Bellcrest Lending Group, a small-business funding service in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, explains funding for landscaping companies: equipment financing for mowers, trucks and plows, lines of credit for payroll ahead of contract payments, and working capital planning across the year. It uses Fond du Lac County landscaping figures from County Business Patterns 2023 and Nonemployer Statistics 2024.
At a glance
- Employer establishments
36 employer locations, Fond du Lac County, WI (CBP 2023)
- Fewer than five employees
30 of the 36 employers (83.3%, CBP 2023)
- Annual payroll
$8.2 million paid to 160 employees (CBP 2023)
- Businesses without paid employees
125 with no payroll (Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 2022)
Landscaping Across Fond du Lac County, WI: 2023 and 2024 Census Counts
For landscaping services (NAICS 561730), County Business Patterns counted 36 employer establishments in Fond du Lac County, WI in 2023, with 160 paid employees and $8.2 million in annual payroll; 30 of them, or 83.3%, had fewer than five employees, and 13 used a ZIP 54935 address (ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023; the ZIP is not the city limits). That works out to about 4.4 employees per establishment and about $51,219 of payroll per employee (our arithmetic).
Nonemployer Statistics, a separate Census program built on NAICS 2022 codes, counted 125 businesses without paid employees in landscaping services (NAICS 2022 56173) in the county for 2024, with $5.8 million in combined receipts, or about $46,224 each (our arithmetic). The two programs count different businesses, so this page keeps them apart.
Working capital for landscaping business in Fond du Lac, WI
Working capital for a landscaping business pays crews, fuel, mulch, stone and plants before customers pay. Residential mowing customers may pay monthly; commercial and property-management contracts may pay on 30-day or longer terms. The gap between those dates is what working capital covers.
Landscaping employers in the county were small in 2023: 30 of 36 had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns).
Working capital for landscaping company for Fond du Lac County, WI businesses
A landscaping company with commercial contracts carries receivables, and a revolving line fits that pattern: draw for payroll and materials, repay as contract payments arrive. If income in your business shifts between mowing, hardscape and plowing during the year, the line can follow those shifts.
Business lines of credit explains how draws and repayments work.
Commercial lawn mower financing: what Fond du Lac, WI owners should know
Commercial mowers, from stand-ons to wide-deck riders, are financed as equipment, often through dealer programs as well as independent partners. Compare a dealer's promotional offer with an outside offer in total dollars, including any price difference for taking the promotion.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $16,500 zero-turn mower financed over 36 months at 8% costs about $517 a month (our arithmetic).
Snow plow loan around Fond du Lac, WI
A snow plow loan finances a plow and spreader, sometimes the truck to carry them. Plow equipment mounts to a truck, so partners look at both. Landscapers who plow have income from contracts or per-push billing; a written contract supports the request better than a list of expected calls.
The snow plow financing article works through a plow purchase in detail.
Working capital for landscaping services in Fond du Lac, WI
Landscaping services that include design and installation take deposits and progress payments on large jobs. Materials such as pavers, stone and plants are bought ahead. A working capital loan or line bridges the time from buying materials to final payment.
Ask customers for deposits that cover materials where you can; it shrinks the gap you need to fund.
Business loans for landscaping business for Fond du Lac County, WI businesses
Business loans for a landscaping business sort into equipment financing for mowers, trucks, trailers, skid steers and plows; lines or working capital for payroll and materials; and term loans to buy another company's routes and equipment. Nonemployer Statistics counted 125 landscaping businesses without paid employees in the county in 2024.
Equipment financing in Fond du Lac, WI covers loans and leases.
Buying Routes and Accounts in Fond du Lac County, WI
Buying another landscaper's customer list and equipment is a purchase. The value rests on contracts and retention, so ask for signed contracts, billing history and how many customers renewed last year. Equipment in the deal is valued separately.
Illustration only, invented figures: a buyer pays $90,000 for routes billing $150,000 a year plus $40,000 for the equipment, $130,000 in all (our sum).
Planning a Landscaping Year Around Equipment Payments
Equipment payments arrive every month, while landscaping and plowing income can rise and fall during the year. Some partners offer payment schedules that follow a business's income pattern, with lower payments in quieter months; ask whether a skip-payment or step-payment schedule is available and what it adds to the total cost.
Illustration only, invented figures: a crew with $3,200 a month in equipment payments and a slow stretch of three months needs $9,600 set aside, or a line ready to draw, to carry those payments (our arithmetic). Building that reserve in the busy months keeps the payments current.
Records a Partner Reads From a Fond du Lac, WI Landscaper
- Statements from the bank and the latest returns.
- Customer contracts and billing history.
- An equipment list with values and liens.
- Quotes for new equipment.
Related pages: excavation business loans, contractor funding, all industries and the Fond du Lac, WI page.
By Bellcrest Lending Group ยท Updated