Quarrymoor Financial, a small-business funding service in Kingman, Arizona, arranges gas station and convenience store funding through partners: term loans to buy a station, inventory financing for in-store stock, equipment financing for coolers and point-of-sale systems, and working capital. County Business Patterns 2023 lists 88 gasoline station employers across Mohave County, AZ. Partners make credit decisions and set rates and terms.
| Gasoline stations with employees, Mohave County, AZ | 1,446 on payroll at 88 employer sites (CBP count, 2023) |
|---|---|
| Stations with fewer than five employees | 14.8% (CBP 2023) |
| Convenience stores without fuel, county | 18 payroll-paying firms on the CBP tally for 2023 |
| Annual payroll, gasoline stations | $48.4 million of payroll across 2023 (CBP) |
Two cash cycles under one canopy
Fuel sells in volume at a thin margin per gallon, and each delivery has to be paid for on the supplier's terms. The store sells snacks, drinks and household goods at higher margins with faster turnover. Card fees take a slice of both. Owners juggle large, regular fuel payments against steady daily store sales, and a pump repair or a cooler failure can upset the balance within a week.
Gas stations in the county are larger employers than most small businesses: only 14.8% of stations had fewer than five employees in 2023 (CBP), and the 88 stations employed 1,446 people. Payroll is a big fixed cost alongside fuel.
How to get a loan to buy a gas station, canopy to coolers
A business loan to buy a gas station is one of the more involved requests a partner sees, because the deal can include real estate, fuel equipment, a fuel supply agreement, the store's inventory and the business itself. A commercial loan for a gas station purchase is usually structured as a term loan, sometimes with the property financed separately.
Gas station financing requirements a partner will ask about
- The seller's tax returns, profit-and-loss statements and fuel volume records
- In-store sales records, separate from fuel
- The fuel supply or brand agreement, and how long it still runs
- Environmental reports on the tanks and site
- The buyer's experience running a station or a store
- The lease or the property appraisal, if real estate is included
Buying a corner store that sells no fuel
A convenience store without fuel is a simpler purchase: inventory, fixtures, the lease and the customer base. Partners review the store's sales records and margins, the lease terms and how much of the price is inventory. A convenience store business loan for a purchase is again usually a term loan, with the opening stock sometimes financed separately.
Store inventory and fuel-store goods
Shelves and coolers turn over quickly, so a store can fund stock from daily sales. A larger order, a new product line or a remodel that adds shelf space can be funded with inventory financing sized to that order. Partners look at sell-through by category, which a modern point-of-sale system makes easy to show.
Coolers, dispensers and registers as equipment
Reach-in beverage coolers, reach-in freezers, food-service counters, point-of-sale terminals, security cameras and fuel dispensers are financed as equipment, usually with the equipment as security. Dispenser upgrades can carry significant installation costs; list them separately on the quote.
How to get funding for a gas station already running
For an operating station, the common requests are working capital after a large repair, a line for fuel payments when supplier terms tighten, equipment for a store refresh, or a term loan for a canopy, lighting or remodel project. A business loan for a convenience store follows the same logic: name the cost and what repays it.
An illustration with invented numbers
A Kingman, AZ station's store sells about $2,900 a day in merchandise. The owner wants to add a cold-beverage wall: $18,400 for the cooler doors and refrigeration, $3,100 for installation, and $6,500 of opening stock. Financing the equipment ($21,500) and the opening stock separately keeps each repayment tied to what the money bought. These numbers are made up to illustrate the split, not a quote.
Fuel supply, cards and the store: what partners typically review
A station purchase has several contracts behind it. Partners reviewing a request generally want to see how fuel is supplied and paid for, how card sales settle, and how the store side performs on its own.
- The fuel supply or dealer agreement, its term and any branding or volume commitments
- Twelve months of fuel invoices and the drafts taken for them
- Card settlement reports showing when card sales reach the bank
- Store sales by category, separate from fuel gallons
- Environmental reports and tank records the seller already holds
- The lease or deed, and any equipment leases on dispensers or coolers
County Business Patterns 2023, our arithmetic: Mohave County, AZ gasoline stations averaged about 16.4 employees per location, more than double the figure for any contractor trade covered on this site, and paid about $33,400 per employee. Payroll is a real weekly cost even before fuel drafts.
Fuel-station counts for Mohave County, AZ from the Census Bureau
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employer establishments | 88 | County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 4471 |
| Paid employees | 1,446 | CBP 2023, pay period including March 12 |
| Annual payroll | $48.4 million | CBP 2023 |
| Locations below five employees | 14.8% (13) | CBP 2023 |
| Establishments with a ZIP 86401 address | 23 | ZIP Business Patterns 2023 (USPS ZIP area, not city limits) |
| No-payroll businesses (counted separately) | 3, receipts $2.2 million | Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 457 (separate program; not added to CBP) |
Twenty-three gasoline stations had a ZIP 86401 address in 2023 (ZIP Business Patterns). Separately, the county had 18 convenience stores without fuel that had employees (CBP 2023, NAICS 445120). Nonemployer counts for stations are tiny: 3 in 2024 at the broader NAICS 457 level (Nonemployer Statistics). The page of Kingman, AZ business figures has the county overview; other retail notes cover grocery and general merchandise.
By Quarrymoor Financial · Updated
