Laurelwick Lenders passes gas station and convenience store funding requests from Lake Havasu City, Arizona to funding partners. Mohave County, AZ counted 88 gasoline stations and 18 convenience stores with paid employees in 2023. This page covers funding a station, store ratios, building one, financial statements, whether a loan is possible, and buying a station.
At a glance
- Gasoline station employers, Mohave County, AZ
88, with 1,446 employees (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Convenience store employers
18, with 114 employees (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Gas stations with fewer than five employees
13, or 14.8% (County Business Patterns 2023)
How to Get Funding for a Gas Station: Notes for Convenience Store Owners
County Business Patterns counted 88 gasoline stations (NAICS 4471) in Mohave County, AZ in 2023, with 1,446 employees and $48.4 million in annual payroll, about $33,438 per employee (our arithmetic), and 18 convenience stores without fuel (NAICS 445120) with 114 employees (County Business Patterns 2023). Only 13 stations, 14.8%, had fewer than five employees. Convenience store owners funding a station sort the request by what it pays for:
| What the station needs | Funding type | Records a partner reads |
|---|---|---|
| Coolers, shelving, dispensers | Equipment financing | Vendor quote, deposits |
| Store stock and supplier orders | Inventory financing | Inside sales by category |
| A store remodel | Term loan | Returns, contractor bid, lease or deed |
| Fuel bills ahead of card settlements | Line of credit | Fuel invoices, card statements |
Convenience Store Financial Ratios, Explained for Fuel-and-Food Stores
Convenience store financial ratios read the store and the fuel separately, because the two earn very differently. Fuel-and-food stores track:
- Inside gross margin: store sales minus the cost of goods, as a share of store sales.
- Fuel margin in cents per gallon, after the cost of fuel and card fees.
- Inventory turns for the store, by category.
- Wages as a share of inside sales.
- Debt payments against monthly cash flow after both margins.
Illustration only, invented figures: a store with $84,000 a month of inside sales at a 30% margin earns $25,200 from the store, and 52,000 gallons at an invented 0.32 a gallon earn $16,640 from fuel (our arithmetic).
How to Get a Loan to Build a Gas Station: A Guide for Convenience Store Owners
Building a gas station from the ground up is a land, construction and real estate project, and those loans are commercial real estate and construction lending, which Laurelwick does not arrange. What Laurelwick can pass on is the operating side once the site exists: store equipment, coolers, point-of-sale systems, inventory and working capital for opening. Convenience store owners planning a build should start with a lender that handles construction, and keep the equipment and opening costs as a separate request.
Convenience Store Financial Statements for Lake Havasu City, AZ Gas Stations and C-Stores
Convenience store financial statements for gas stations and c-stores break out fuel and inside sales on the profit and loss statement, because a partner reads them separately. The balance sheet shows stock, fuel in the tanks, payables to the fuel supplier and any equipment debt. Lake Havasu City, AZ owners should keep monthly statements, not only the annual return, so a partner can see how both margins move through the year. Card fees, shrink and lottery or money-order commissions belong on their own lines, since each changes what the store really keeps; 12 of the county's stations had a ZIP 86403 address in 2023 (ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023).
Can You Get a Loan for a Gas Station? How It Plays Out Around Lake Havasu City, AZ
Yes, for the parts within scope. A station's coolers, dispensers and point-of-sale system can be financed as equipment, its stock with inventory financing, and a store remodel with a term loan. The property and tanks themselves fall to real estate lenders. Illustration only, invented figures: a $38,000 walk-in cooler door system and two dispensers at $24,000 each, $86,000 in all, financed over 72 months at an invented annual rate of 10%, carry an invented payment of about $1,593 a month (our arithmetic).
Partners read fuel supply agreements closely, since a branded supply contract can set terms that affect the station's cash flow.
How to Buy a Gas Station: What Fuel-and-Food Stores Gather First
- Three years of returns, with fuel and inside sales shown separately.
- Monthly fuel gallons and inside sales for the past two years.
- The fuel supply agreement and whether it transfers to a buyer.
- Environmental reports on the tanks and the site.
- The equipment list, with ages and any leases.
- The deed or ground lease, and what the property part of the price is.
Fuel-and-food stores bought as a going concern split into two requests: the property for a real estate lender and the business, equipment and stock for an operating lender. Illustration only, invented figures: on a $980,000 purchase with $245,000 down, the remaining $735,000 would be split between the two (our arithmetic). The grocery page covers store stock, and the Lake Havasu City, AZ page has the county counts.
By Laurelwick Lenders · Updated