Practice Startup Equipment Financing

Finance a first dental practice as one project — operatories, imaging, sterilization, and the buildout — drawn from lease signing through opening day. Projects we fund typically run $400,000–$800,000, drawn from lease signing through the first patient.

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The Practice Startup Reality

A first practice has no entity, no production history, and no collections — and it still has to buy everything at once, because a practice cannot open at 60 percent. The gap is the problem: months pass between signing a lease and seeing a first patient, and in that window the buildout, the operatories, the imaging, and the software all come due. Financing this as a project rather than a stack of equipment purchases is what keeps that window from being funded personally.

What a Startup Package Covers

Operatory packages — chairs, delivery units, lights, and stools
Imaging — panoramic, CBCT, and intraoral sensors
Sterilization center and instrument inventory
Practice management software, networking, and front-office IT
Cabinetry, millwork, and reception build
Plumbing, vacuum and air lines, and electrical buildout

How the Draws Work

One approval, funded in phases — the schedule follows the project rather than a delivery date.

1 · Lease & Plan

The space is signed and the equipment plan is set against the floor plan. Funding is committed at this point so the operatory layout can be specced to the equipment rather than the other way round.

2 · Buildout

Plumbing, vacuum and air lines, electrical, and cabinetry go in. These are the costs a startup most often ends up carrying personally, because they arrive before any equipment invoice does.

3 · Install & Commission

Chairs, delivery units, imaging, and the sterilization center are installed, calibrated, and inspected. Software and the practice network come up alongside them.

4 · Opening

Payments step up to full as the schedule fills. The structure is built so the months before the doors open aren't carrying the payment of a practice that is already busy.

Payment Structures

The differentiation: four ways to own the same equipment, engineered to your cash flow. Compare them side by side on our structures page.

Operating Lease

Off-balance-sheet treatment with end-of-term flexibility — return, renew, or purchase. Often the right answer when technology cycles or accounting outcomes drive the decision.

$1 Buyout Lease

Own the equipment for one dollar at term end. Fixed payments, full Section 179 eligibility, and a clean path to ownership.

Seasonal & Step Payments

Payments that follow your revenue curve — lighter in slow months, heavier in peak season, or stepping up as new equipment ramps to full production.

Usage-Based & As-a-Service

Payments tied to hours, output, or consumption. The category Elevex is defining: pay for what equipment achieves, not what it costs.

Learn more about financing structures

How It Works

Three steps from scope to funded.

1 · Bring the Scope

A budget, a floor plan or build spec, and the timeline you're working to. Not a single quote — the whole project, however many vendors it runs across.

2 · Structure the Draws

A finance professional maps the funding to the project's milestones, so money lands when each phase needs it and payments start when the facility earns.

3 · Fund Each Phase

Vendors are paid as phases clear. One approval and one schedule carry the project instead of a separate application every time the scope moves forward.

Common Questions

What does underwriting look at when there is no practice yet?

The doctor rather than the entity: personal credit, associate production history, the signed lease, and a buildout budget that matches the space. A startup is assessed on whether the plan is realistic and the operator has done the work before, because there are no practice financials to read.

When do payments start on a startup package?

The structure exists precisely so they don't start at delivery. Step and deferred schedules keep the early months light while the schedule fills, then move to full payments — which matters when equipment is installed months before a practice is seeing a full day of patients.

Can one facility cover equipment from several vendors?

Yes — that is the point of financing practice startup as a project rather than as purchases. A single schedule can carry equipment from every vendor on the job, so the scope is approved once instead of being re-underwritten each time another supplier is added.

Which parts of a practice startup qualify for Section 179?

Most business-use equipment placed in service this tax year generally qualifies, financed or purchased outright. Leasehold improvements, real property, and construction costs follow different rules, so a project budget rarely qualifies as a single number. Run the equipment portion on our Section 179 calculator and confirm the split with your tax advisor.

How fast can practice startup equipment financing close?

Application-only decisions to $1,000,000 come back in minutes for qualified credits. Apply online with your scope and budget rather than a single quote — the draw schedule is built from the project timeline, so the sooner that exists the sooner funding can follow it.

Ready to fund your practice startup?

Payments built on outcomes, from the team that knows your industry. Equipment sellers: offer financing at the point of sale with CapVex.

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