A nail salon usually finances pedicure chairs with an equipment loan or lease on the vendor quote, and pays for the plumbing and ventilation work around them with a term loan or a contractor's payment plan. Pricing the two separately lets each be compared on its own terms.
An article from Brookharbor Lenders in Charleston, West Virginia on financing pedicure chairs and ventilation for a nail salon, with Kanawha County nail salon counts and an invented four-chair example.
Nail Salon Loan for Pedicure Chairs With Plumbing Hookups
Pedicure spas are plumbed fixtures: each needs hot and cold water, a drain and often an electrical circuit for its jets and seat. The chair itself is equipment, financed on the vendor's quote; the plumbing to it is contractor work that becomes part of the space.
Ask the vendor whether delivery and installation are on the quote, and get a separate bid from a plumber for the hookups. A partner can then finance the chairs, and any matching technician stools and polish stations, with equipment financing and the plumbing with a term loan or as part of a build-out.
Nail Salon Loans for Ventilation and Dust Collection
Ventilation in a nail salon can mean source-capture units at each station, a dust collection system for filing, and upgrades to the room exhaust and fresh-air supply. Some of it is equipment that can be financed on a vendor quote; the ductwork and exhaust fans are usually mechanical work done by a contractor under a permit.
Ask the contractor what the local code requires for the space before choosing equipment, so the purchase meets the requirement the first time.
Business Loans for a Nail Salon Moving to a Bigger Space
Moving to a bigger space means a new lease, a build-out with plumbing for the pedicure line, ventilation, and new or relocated equipment. A partner reviewing the move will look at the salon's current revenue, its booking history and how many more stations the new space adds.
A term loan for the build-out and an equipment loan for the chairs and stations is one way to divide the cost. Keep the build-out loan no longer than the lease that remains.
Loans for Salon Owners: Equipment Loan, Term Loan or Credit Line?
An equipment loan suits the chairs and stations, which last for years and secure their own loan. A term loan suits the build-out and plumbing, which become part of the space. A line of credit suits recurring costs such as polish and supply orders, drawn when an order is due and repaid as services are paid.
One project can use all three. Compare each on its total cost, and the salon business loans page covers the rest of a salon's funding questions.
A credit line also helps when a pedicure spa needs a part or a pump during its life. Small repairs come out of the line and are repaid from the week's services, rather than turning into a separate loan each time something wears out.
Eleven Nail Salon Employers and 114 Without Payroll in Kanawha County, WV
County Business Patterns counted 11 nail salons with employees in Kanawha County, WV in 2023, every one of them with fewer than five employees, and 17 employees in all. Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 114 nail salons with no paid employees in the county in 2024.
The two programs are not added together. All 11 employer salons had fewer than five employees, and the salons with no employees at all are counted only by the second program. Owners without employees can still request equipment financing on their own records.
An Invented Four-Chair Spa Line With an Exhaust Upgrade
Illustration only, invented figures: a Charleston, WV nail salon adds four pedicure spas at $4,800 each, $19,200 in all, and upgrades its exhaust for $8,500. It finances the $27,700 package over four years at an invented annual rate of 11.5%.
In this invented case each of the 48 monthly payments is about $722.67, about $34,688 in all, which puts the cost of the financing near $6,988 (our arithmetic). The owner would compare the payment with the pedicure revenue the added chairs are expected to bring in each month.
Four added spas only earn if there are technicians to work them. If the salon plans to hire, or to rent stations to independent technicians, the staffing plan belongs in the request beside the equipment quote, because a partner will ask how quickly the added chairs will be filled.
Before the Plumber and the Vendor: A Nail Salon Owner's List
- The vendor quote for the chairs, with delivery and installation.
- The plumber's and the ventilation contractor's bids.
- The lease and the landlord's consent for the work.
- Booking reports showing pedicure demand.
- Business bank and card statements.
- Confirmation from the contractor that permits are included.
By Brookharbor Lenders · Updated
