The Pinch Points
Why Machine Shops Come to Us Instead of Their Bank
Machine shops tie up cash in billets, half-finished parts on the fourth axis, and net-60 invoices from primes — and the best opportunities, auction machines and emergency spindles, don’t wait three weeks for a bank. Our lenders read your deposits and POs, not just a score. Sound familiar?
Lathe Throwing Tolerance Errors
Your main CNC lathe is throwing tolerance errors. A new Haas VF-4 is $120K. Every job you reject because of machine capability costs you $5K-$15K in lost revenue.
$400K Aerospace, Billets First
You landed a $400K aerospace contract but need $95K in raw materials (titanium and Inconel) before the first article. The prime contractor pays net-60.
Three Mills at Auction, 10 Days
A competitor is shutting down and selling 3 CNC mills for $180K total — machines worth $400K. The auction is in 10 days. Your bank can’t move that fast.
Spindle Crash Mid-Run
Your spindle crashed mid-run on a $35K mold job. Replacement spindle is $18K with a 5-day lead time. Every day that machine sits idle, you’re losing $2,800 in booked work that’s now backing up your entire schedule.
Medical Vendor Audit in 6 Weeks
You’ve been running 2 shifts but a medical device company wants to add you as a vendor — $600K/year in recurring work. You need a second VMC at $165K and two more machinists on payroll before the qualification audit in 6 weeks.
Lights-Out Third Shift
A defense prime added you to a long-term munitions-component program — $550K a year — contingent on running a lights-out third shift. You need a pallet-pool automation cell at $185K and two more machinists before the program audit.
What an operator said
“We landed a $380K aerospace contract but needed a new 5-axis mill to hold tolerance. Basecamp got us $275K in equipment financing in 4 days. That machine paid for itself in 9 months.”
Greg M. · CNC Shop Owner · Wichita, KS
Start Here
See Your Range in 60 Seconds
No credit check, no documents to start, and an estimated funding range on the spot. No one contacts you until you’re ready to move forward.
What Happens When You Start
Estimate Your Capital Range
Slide to your annual gross revenue. We size capital off your top line — not your credit score.
Estimated Capital Range
A conservative range based on 10-15% of annual revenue — many businesses qualify for more with strong receivables or assets behind them. Lenders return real term sheets once they see your file.
60 seconds · No obligation · Estimate only
Built for the Trade
What We Fund for Machine Shops
Machines, Financed
A Haas VMC or a 5-axis cell is the shop. Equipment financing funds new and used machines with the machine as collateral, and Section 179 writes off most of a mill or grinder the year it’s cutting chips.
Tooling Stocked on a Line
Carbide, end mills, and inserts bleed cash on a busy floor. A revolving line lets a shop buy tooling when pricing is right instead of paying spot markup mid-job.
Billets Now, Net-60 Later
Titanium and Inconel are due on delivery while the prime pays net-60. Working capital and PO financing bridge that gap so a six-figure aerospace order doesn’t tie up the operating account.
Funding That Moves in 24–48 Hours
Auction machines at cents on the dollar, or a spindle down mid-run, don’t wait three weeks for a bank. Fast approval and standing pre-approval put a shop in position to act on the opportunity or the emergency.
Match Your Situation
The Cash-Flow Gaps We Fund for Machine Shops
Match your situation to the structure. Every one of these funds on your revenue, not a perfect credit file.
| What It Looks Like | Funding Solution | Amount | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tooling costs for complex jobs | Carbide end mills, custom fixtures, and specialty inserts for aerospace-grade work run heavy per setup — the spend lands before the job invoices. | Working Capital | $75K–$150K | 1–3 days |
| Material pre-buy for aerospace contracts | Titanium and Inconel billets must be purchased upfront — suppliers demand COD on exotic alloys for jobs paying net-60. | PO Financing | $75K–$500K | 3–7 days |
| 5-axis machine acquisition | Moving from 3-axis to 5-axis CNC opens turbine blade and structural component work but the machines are a major capital purchase. | Equipment Financing | $250K–$500K | 3–7 days |
| Overtime payroll for rush orders | Rush aerospace jobs require 2nd and 3rd shift operators at 1.5x–2x pay — extra payroll lands before the invoice goes out. | Working Capital | $75K–$150K | 1–3 days |
| QC equipment calibration and replacement | CMMs, surface profilometers, and gauge blocks need calibration or replacement to maintain AS9100 compliance. | Equipment Financing | $75K–$150K | 3–7 days |
The Products
How CNC Machine Shop Financing Is Structured
Most machine shop files fund between $75K and $5M+, structured to the equipment, material, or contract in front of you. Larger lines available when revenue, cash flow, and story qualify.
| Amount | Term | Best For | Funding Speed | Typical Structure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working Capital | $75K–$5M+ | 6mo–10yr | Tooling, exotic-alloy stock, rush payroll | 1–3 days | Often unsecured, daily/weekly ACH |
| Equipment Financing | $75K–$5M+ | 2yr–10yr | Mills, lathes, grinders, 5-axis cells | 3–7 days | Equipment serves as collateral |
| Invoice Factoring | $75K–$5M+ | Per invoice | Net-60 prime receivables | 1–2 days | Invoices secure the line, no PG typically |
| Business LOC | $75K–$5M+ | Revolving | Carbide, inserts, and tooling price swings | 1–5 days | Unsecured line, no PG by default |
Tax Strategy
Section 179 on a 5-Axis CNC Mill — Worked
If last year was strong and you’re about to write a check to the IRS — stop. Acquire qualifying equipment with as little as 10% down, finance the rest, and write off the full purchase price in year one. Section 179 covers it up to the annual cap; 100% bonus depreciation — made permanent in 2025, with no cap and no income limit — carries the rest.
At the top bracket, that first-year deduction can return meaningful tax savings — and for an established business with strong cash flow, it’s the difference between writing a check to the IRS and putting the same money into your own equipment. Your CPA models the exact numbers for your bracket and structure.
Worked scenario · top bracket · illustrative
You financed the machine and put down a fraction of its price — but you deduct the full price in year one. The write-off is bigger than your down payment, and the equipment keeps working the whole time.
Scales with your numbers
Illustrative only. Actual savings depend on your tax bracket, entity type, state conformity, and CPA guidance. Section 179 and bonus depreciation are elections your CPA makes for your situation; above the Section 179 cap, 100% bonus depreciation carries the balance.
Terms reflect credit, revenue, time in business, and each lender. Every file is unique — see what the desk structures for yours in the 60-second qualifier.
Bobby’s Take
“The jobs that actually pay — aerospace, medical, anything with real tolerance — go to the shop that can hold five axes at once. A $245K 5-axis mill is how you bid them instead of passing. Put a fraction down, finance the rest, and §179 writes off the full $245K the year the spindle's running — more than the cash you laid out. The machine wins the work and works your tax bill at the same time.”
Bobby Friel · Founder · 20+ years in banking and finance
How It Works
From Application to Funded
One application, 70+ lenders competing, a dedicated specialist, and most files funded in days.
60-second estimate
Enter your numbers — no credit check, no documents. You see an estimated funding range on the spot.
A specialist is assigned
A real funding specialist — not an algorithm — reviews your file, usually within 24 hours.
70+ lenders compete
Your application goes to the marketplace. Competing offers typically land 24–48 hours later.
You pick the offer
Compare structures and terms with your advisor. No obligation until you choose to sign.
Funded in days
From same-day working capital to a multi-piece stack, most files fund in days — not the bank’s 60–90.
Underwriting
What Underwriting Looks At
Funding here leads with what your business actually does — your revenue and cash flow. The specialist desk reads the real picture from your statements, then matches it to the lenders most likely to fund it.
How you’re evaluated
Revenue-first
sized off your top line, not just your balance sheet.
Cash-flow driven
your bank statements show how the business really runs.
Bank-statement underwriting
even a down year is read off 4 months of statements.
Story-driven
a big new contract, a seasonal swing, a turnaround in progress: context the raw numbers miss counts too.
What to have ready
↳Had a loss year? It’s read off the bank statements — 4 months, not 6.
Start fast, finish complete
The operators who fund quickest come to the specialist review with these ready — but you don’t need all of it to start. Your signed application and bank statements are what unblock the review; the rest can follow as trailing docs. Real term sheets come once the lenders can see a true business overview, so the move is simple: get the application and statements in right away, and don’t let a missing tax return hold up your term sheets.
Credit, straight
Qualification
Who Gets Funded — and Who’s Not Ready Yet
A straight read saves everyone time — here’s the line between a cnc & machining file that funds and one that isn’t ready yet.
↳Time in business is a factor, not a gate — newer crews with strong revenue still qualify.
Not ready yet isn’t a no — it’s a checklist. Most of it is fixable in a quarter or two, and your advisor will tell you straight which gaps to fix before a file goes in.
The Operator's Guide
CNC Machine Shop Financing
Cash Tied Up in Billets and Net-60 Primes
In a machine shop, cash is never in the account — it’s in raw aluminum and titanium, in a half-finished aerospace bracket on the fourth axis, in a net-60 invoice from a prime. That’s not bad management; that’s precision manufacturing. A spindle fails when it fails, and an auction machine at 40 cents on the dollar won’t wait for a bank to pull three years of returns. Our lenders read your bank deposits, your POs, and your production capacity.
One Application, 70+ Lenders
Mills, lathes, grinders, and 5-axis cells, tooling lines for carbide and inserts, billet bridges against net-60 primes, and standing pre-approval to move on an auction or an emergency in 24–48 hours — the capital a shop actually runs on. We connect you with 70+ lenders who fund machine shops every week. $75K to $5M+. One application, soft-pull review to start.
Common Questions
CNC & Machining Financing — Questions, Answered
Equipment financing for CNC machines ranges from $75K to $5M+ with the machine as collateral. Your rate depends on the equipment type, your credit, and time in business. Request a soft-pull review to see your actual terms. Both new and used CNC equipment qualify — some lenders finance machines up to 10 years old.
Yes. Working capital and lines of credit cover raw material purchases with no restrictions. Purchase order financing is also available for large contracts from creditworthy buyers — advance up to 90% of the PO value.
Working capital funds in 24 hours for time-sensitive purchases. Equipment financing can approve in 24–48 hours with proper documentation. For auction purchases, having pre-approval from our lenders puts you in position to move fast.
No. Soft credit pull only — zero FICO impact.
Working capital can fund in about 24 hours and equipment financing in 24–48 with documentation, and a standing pre-approval puts you in position to bid before the gavel drops. A soft-pull review sets that up with no FICO impact.
Recommended Funding
The Products That Fit CNC & Machining Work
Equipment Financing →
Finance CNC mills, lathes, and grinders — the machine is the collateral.
Working Capital Loans →
Purchase raw materials for large contracts and cover payroll between customer payments.
Invoice Factoring →
Convert net-60 invoices to same-day cash to fund the next production run.
Business Line of Credit →
Draw for tooling, materials, and supplies as job orders come and go.
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