of your business and of the asset being
purchased. - Conventional bank financing is the opportunity to build a
financial-services relationship. Every other type of financing
covered herein is more transaction oriented. But with a conventional
bank loan, you’re building a complete relationship because your
bank can also provide deposit, cash-management, investment, trust,
international and even leasing services. Banks also can provide
other types of financing, including lines of credit, letters of
credit, vehicle loans, personal loans, etc.
Disadvantages of conventional bank loans:
- The biggest disadvantage is the relatively short repayment
term required. Equipment loans typically are required to be repaid
in full within five to seven years. Real-estate loans usually
are limited to no more than 15-year terms. - Banks are inflexible in the repayment terms if you have some
cash-flow hiccups.
SBA 7(A) Guaranteed Loans
The Small Business Administration (SBA) was formed in 1953 to
help people get into business and stay in business. With the guarantee
program, a bank actually extends a loan to a small business, with
the SBA providing a guarantee of repayment for a certain percentage
of the loan amount (usually 75-80 percent).
The four key advantages of the SBA:
- Because the SBA assumes most of the credit risk, commercial
banks generally are more willing to consider riskier deals that
normally might not be considered "bankable." - The terms of repayment generally are more favorable than those
offered with conventional bank financing. For real-estate loans,
the term can go up to 25 years; this might be just the ticket
for a body shop owner needing extra capacity, but who can’t work
a loan payment into existing cash flow on the 15-year payback
of a conventional commercial real-estate loan. For fixed-asset
loans (equipment, vehicles, etc.), the term may be as long as
10 years, depending on the useful life of the asset being purchased;
and for working capital loans, the borrower may take as long as
seven years to repay the loan. These terms compare favorably with
the typical maximum terms for conventional business loans of seven
years for fixed assets and four years for working capital. - The program is very inclusive. While there are some restrictions
in terms of how a small business is defined, the SBA estimates
that more than 90 percent of all businesses in the United States
qualify for SBA financing. - There’s no minimum loan amount, with a maximum guarantee amount
of $750,000. In other words, a loan could be as high as $1 million
with a 75 percent SBA guarantee.
The disadvantages of the SBA:
- The primary disadvantage is the relatively high cost of financing
compared to conventional bank loans. The SBA charges a guarantee
fee for term loans based on a sliding scale of 3 percent on the
first $250,000, 3.5 percent on the next $250,000 and 3.875 percent
on the remaining guarantee amount. For example, on a $667,000,
75 percent guaranteed loan, the guarantee level would be $500,000,
which would result in a guarantee fee of $16,250 (3 percent x
$250,000 plus 3.5 percent x $250,000).
The maximum rates that can be charged are, again, based on the
"Wall Street Journal" published prime rate, which currently
is 8 3/4 percent, plus 2.25 percent for loans of less than seven
years and prime plus 2.75 percent for loans of seven years or
more. Many banks also will provide fixed-rate SBA guaranteed loans.
While the fees and rates charged are somewhat higher than those
charged for conventional commercial loans, it should be noted
that they’re much lower than those charged by venture capitalists.
- Another disadvantage is the amount of paperwork involved in
an SBA loan. The SBA has instituted a Low Documentation program
for loans of $100,000 or less that involves significantly lower
paperwork requirements. However, for loans in excess of $100,000,
the documentation requirements are higher than for a conventional
bank loan. Still, the amount of paperwork is roughly equivalent
to that which is required for a residential mortgage and is not
as excessive as it once was.
SBA 504 Loans
The SBA’s 504 Certified Development Company (CDC) Program is designed
to provide growing businesses with longer-term financing for major
capital expansions and can be used for real-estate additions and
equipment acquisitions. The SBA describes a CDC as "a nonprofit
corporation set up to contribute to the economic development of
its community or region." There are more than 290 CDCs nationwide,
and your area should be covered by one of them.
Some of the basic parameters of the SBA 504 program are:
- The typical 504 transaction involves a 10 percent downpayment
from the business owner, a 50 percent loan from a conventional
bank and a 40 percent SBA guaranteed debenture arranged by the
CDC. For instance, on a $500,000 capital expansion, the owner
would put in $50,000, the bank would loan $250,000 and the CDC
would help arrange a $200,000 SBA guaranteed debenture bond. - The maximum SBA debenture, in most cases, is $750,000. This
means that a 504-related project could be as large as $1,875,000
or even larger if the bank is willing to provide a larger portion
of the financing. - Specific uses for a 504 loan include purchasing land and improvements,
including existing buildings, grading, street improvements, utilities,
parking lots and landscaping; construction of new facilities or
modernizing, renovating or converting existing facilities; and
purchasing long-term machinery and equipment. - 504 loans cannot be used for working capital, inventory or
for consolidation and refinancing of debt. - Interest rates on 504 loans are tied to a spread above current
market rates for five-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury Notes. They’re
generally favorable compared to the rates charged for conventional
bank financing. - The collateral requirements usually are tied directly to the
asset(s) being financed. Personal guarantees from the owners also
are required. - For every $35,000 loaned by the CDC, the business must create
at least one new job. In the previous example involving a $500,000
project and a $200,000 SBA guaranteed debenture from a CDC, the
body shop owner would have to create at least six new jobs ($200,000/$35,000).
The key advantages of 504 financing packages:
- The downpayment requirement usually is only 10 percent.
- The overall cost of the money borrowed is relatively low with
the favorable rates provided by the CDC on the SBA guaranteed
debenture. - The loan maturity for an equipment loan can be as long as
10 years with a 20-year maximum for real-estate loans. These maximum
terms are longer than those included in most conventional bank
loans, which provide cash-flow enhancement.
The key disadvantages of 504 financing:
- The paperwork and documentation requirements are extensive,
and as a result, the 504 route is not recommended for capital
expansions of less than about $400,000. - The time frame involved in obtaining approval for an SBA 504
loan can be several months. - The fees on an SBA 504 loan are high compared to conventional
bank financing. SBA 504 fees typically total approximately 3 percent
on the debenture portion and 1 to 2 percent on the bank loan.
To find out which banks in your area are active SBA lenders, contact
your local SBA office. The number should be available in your
local telephone book, or call information of the largest city
near your shop. You can also find out more about the SBA at their
World Wide Web site: www.sbaonline.sba.gov
Leasing
A growing trend in body shops is to lease significant equipment
purchases, such as spraybooths and computer systems. You’ve probably
been offered leasing options from your equipment suppliers, and
banks also offer lease programs. With a lease, the leasing company
actually purchases and technically owns the equipment. You pay
a monthly payment based on a present value, lease rate and residual
value, and at the end of the lease, you typically are given the
opportunity to buy the equipment at the specified residual value.
The advantages of leasing:
- Lower downpayment requirements. Most lease contracts require
little or no downpayment. - More flexibility on monthly payment requirements. Lessors
are generally more flexible than banks in terms of payment requirements. - Keeps bank lines open. Most banks maintain a credit limit
for each borrower. A lease from another financing source or even
another department of the bank will allow you to preserve your
borrowing power. - More favorable financial position. Because leased assets and
the corresponding liabilities generally are accounted for on an
"off-balance-sheet" basis, the lease doesn’t count against
your overall debt position. - May offer tax advantages. Depending on your overall profitability
picture, the legal structure of your company and the state in
which you operate, leasing may be advantageous from a tax standpoint.
Consult your accountant during your lease/buy decision process
to see which method will save you the most tax dollars. - Protection against obsolescence. When you lease equipment,
the lessor is responsible for its disposal at the end of the lease.
Oftentimes, you may choose to purchase the equipment when the
lease expires, but if you’d rather pursue more state-of-the-art
equipment at that point, you’re free to do so without the hassle
of having to dispose of the used piece of equipment.
The disadvantages of leasing:
- The biggest disadvantage of leasing is the rate of interest
charged on the lease – the discrepancy between lease rates and
borrowing rates can be substantial. A bank typically will charge
a lower rate for a loan than will a leasing company for a lease
because the bank assumes a lower level of risk by requiring a
20 to 30 percent downpayment. It’s not unusual for lease rates
to be three to five percentage points higher than borrowing rates.
For example, if you purchase a piece of equipment and take out
a $50,000, five-year loan with a 9 percent rate, your total interest
outlay during that five-year period will be $12,275.07. In comparison,
the total interest outlay on a $50,000, five-year lease at 12
percent would be $16,733.34. You’d pay $4,458.27 more in interest
costs during that five-year term. - The other major disadvantage of leasing is control of the
asset. As the owner of the asset, you have more control in a purchase
than in a lease. This provides more flexibility if you decide
to sell the asset before the finance term expires.
Decisions, Decisions
Because expansion and renovation are a necessary part of any successful
business, knowing your finance options is also a necessary part
of any successful business. You may not have a lot of cash burning
a hole in your pocket, but as long as you know where to go to
get money, you’ll never be without it.
J. Tol Broome Jr. is a contributing editor to BodyShop Business.
What You Need to Obtain Financing
When you pursue capital financing, you’ll be asked to submit certain
information with your request, such as:
- A brief narrative history of your company with some explanation
of your plans for the new equipment and/or real-estate acquisitions.
If you’re just starting out or seeking equity or venture-capital
financing, preparation of a full-blown business plan is strongly
recommended. - A résumé on you and other key people involved
in your body shop. It’s important to establish management credibility
and capability early in the process. - At least three years of historical financial statements or
tax returns on your business and a current balance sheet on its
owners. If your venture is less than three years old, provide
whatever financial information you have. - Financial projections for at least one year into the future.
A simple pro forma reflecting your expectations for revenues,
expenses and net profit during the next couple of years will do
because the bank and/or lease company will be looking at potential
cash-flow generation as the primary source of repayment. - Information on the capital expansion. You’ll need to provide
information detailing total cost, warranties, service arrangements,
useful life and general capabilities of any equipment you’re acquiring.
For real-estate projects, you need cost breakdowns, contracts
for land purchases and appraisals on existing real estate.
Obtaining Outside Financing
To better your chances of raising capital:
- Keep your personal credit clean – Many a viable business-loan
application has been turned down because the owner didn’t pay
his personal bills on time. - Pay trade creditors on time – Most equity partners
and lenders will check trade-credit references. You don’t want
any negative feedback throwing a cloud over your request. - Know how much you need to borrow and why – This may
sound obvious, but it’s not unusual for a small-business owner
to go to a lender with no idea how much he wants to borrow. - Use contacts to find the right financial partner –
Asking your CPA, attorney or business associate to introduce you
to a potential financial partner will add credibility to your
request. - Know your financial information – Many small-business
owners are much more focused on the day-to-day operation of the
business than on the numbers. But when a body shop owner sits
down to meet with an equity partner or lender, he needs to understand
the financial performance of his business.