Cedarland Lending, a small-business funding service in Roswell, NM, arranges funding for gas stations and convenience stores in Chaves County, NM. This page covers buying a gas station, commercial loans for station property and equipment, fuel and in-store inventory, coolers and point-of-sale systems, what partners review, and the county's gasoline-station figures.
| Chaves County, NM gasoline-station employer count | 27 establishments (County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 4471) |
|---|---|
| Employees at those stations | 344, CBP 2023 |
| Annual payroll | About $10.0 million, CBP 2023 |
How money moves at a fuel station
Every station runs two businesses under one canopy. Fuel brings volume but thin margins and must be paid for on the supplier's terms, often before the load is sold. The store brings fewer dollars at better margins across many items. Both sides take card payments, and card fees take a share of every sale. Equipment, from dispensers to coolers to the point-of-sale system, needs replacing on its own schedule.
Stations here are mid-sized employers: about 12.7 employees per establishment in 2023, by our arithmetic from the CBP row for gasoline stations (344 employees, 27 establishments; County Business Patterns 2023).
Illustrative weekly cash cycle at a station
Illustrative only, with invented figures. A station takes a fuel load on Monday that costs $27,000, and the supplier drafts the account soon after delivery. Over the week it sells that fuel for about $28,800, a little at a time, and the card processor settles most of it a day or two after each sale. Meanwhile the store takes about $14,000 in sales at a better margin, and wages go out on Friday.
The squeeze comes when a second load arrives on Thursday, before Monday's fuel has finished selling. Two loads drafted in one week can leave the account short for a few days even in a profitable month. That is the timing a modest working capital cushion or a credit line is meant to cover, and it is why partners look at daily balances, not just monthly totals.
Financing the purchase of a gas station
A purchase is usually funded with a term loan, sometimes alongside real estate financing if the land and building are included. Partners review the seller's fuel gallons and store sales, tax returns, the fuel supply agreement, equipment condition and the buyer's retail experience.
- Seller's tax returns and monthly fuel and store sales
- The fuel supply or brand contract, with the years left on it
- Equipment list with age: tanks, dispensers, coolers, POS
- Environmental reports on the site
- The buyer's resume and personal financial statement
The post on gas station financing requirements goes through each document in more detail, and the acquisition loan calculator tests the payment.
Commercial loan for a gas station already owned
Owners also finance improvements: canopy and lighting, new dispensers, a store remodel or a food-service counter. Equipment financing covers dispensers, coolers, ice machines and POS systems, secured by the equipment; a term loan covers a remodel.
Fuel and in-store inventory
A convenience store carries tobacco, drinks, snacks and household goods, restocked weekly or faster. Inventory financing can fund a larger order, such as stocking a remodeled store, secured by the goods. Fuel itself is usually handled through the supplier's terms; a line of credit can bridge timing when a fuel payment falls due before card settlements arrive.
Buying a convenience store that has no pumps
A store without pumps is a simpler purchase: inventory, fixtures, the lease and goodwill. Partners look at sales by category, the lease, and how much of the price is inventory on hand, which is easier to lend against than goodwill.
How to buy a convenience store business, step by step
- Get two years of sales by category and the business tax returns from the seller.
- Read the lease: years remaining, renewal options and whether it can be assigned to you.
- Agree how inventory will be counted at closing and priced separately from goodwill.
- List the fixtures and coolers with their ages.
- Test the payment with the acquisition loan calculator, then send the request.
For a store with pumps, add the supply agreement and environmental steps described above.
Illustrative example: setting out a station purchase
Illustrative only, with invented figures: a buyer agrees $620,000 for a Roswell, NM station with its building, including $70,000 of store inventory and $150,000 of equipment. A partner might look at the property, equipment and inventory as collateral and the balance as goodwill. Setting the price out in those parts, with a down payment, makes the request easier to review.
Card fees, margins and what partners read
Station owners know that card processing takes a share of nearly every sale, including fuel sold on thin margins. Partners reading a station's statements look at net card deposits rather than gross sales, so a request should explain the difference. Show fuel margin per gallon and store margin by category from the point-of-sale system, and how much of each month's deposits came from cards.
Lottery, money orders and similar pass-through sales can inflate gross figures without adding much profit. Separate them in the sales report so the business's real earning power is clear.
Chaves County, NM gas station figures
Chaves County, NM had 27 gasoline station employer establishments in 2023, with 344 employees and about $10.0 million in annual payroll (County Business Patterns 2023). The Census Bureau did not publish the size breakdown or the ZIP 88203 count for this industry, and convenience stores without fuel (NAICS 445120) had no published county row. Seven convenience retailers reported receipts with no paid employees in 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 44513).
Grocery stores (11 county employer establishments) and other retail are on the industries hub; more county sectors are on the Roswell, NM page.
By Cedarland Lending · Updated