Trueleaf Finance, a small-business funding service in Saginaw, Michigan, helps gas station and convenience store owners in Saginaw County request term loans, inventory financing and equipment financing from funding partners. This page covers the station cash cycle, buying a gas station business, what partners may read, a worked inventory example and the county's station and store counts from Census data.
| Gasoline stations with employees, 2023 | 61 (CBP, NAICS 4471) |
|---|---|
| Convenience stores with employees, 2023 | 22 (CBP, NAICS 445120) |
| Gas stations with fewer than 5 employees | 32.8% (CBP 2023) |
| Nonemployer gas stations, 2024 | 6 (NES, NAICS 457) |
The County's Fuel Stops and Corner Stores
Saginaw County had 61 gasoline stations and 22 stand-alone convenience stores with paid employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 4471 and 445120). The stations reported about 569 employees, around nine per station by our arithmetic, and 32.8% had fewer than five. Separately, Nonemployer Statistics counted 6 gas stations (NAICS 2022 code 457) and 9 convenience stores with no payroll in 2024, a different program that is not added to the employer counts.
How Station Cash Flow Works
Fuel is bought by the load and paid for on the supplier's terms, and card fees take a share of each sale. The store inside sells beverages, snacks and other goods that are restocked as they sell. That means inventory, coolers and the store layout matter to a partner as well as gallons sold.
Equipment is the other large cost. Pumps, dispensers, canopies, tank monitoring and point-of-sale systems all wear out eventually.
Funding Station Needs
| Need | Structure | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Purchasing a station or a store | Term loan | One purchase repaid over years |
| Beverage, snack and tobacco stock | Inventory financing | Goods bought ahead, sold daily |
| Pumps, reach-ins, registers | Equipment financing | The equipment backs it |
| Fuel draft lands before deposits clear | Working capital | Short operating gap |
Buying a Gas Station Business: What to Check First
Station purchases come in three shapes: the business only, with a lease on the property; the business and the real estate together; or a fuel-supply arrangement that ties the station to a brand. Each changes what a partner finances. Before an offer, ask the seller for three years of tax returns, monthly fuel gallons and inside sales, the fuel-supply agreement and its remaining term, and any environmental reports on the tanks.
A term loan can carry the business purchase; real estate may need a separate commercial mortgage.
Gas Station Financing Requirements Partners May Read
- Recent years of the seller's tax returns and monthly sales reports, split between fuel and inside sales
- The fuel-supply agreement and the lease, with their remaining terms
- Your own credit, experience running a store, and the cash you will put in
- Equipment age and any upgrade quotes
- For an operating store: recent bank statements and the inventory list
Convenience Store Business Loan Without the Pumps
A convenience store without fuel is closer to a small grocery. Partners read inside sales, inventory turnover and cooler capacity. Coolers, shelving and food-service equipment finance as equipment; stock finances as inventory. The county's 22 employer convenience stores reported about 134 employees, roughly six per store by our arithmetic, and half had fewer than five employees (CBP 2023).
Grocery stores have their own post: funding a grocery or specialty food store in Saginaw, MI.
Illustrative Example: Restocking Before a Holiday Weekend
Illustrative figures only, not an offer. A Saginaw station sells about $45,000 a month inside the store at cost, turning stock roughly every two weeks. Ahead of a long weekend the owner wants an extra $12,000 of beverages and snacks, and the supplier wants payment on delivery. Inventory financing or a short line draw covers the order, repaid from the following two weeks of inside sales. The fuel side stays out of the request.
Pump, Dispenser and Canopy Upgrades
Station equipment wears out eventually and can be costly to replace all at once: dispensers, card readers, canopy lighting, tank monitoring and the point-of-sale system that ties them together. These upgrades fit equipment financing when the equipment can serve as collateral, and a term loan when the work is mostly installation.
Ask the vendor to separate equipment from labor and site work in the quote. Partners also want to know whether the fuel-supply agreement covers any of the cost, since a supply agreement may address the cost of upgrades.
For Station Owners in Saginaw County, MI: Next Reads
Compare term loans and inventory financing, or equipment financing for dispensers and coolers. Other retail sectors are on the industries hub, and county figures on the Saginaw, MI page.
By Trueleaf Finance · Updated
