Find out what your equipment is really worth — fair market vs. liquidation value — and turn that value into working capital without shutting down your operation.
An equipment appraisal is a professional valuation of machinery, vehicles, or industrial equipment that establishes what it is worth — usually stated as fair market, orderly liquidation, and forced liquidation value — and it is the first step to borrowing against, selling, or insuring the asset.
A qualified appraiser inspects the equipment — make, model, year, hours or mileage, condition, and maintenance history — and compares it against recent sales of similar assets to arrive at a defensible value. Formal reports are prepared to USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice), the same standard banks and courts rely on. A proper appraisal states three different values, because the right number depends on how quickly the equipment would have to sell:
| Type of value | What it assumes | Relative amount |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Market Value (FMV) | A willing buyer and seller, with adequate time to market the asset | Highest |
| Orderly Liquidation Value (OLV) | Sold over a limited but reasonable period | Middle |
| Forced Liquidation Value (FLV) | A quick, auction-style sale | Lowest |
This distinction matters the moment you borrow: lenders advance against liquidation value, not fair market value, because that is what they could recover if they had to sell the collateral. Knowing all three numbers up front tells you what to realistically expect. The same framework applies whether you own heavy equipment, construction equipment, CNC and manufacturing machinery, trucks and trailers, or industrial processing equipment.
Owners appraise equipment for four main reasons, and the right type of value depends on which one applies to you:
If your reason is raising capital, the appraisal is only step one. Here is how you actually turn that value into cash.
Once you know what your equipment is worth, there are three ways to convert that value into working capital. Which one fits depends on whether you want to keep using the equipment and whether you own it free and clear.
| Route | Keep using it? | Keep ownership? | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale-leaseback | Yes | No (buy-back option) | You own it free and clear, need cash, and want to keep operating |
| Refinance / collateral loan | Yes | Yes | You want to keep the title and depreciation and borrow against the value |
| Outright sale | No | No | The equipment is idle or surplus |
1. Sale-leaseback. You sell equipment you already own to a lessor for a lump sum, then immediately lease it back and keep operating it. It turns trapped equity into working capital without a conventional loan, and lease payments are generally deductible. It suits paid-off, resaleable heavy equipment, trucks, and machinery. See the full breakdown of how an equipment sale-leaseback works.
2. Equipment refinance or asset-based collateral loan. Instead of selling, you borrow against the appraised value and keep ownership. This covers refinancing existing equipment debt into better terms and asset-based loans secured by machinery you own free and clear. It fits when you want to retain the asset and its depreciation. Explore equipment financing and refinancing and corporate and asset-based finance.
3. Sell it outright. If a machine is idle or surplus, selling it at fair market value is the cleanest way to free up cash, and a current appraisal helps you price it right instead of leaving money on the table. See our used and financing-ready equipment marketplace.
Get matched and we will tell you which route raises the most against your specific equipment, and at what cost.
Two identical-looking machines can appraise very differently. The value drivers appraisers and lenders weigh most:
Say a contractor owns a paid-off excavator and skid steer. An appraisal comes back at roughly $200,000 fair market value, $160,000 orderly liquidation value, and $120,000 forced liquidation value. The contractor needs cash for a big project. A sale-leaseback lender advances against the orderly liquidation value and funds around $130,000–$150,000, and the contractor keeps running the same machines and buys them back at the end of the lease. Had they instead refinanced and kept the title, the advance would track the same liquidation value. Either way, the appraisal is what set the number — which is why you start there.
Equipment is not the only asset on your balance sheet. If you own the commercial property your business operates from, you can raise capital against it the same way — through a commercial real estate sale-leaseback or a cash-out refinance. Owners who hold both the building and the machinery inside it often combine the two into a single capital plan. Learn more about commercial real estate financing, or ask us to look at both together when you get matched.
Appraisers, sale-leaseback lenders, equipment refinance desks, and used-equipment buyers all price the same machine differently. Rather than chase each one separately, tell us about your equipment once and compare the sale-leaseback, refinance, and sale options side by side, so the number you act on is one a lender or buyer will actually honor. It is free, and checking won't affect your credit.
An equipment appraisal is a professional valuation of machinery, vehicles, or industrial equipment that establishes what it is worth in the current market. A qualified appraiser inspects the asset, weighs make, model, age, hours, condition, and recent comparable sales, and issues a report. Formal reports are typically prepared to USPAP standards and state more than one figure: fair market value, orderly liquidation value, and forced liquidation value.
Fair market value (FMV) is what equipment sells for between a willing buyer and seller with adequate time to market it. Orderly liquidation value (OLV) assumes a sale over a limited but reasonable period, so it is lower. Forced liquidation value (FLV) assumes a quick, auction-style sale and is the lowest of the three. Lenders usually advance against OLV or FLV, not FMV, because those reflect what they could recover if they had to sell the collateral.
Yes. An appraisal is often the first step in raising capital against equipment you own. Once the value is established you can access it through a sale-leaseback, an equipment refinance or asset-based collateral loan, or an outright sale. The appraised value, condition, and title determine how much you can raise.
Lenders advance a percentage of the appraised value, usually of the orderly or forced liquidation value rather than fair market value. Advance rates vary with equipment type, age, condition, marketability, and whether you own it free and clear. Clean-title, long-lived, easily resold equipment gets the best advances; older or specialized assets get less.
Yes. Beyond equipment, Axiant also arranges sale-leaseback and cash-out financing against owned commercial real estate. If you own both the building and the machinery inside it, both can be sources of working capital, and they can be evaluated together.
Start with the value. Tell us about your equipment and Axiant shows you the sale-leaseback, refinance, and sale options side by side, so you can pick the one that frees up the most cash for the lowest cost. One application, real offers, no obligation, and checking won't affect your credit.