How an equipment financing referral reaches your desk

From the borrower's application to your yes, step by step: what is checked, what you see first, what unlocks when you claim a deal, and when a fee is owed.

One: the borrower applies once

A business owner buying equipment fills in one short application: the equipment, its year and condition, the seller, the price and down payment, the business, its state and industry, time in business, revenue range, and credit range. EFN runs a soft credit pull. The borrower is not shopping a dozen lenders at once; the file waits for a match.

Two: the file is checked against every lender's box

The request is compared against what each lender says it will finance: geography and the states it serves, the equipment categories it funds, minimum credit and time in business, its deal-size minimum and maximum, documentation thresholds, and asset rules such as equipment age and mileage limits. A lender whose profile rules the deal out is never considered for it.

Three: a person reviews the match

Nothing is sent automatically. Every match is human-reviewed against your credit box before it reaches you. Ranking is on fit alone. One flat referral fee for every lender in the network. No lender can pay to be routed ahead of another.

Four: the deal comes to you, and only you

Each deal goes to one lender at a time, with no competing calls from other lenders. You have 24 hours to claim it; once you claim it, it is yours until you pass. Unclaimed after 24 hours, it moves to the next best fit.

The new-deal email carries enough to judge the fit, with no identity: the equipment, make and model, year and condition, mileage or hours, seller type and where it is kept; the purchase price (rounded), down payment, desired term and how soon the borrower needs funding; business state and industry; time in business, self-reported credit range and annual revenue range; the guarantors; the match score; and the deadline to respond.

Five: you say yes, and the file opens

You say so in your lender portal; the new-deal email links straight to it. The borrower's contact details unlock at that moment, and not before. With a signed participation agreement, the full application opens in your portal too, never by email.

Six: you work the deal directly

We find the deals, then get out of the way: you work each one directly with the borrower. You run your own process, ask for whatever paperwork your credit policy calls for, approve or decline, and set the terms. If you pass, say so, and the deal moves on to the next match.

Seven: a fee only if it funds

Joining is free. The referral fee is 1% of the funded amount, and a referral fee applies only on deals that actually fund. Pay nothing for leads you pass on.

Nothing is routed to you until you have reviewed and signed the referral agreement, so the terms are settled before the first deal arrives.

Common questions

Do I have to accept every deal I am sent?
No. Pass on anything you do not want. A deal you pass on costs you nothing, and it moves to the next match.

What happens if I do not answer within 24 hours?
If you don't claim it within 24 hours, the deal moves to the next lender that fits. You are never charged for a deal you did not take.

Is the borrower's identity in the first email?
No. The first email carries the deal, not the person. The borrower's contact details unlock in your portal when you say you are interested.

Can I change what I receive later?
Yes. Update your profile any time: states, equipment, credit box, deal size, documentation and asset rules.

When is the referral fee owed?
Only when a referred deal funds. It is 1% of the funded amount, under the referral agreement you sign before any deal is routed to you.

Set your box. Receive only what fits.

Watch how it works (2 min) · See a sample routed deal

Free to join. The referral fee is 1% of the funded amount, and it applies only on deals that actually fund.

More for lenders: Equipment finance deal flow, matched to your credit box · For second-look equipment lenders: the files the bank passed on · Looking for equipment finance brokers? A referral network for lenders instead · Equipment finance lead sources: where deal flow comes from, and what each one asks of you · Equipment leasing referral partners: what a good one looks like · How to get more equipment finance applications without buying leads · Pay only on funded deals: how a success-based referral fee works · Application-only equipment deal flow, matched to your program · Second-look equipment and truck deals, for the lenders who fund them · Small-ticket equipment deal flow, sized to your program · Guides for lenders

Equipment Funding Network is a matching and referral service, not a lender and not a broker. Lenders make every credit decision and set every term.