Product · Path 02
Replace the device on your floor plan, not the cash flow.
Built for established med-spa owners trading out an aging laser, stacking a RF/microneedling line, or upgrading to a CoolSculpting Elite / Sciton Joule suite. Read how an upgrade file differs from a first-purchase file, see the typical deal sizes, the rent-vs-finance math, the qualifying profile, and the 3–7 business day timeline — then size your monthly on the estimator before you submit intake.
In this page
7 sections · ~4 minWhy an upgrade file is different
The desk reads an upgrade against the equipment-lender band, not the de-novo band.
Existing collateral, twelve-plus months of revenue history, a known title position on the prior device, and a single-signer file. Four structural differences that move the term sheet toward a band a startup file cannot reach.
Structural difference
Existing collateral clears the title path
You are not financing a blank check. The old device sits on your floor plan with documented useful life and known book value — the desk reads the replacement against the same security profile, so the loan is equipment-secured, not a corporate blanket lien.
Cleaner title · faster UCC review
Structural difference
Revenue history sets the band, not a forecast
Twelve-plus months of trailing revenue and proven service mix is a concrete underwriting signal — the desk reads the same history you already showed the landlord. No reliance on break-even projections the way a de-novo file does.
Twelve months of revenue · top of the band
Structural difference
Trade-in value softens the down payment
A clean payoff of the prior device rolls into the new ticket as soft equity — often the difference between a 12% APR band and a 9% APR band. The desk sizes the downside against the trade-in, not against the cash you have to bring.
Trade-in payoff → effective down payment
Structural difference
Owner-driven file, no investor rep
The signer on the new file is the same signer who has been running the file for twelve-plus months. No new partner, no landlord guarantee, no PE parent. The desk pricer reads the file once and writes the term sheet the same day.
Single signature path · no investor reps
Typical deal sizes
Four upgrade scenarios the desk sizes against.
The four below cover north of ninety percent of upgrade intake files — ticket represents the new device, with the trade-in applied as a soft down payment.
$80k – $140k
Laser platform replacement
Cynosure Elite+ · Sciton Joule · Alma Soprano Titanium
Trade-in clears the prior UCC, replacement secures the new ticket. 36-month structure common.
$120k
RF / microneedling stack
Morpheus8 + Vivace paired on one file
Two devices on a single equipment file, 48-month term bands the monthly.
$180k – $280k
CoolSculpting Elite upgrade
Two-applicator Elite system replacing legacy CoolSculpting
Larger ticket, longer term aligned to the higher monthly revenue the new applicators produce.
$300k+
Sciton Joule + HALO / BBL suite
Multi-modal high-end platform
Flagship ticket at the top of the equipment-lender band. Spread across 60–72 months to keep the monthly flat.
These are the upgrade tickets the desk underwrites against the equipment-lender band — specialty platforms ship on the same structure. Pull the trade-in value off the financed amount when you size your own monthly on the estimator below.
Rent vs finance
Pay forever for the handpiece, or own the platform by year three.
Same $150k laser, two ways to put it on the floor. Numbers are illustrative against a representative handpiece-rental quote and a 36-month equipment financing term at the desk’s specialty-equipment APR band.
Approach A
Handpiece rental / per-use fees
Pay per handpiece per month, or per pulse / per treatment cycle. No balance sheet commitment, no UCC filing — but no equity either. The fee compounds forever.
Approach B
Finance the platform outright
Fixed monthly payment against an equipment-secured term loan. After payoff the device stays on your books at depreciated value — and the monthly stops.
Numbers above are illustrative for a $150k laser platform financed at ~12% APR over 36 months, against a representative three-year handpiece rental quote. The desk sizes real quotes against your actual file — these rows are intentionally rough to make the shape of the comparison obvious.
Qualifying profile
Five items the desk checks against your file.
The profile below is the typical upgrade owner. The desk reads files against this structure, not against a strict checklist — a blemish on one item is workable if the others compensate.
Twelve-plus months in business under the current ownership signature
Re-starts the clock if you bought the practice inside the last twelve months.
Current device titled free and clear — no active lease, no co-tenant UCC conflict
Payoff letter or UCC termination from the prior lender clears the title in 3–5 days.
$20,000-plus consistent monthly revenue trailing six months
Memberships and package revenue count, not just retail card volume.
No recent UCC filings against the device, the entity, or the owner
Existing term loans on the entity are fine if they are not stacked MCAs.
Primary owner on the lease, the entity, and the new file
Single signer path keeps the term sheet on the desk after the file read.
One item not quite right?Send the file as is. The desk reads upgrade files against the equipment-lender band, not against the stricter de-novo qualification gates — the items above are the typical profile, not a hard cut.
Funding timeline
Five steps, three to seven business days.
The same intake funnel as a first-purchase equipment file, but the desk pricer reads it faster — against trade-in value and existing revenue rather than a full de-novo underwrite.
Intake in
Submit /apply with the source tag set to "Upgrading existing equipment". Notes already carry the upgrade context.
Day 1
Desk reads the file
Trade-in value, twelve-month revenue, current title position. The desk sizes against the equipment-lender band — not a corporate underwrite.
Day 2
Term sheet out
Indicative rate band, term, monthly payment. Reviewed against the same monthly number you ran on the estimator below.
Day 3
Docs and signatures
Loan documents, UCC filing against the new device only, payoff of the prior lender if applicable.
Day 4 – 5
Funded to the device vendor
Wire to the device vendor (or refinance payoff to the prior lender). The new device lands on your floor plan.
Day 5 – 7
Self-qualify in sixty seconds
See what your upgrade would cost monthly.
Plug in the upgraded device sticker, subtract the trade-in as your down payment, and pick the term that fits your monthly ceiling. The desk reads the same widget when intake comes in.
Self-qualify in sixty seconds
See what your monthly would look like.
Drop in a price, a down payment, a term, and an APR band. The desk reads this widget when it sees your intake — the same size and shape of conversation, before the term sheet.
The sticker on the device, the platform, the chair.
Cash up front — reduces the financed amount and the monthly.
Equipment loans typically run 12–84 months.
Solid file with one thin quarter — modest spread over prime.
Your rough monthly
$1,522/mo
$70,000 financed · 60 mo · Prime + 4 (~11% APR)
This is illustrative — submit intake for a real quote. The desk prices the term sheet against your actual file; the bands above are rough ranges, not a commitment to fund.
Send the file to the desk
One short form. Existing device prefilled.
Tell us the clinic, the upgrade device, and the trade-in. The intake arrives tagged “Upgrading existing equipment” — we respond inside one business day with a routing read against the equipment-lender band.
Setting up the first device on the floor? See equipment financing →
Independent vertical-credit desk · MedGuild Capitalis not a lender. Ticket sizes and APR bands above are illustrative of the desk’s first-pass sizing against the equipment-lender band — not an offer to fund, not a comment on any applicant’s specific file, and not a guarantee of term-sheet outcomes from any listed equipment-lender partner.