How can a drone manufacturer offer financing to its buyers?
A drone manufacturer can offer customer financing without lending its own money: you join a finance partner’s program, put a monthly payment on each quote, and the partner funds the sale. Here’s how OEM financing works through dealers or direct, who gets paid when, what your sales team does, and what a payment looks like on a quote.
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How does a financing program for drone manufacturers work?
You sell the drone, and we handle the credit, the paperwork and the funding. The buyer signs an equipment finance agreement or an equipment lease and owes the funder, so you carry no receivable and do no collecting. You put up no capital, and you keep no credit risk.
On an equipment finance agreement, or EFA, the buyer owns the drone from day one and pays it off over 24 to 84 months. A lease runs 24 to 60 months and ends with a $1, 10% or fair market value (FMV) buyout. Got a buyer who’ll want your next model? I’d mention the FMV lease, which has the lowest payment and an easy upgrade at the end.
The aircraft, payload, spare batteries, charging setup, controller and software licenses can all share one agreement, and our usual $15,000 minimum counts on the whole bundle. Our commercial drone financing page has the full list, and our spray drone financing guide covers the buyer’s side.
Why put a monthly payment on a drone quote?
Because most buyers plan on paying over time anyway. In the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s 2024 Horizon Report, 82% of respondents who acquired equipment or software in 2023 used at least one form of financing. Their top reasons were cash flow (62%) and protection from obsolescence (55%).
Prices and parts may be moving this year, too. The FCC added foreign-made drones and critical components to its Covered List on December 22, 2025, and Proclamation 11055 put added duties on imported drones and listed components, most starting September 3, 2026, with more components on February 9, 2027. Our guide covers what those rules mean for buyers.
Which partner setup fits a drone manufacturer?
Pick the tier by your monthly application dollars and how much of the program you want under your own name. All three are free: no setup fee, no monthly fee, and no application fee for your buyers.
| 3rd Party Financing | Co-Branded | Private Label | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | An occasional financed deal | Financing questions every week | Financing in every sale |
| Monthly application volume | No minimum | $100,000, plus one funded deal a quarter | $500,000, under a partner program agreement |
| In $45,999 drone packages | Any number | 3 applications a month | 11 applications a month |
| Setup | None | Your logo, one training session, an apply button on your site | Full build |
| Whose brand buyers see | Five West’s | Your logo on our payment calculator and financing page | Yours |
| What you get | A dedicated finance rep and one point of contact | Also an apply-online link, the Partner Portal and ongoing training | Everything in Co-Branded, plus CRM integration and sales meeting and trade show support |
Five West partner programs as of November 5, 2026. Every tier starts with a 90-day trial, and the volume minimums apply after it. All three tiers pay 100% of the invoice on funding. Volume counts what buyers apply for, funded or not, and the drone line is simple division, rounded up.
Not sure? I’d start on 3rd Party. There’s nothing to sign, and moving up later doesn’t restart anything. Co-Branded is typically live in about 1 to 3 days. Private Label runs on a partner program agreement, so have your attorney read it before you sign. Our tier comparison and partner programs page have the rest.
What changes when you sell through dealers instead of direct?
Mostly, who we pay. Five West pays the business that invoices the buyer.
| Step | Through a dealer | Direct from you |
|---|---|---|
| Who invoices the buyer | The dealer | You |
| Who Five West pays | The dealer, 100% of its invoice | You, 100% of your invoice |
| How you get paid | By the dealer, on the terms you already have | By Five West, when the deal funds |
A dealer network runs best on one program. Leave every dealer to find its own funder and buyers get different paperwork in different territories. Each dealer can join a tier, and a manufacturer program can give them payment calculators, co-branded apply pages and rep training.
Building overseas? The company invoicing the buyer has to be in the U.S., and the drone has to be in U.S. inventory before funding. Our overseas manufacturers guide below walks through it.
Who gets paid on a financed drone sale, and when?
The seller gets 100% of the invoice, directly from Five West, when the deal funds. That happens after the buyer signs and the drone is delivered and accepted. Standard deals can fund in as little as 24 to 48 hours after signing.
Building to order? Where a drone requires a deposit, deposit funding can be released once the buyer signs, with the balance on delivery. Progress and pre-funding arrangements are available on qualifying transactions, too. Get the application in when the order is signed, and tell us the delivery date, since approvals stay open for a set time.
Spray season shapes all of this. Approvals are sized to seasonal windows, so a late-winter application for spring work is routine, and your buyer can ask about pushing the first payment back until the season starts. That’s useful when a farmer wants the drone in January and won’t earn a dollar from it until spring.
What does your sales team do on a financed deal?
Quote it, collect a few things and hand it off:
- Print a payment on the quote, with the term and the words “estimated and subject to credit approval.” Never quote a rate or promise an approval.
- Itemize the whole package. Batteries, chargers, payloads, software licenses and a rugged field laptop can go on the agreement when they’re on the invoice. Delivery, installation, training and warranties can be included on qualifying deals, usually around 20% of the equipment amount, depending on credit and collateral.
- Get the Part 107 copy early. Every drone deal needs a copy of the operator’s FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, so ask for it with the order.
- Hand off the buyer. The application starts with a soft credit inquiry. On Co-Branded and Private Label, Submit App in the Partner Portal takes about a minute, with no documents or SSN.
What payment can you put on a drone quote?
Start with the listed price and a 36 or 48 month term. Here’s how that works out on a few listed drones, for an established buyer with nothing down:
| Example listing | Listed price | 36 months | 48 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hylio Pegasus compact spray drone | $27,045 | $860 | $673 |
| Hylio Ares spray drone | $45,999 | $1,463 | $1,145 |
| Hylio Ares plus a 16-foot Drone Spray Pro trailer | $62,998 | $2,003 | $1,568 |
| Hylio Atlas heavy-lift spray drone | $64,998 | $2,067 | $1,617 |
| Each added amount of | $10,000 | $318 | $249 |
Listed asking prices we found, checked November 5, 2026, not appraisals or offers. They’re price examples only. Drone Spray Pro calls the Hylio prices base configurations and showed all three as sold out that day, and the trailer row adds two separate listings. Five West has no affiliation with these makers or sellers. Payments are estimates for a business with two or more years in business, on an EFA with nothing down, and depend on credit, the equipment and the term.
A rep can read it off the quote: “This one’s $45,999, or about $1,145 a month over 48 months, estimated and subject to credit approval.” I’d leave 84 months off a drone quote. Aircraft improve quickly, so a shorter term usually fits better.
Watch the small tickets. A small scout drone can come in under our usual $15,000 minimum, so quote it with a payload or more gear. And when year-end buyers ask about Section 179, point them to their CPA.
What about buyers just starting a drone business?
Leave the payment off their quote. Pricing on a business under two years old depends on the full file, and the examples above are for established buyers only.
A company with less than a year in business is underwritten as a startup. Those programs typically want 700+ personal credit, experience in the work the drone will do, working capital left after the purchase, and usually some money down. Signed or pending contracts for the season help far more than a business plan alone. Send the application, and if the file isn’t ready, we’ll say so. Our startup equipment financing guide covers what those files need.
Does this work for mapping, inspection and other commercial drones?
Yes. The tiers and steps are the same for surveying, LiDAR, thermal and public safety aircraft, and one agreement can cover a fleet. Selling to police or fire departments? Public agencies can use a tax-exempt lease-purchase, which our municipal leasing page explains.
Can your buyers finance used drones?
Yes. There is no age limit, though older equipment can be tougher to get done. Older aircraft typically get a shorter term. With good credit, you usually don’t need a down payment.
Here’s the part you control. Used aircraft are underwritten on flight hours, battery cycles and whether the manufacturer still supports the platform, so supporting your older models helps when they change hands.
Why run your buyers through Five West?
It costs you nothing, and your buyer deals with one funding professional from application to funding. Each submission has two funding paths: the sharpest pricing, or our direct lending program when speed, certainty or structure matters more. A borderline file gets a restructure attempt before a decline, and if it can’t be placed, we’ll say so plainly.
Most buyers get a first response within 1 to 2 business hours, and clean application-only files can be approved in as little as 30 minutes. Application-only decisions go up to $500,000 on qualifying files, and many programs start around a 600 FICO for established businesses. Our team averages about 10 years of experience, and buyers can check a deal on our status page.
Frequently asked questions
Does a drone manufacturer need its own money to offer financing?
No. The funder pays for the sale and the buyer repays it over time. You put up no capital, carry no receivable and do no collecting.
What does it cost a drone manufacturer to offer customer financing?
Nothing at Five West. All three partner tiers are free, with no setup fee, no monthly fee and no application fee for your buyers. Co-Branded and Private Label ask for monthly application volume instead of money.
When does a drone manufacturer get paid on a financed sale?
If you invoice the buyer, Five West pays you 100% of the invoice when the deal funds, after the buyer signs and the drone is delivered and accepted. If a dealer invoices, Five West pays the dealer, and the dealer pays you on your usual terms.
Can batteries, software and training go on the buyer’s agreement?
Yes. Batteries, chargers, payloads and software licenses can go on one agreement with the drone. Training, delivery, installation and warranties can be included on qualifying deals, usually around 20% of the equipment amount, depending on credit and collateral.
Does every drone buyer need a Part 107 certificate?
We need a copy of the operator’s FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate on every drone deal, so ask for it when the order comes in. Spray work takes further FAA and state approvals.
Can a new drone spraying business buy through a manufacturer’s program?
Selectively. Startup programs typically want 700+ personal credit, experience in the work the drone will do, working capital left after the purchase, and usually some money down. Leave the payment off the quote for any buyer under two years in business.
Ready to offer financing on your next drone sale?
The partner application takes about 10 minutes, and it’s not a credit application. Got a buyer ready now? 3rd Party Financing needs no setup, so send them to the application with your quote and the operator’s Part 107 copy.
This article is general information about customer financing for drone manufacturers and their buyers, not tax, legal or accounting advice or a commitment to finance. Partner program terms are set in each partner’s agreement and can change. Prices shown are listed asking prices from public pages on the date checked, not appraisals or offers. Example payments are estimates for an established business with no money down; actual terms and payments depend on credit approval, the equipment and the structure. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting.