Sometimes, buying or leasing heavy equipment is part of your long-term plan. But other times, you need a machine quickly — to take on a new project, finish an existing job on schedule or replace a piece of equipment that’s not up to the task at hand. When time is of the essence, follow these strategies to get what you need fast.

1. Get pre-approved.

If you know you won’t be paying cash, making sure you’re approved for financing in advance of your machine purchase can be a big time-saver. Many lenders now let you apply online, and that means no more hours spent completing long, complicated paper forms.

At Cat Financial, for instance, our online credit application (available online and accessible via your phone, tablet or computer) is so simple it only takes most applicants 5-7 minutes to complete, and our goal is to get you approved in less than an hour.

2. Know what financial information to have ready.

If you’ve already financed with a specific lender before, they’ll know your history and may not ask you to provide much additional documentation. But if you’re working with someone new, or requesting financing for the first time ever, having the right documents on hand can help speed up the application and approval process.

Expect to share details about your previous heavy equipment purchases or your overall credit history (mortgages, car or truck loans, credit cards, etc.). You may even need to provide copies of contracts to show the financing approval team what work you have coming up. Here’s a look at the factors Cat Financial evaluates when we review your application.

3. Ask your dealer for eSignature contracts.

Another way to get your equipment faster is to eliminate the time and hassle associated with paper contracts. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are signing documents digitally — whether they’re buying a home, opening an account or paying an invoice.

Thanks to the strongest data encryption technology available, eSignature is as safe and secure as your handwritten signature. And if you use it when you buy or lease equipment, you won’t have to wait to receive paper documents, travel somewhere to sign them, or fax or overnight them back. You can approve, sign and send back finance contracts digitally anytime, anywhere, from any device. Just tell your Cat® dealer you want to eSign your documents.

Next time you’re in the market for a new (or used) piece of equipment, put these three simple strategies to work to ensure you get what you need — and get back to work — fast.

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