In today's world, everything is being recycled one way or another, even shipping containers. Used to move products from national and international locations, they're often left sitting empty - until recently. If you're considering selling shipping containers for some of their many uses, you could be looking at starting a lucrative side hustle for your business or a new business entirely. But how do you know how much you should charge for those containers, and how do you back up their value? Three words: shipping container valuation. Keep reading to learn more uses for shipping containers to help sell these useful containers.

Versatile Options: How Shipping Container Valuation Helps You Get What It's Worth

1. Shipping, of course! If your company is regularly moving large quantities of products or materials, you can reuse shipping containers that are in good condition to continue shipping those items.
2. Workshop space. Need to expand operations quickly or add a hobby shop in the backyard? Shipping containers give you a great way to quickly get a structure in place that you can then wire for use as a shop, whether it's for home or business use.
3. Storage. If conditions are right in your market for buying supplies and materials, do you have a weathertight place to store them? Shipping containers are meant to keep your items protected from the elements, making them an inexpensive way to store excess material.
4. Housing. With the modern look coming into vogue again, homes that are created from multiple shipping containers are becoming popular. Several shipping containers are joined together with shared entryways, even stacked to create multiple floors, then finished inside.
5. Swimming pools. Shipping containers are great for creating instant pools, requiring only the addition of a liner and filtration system to work very effectively. Lower-quality containers can be used for in-ground setups.
6. Underground shelters. Because shipping containers are designed to be tough and hold a lot of weight, they can make great tornado or storm shelters. This allows you to simply dig a hole for the container, add stairs and ventilation and then finish it out.
7. Studios. If you need to quickly add an art studio to your home or business, a storage container can be quickly put into place with windows cut into place, electricity added and lighting to your own specifications.
8. Semi-portable shops and cafes. If you want to set up a barbeque stand for the summer, art stand for the tourist season or any number of other retail or food uses, storage containers make a great option.

Though you can give your customers any number of ideas for your shipping containers, how do you get what they're worth? Shipping container valuation looks at a wide range of different factors that can impact your shipping containers' values, then calculates what those values are. This information is then summarized in a valuation report, which you can use to back up your asking price. This allows you to offer lower prices for shipping containers that have seen more wear and tear or higher prices for containers that are in premium condition. You'll also be able to recommend different uses based on that condition. Make sure you're working with a certified equipment appraiser to ensure that the calculated value you receive is accurate.

You love to cook and host people at your restaurant, but sometimes the business end of your space can be frustrating. Even if you're handling your own accounting, do you know what it would cost to replace all of the items in your restaurant? Do you have sufficient insurance coverage if you have a kitchen fire or flood? One way to determine whether you are able to replace any or all of your restaurant's property and equipment is by having a restaurant personal property & equipment appraisal performed. Here's a look at what kind of items will be appraised during the process.

What's Covered in a Restaurant Personal Property & Equipment Appraisal?

Your restaurant has a lot of different types of property, property that can suffer losses in a number of different circumstances. Flooding can damage your tables and chairs. A fire can damage or destroy the equipment in your kitchen. Either of these circumstances can impact your real estate values, if you've chosen to purchase your business property rather than leasing it. You may have insurance to cover these losses, but how do you know how much insurance to carry in the first place to cover these different types of property?

You could start by looking at replacement value. How much will it cost to replace the equipment that's in your restaurant's kitchen? How much will it cost to try to source and replace the hand-carved chairs in your dining room? Will you need to purchase new items, or can you easily find the items you need second-hand to help reduce the cost of replacement? How do you know what these values are in the first place? The easiest approach is to have an appraisal performed on your restaurant's equipment and personal property.

When you have these items appraised, you can get a better idea of how much insurance coverage you may have. On some pieces of equipment, you may have already fully depreciated the equipment to follow a particular tax strategy, but that equipment will continue to deliver value for your restaurant for many years to come. Because you don't have to replace that equipment, it continues to have value for your business. If you were to suffer a loss due to flooding, fire or another occurrence, you would then need to pay money to replace the equipment. As you can see, basing the value of your restaurant's equipment and personal property on your tax accounting records can leave you far short of the claim you would need to file with your insurance company in case of a loss.

By having a restaurant personal property & equipment appraisal performed on your business' material goods, you can ensure that you have sufficient insurance coverage in case of a disaster. You can also use the appraisal to leverage the value of your restaurant's equipment and personal property to help secure financing, fight a property tax assessment that is incorrect or proves the value of your restaurant in court proceedings. However, to get accurate calculations, you'll want to make sure that you're working with a certified equipment appraiser. The certification process ensures that your appraiser has had training in standardized methodologies that will hold up well to strong scrutiny.

When your business suffers a loss, the insurance policies that you've been paying into are intended to cover those losses and keep you operating smoothly. However, the reality of the process sometimes falls short of your expectations. If you're dealing with an insurance claim with an adjuster who isn't seeing why your equipment is worth more than they're offering, an insurance claims appraisal can help make the process go more smoothly. Why? Here's a look at how this process works.

How Does an Insurance Claims Appraisal Help Advance Your Claim?

Though insurance claims adjusters have some level of specialty, such as vehicles, homes, injuries or similar areas, that doesn't mean they're a specialist for your business' specific equipment. It's very easy to mistake your machinery that has a particular option or kit added to it for one that does not, a difference that can mean your claim settlement is offered at thousands of dollars less than what your machinery is actually worth when all of those aspects are taken into account.

The claims adjuster may not have a good idea of how to evaluate the condition of your equipment, especially when it comes to determining the value of your machinery before it was damaged in a fire, flood or other devastating events. Was the equipment in that poor of condition before, or were the bare wires caused by a fire? Was it that rusty before the flood? It's very easy for an adjuster who is not accustomed to seeing your equipment in its operational state make poor decisions in trying to determine the machinery's original condition and remaining useful lifespan.

Is the claims adjuster taking into account the market conditions at the time? If your region suddenly had strong construction growth following a flood, that machinery may be worth more today than it was in the past, when construction wasn't as strong. That means that the replacement value of that piece of equipment may have gone up significantly. Your construction company may be in a worse financial situation if you accept a lower settlement on your insurance claim than what the equipment is actually worth. 

What about the kind of value the claims adjuster is calculating? If your equipment has been completely ruined beyond any hope of repair, is the adjuster calculating salvage value of what the equipment is worth for scrap and parts? Are they calculating the original value, that may leave you short of funds when it's time to replace that equipment, especially if it's been many years since it was initially purchased? Are they calculating replacement value minus what they expect the salvage value to be, leaving the old equipment for you to deal with in terms of salvage and disposal? It's important that the value that you receive when your claim is settled will actually cover the expense of replacing that equipment, including installation, shipping and similar expenses.

By having an insurance claims appraisal performed, you can ensure that your interests are being protected during the claims process. This allows you to focus on getting your business back on its feet instead of babysitting claims adjusters and the claim process. However, make sure that you're working with an accredited equipment appraiser to ensure that the appraisal report that you receive is free of the appraiser's interests.

Is your company on the move? It's not unusual for businesses today to have a fleet of vehicles available for getting technicians to and from customer locations, making deliveries and improving brand recognition to the general public. But did you know that you can use that very functional part of your business to optimize your company's overall operations? Here's a quick look at how using a fleet transportation vehicle appraisal can help you grow your business.

Roll On! Using Fleet Transportation Vehicle Appraisal to Optimize Operations

Businesses have vehicle fleets to meet a number of different needs. They're used to create a unified brand image for their service vehicles while ensuring that everything their technicians need to get the job done is installed and ready to go. They're used to build brand image when luxury vehicles are driven by upper management or used to pick up other business executives at the airport prior to a big meeting. They're used to build brand recognition by the general public when they're driven down the road during everyday operations. They provide verification of intent when your delivery truck pulls up to a home or job site, setting people's mind at ease.

But over time, these vehicles wear and age. This can make it difficult to determine what their value should be on the accounting books. It's easy to simply depreciate vehicle value for tax purposes on the accounting books, but what about when you're still getting value out of that car, truck or van years after it's been fully depreciated? How do you use that value to your company's position in the market and capacity for growth?

When you're trying to secure financing to expand your operation, valuing all of your assets is important to presenting a realistic picture of your company's finances, not just the value of the assets that still have value in tax depreciation tables. Your business' vehicle fleet can be a good source of unrecorded value for your business, as it may have vehicles that have been completely depreciated but do not yet require replacement.

Knowing the value of these hidden assets allows you to leverage them to the best of your ability, whether applying for a loan or trading in a vehicle for a newer model. Unfortunately, if you choose to have the dealership you're working with determine the value, they may underestimate or overestimate the value, depending on their purposes and which option they feel will best benefit them and help close the deal. A van that could be used for years can be declared as only being fit for the junkyard, or a sedan that's truly worn out may be given a higher value to help make a sale.

By having a fleet transportation vehicle appraisal performed, you can use that information to decide when it's time to replace aging assets and when you should hang on to those assets a little longer before investing in new vehicles. However, trying to make this decision without having the level of information available in an appraisal report from an accredited equipment appraiser can make that decision difficult at best. Make sure that you're working with a properly accredited appraisal specialist to ensure that you're getting an independent opinion on the value of your fleet vehicles.

Despite a slight downturn in the early part of this year, construction spending is forecasted to begin climbing again. Is your business positioned to expand operations by buying new equipment, adding new crews or purchasing new software? Securing capital to deal with issues such as this often means getting a business loan. But how do you accurately estimate the value of your business assets to secure that loan or sell in favor of newer or better machinery? A construction contracting asset appraisal can help. Here's how:

Growing with the Building Increase: Construction Contracting Asset Appraisal

Working in construction demands a certain amount of market savvy to understand the cycles the industry moves in. Preparing for those changes often means having a good grasp of the value of your construction equipment assets. Why? As the equipment ages or is used on the job site, it begins to lose value. At the same time, newer, larger projects demand better equipment. It's difficult to go into the negotiating process if you don't know what your current equipment is worth and how it can be used to offset the expense of the replacement equipment.

Expanding your business means that you'll need capital, whether it's to take on new crew, buy new machinery or explore new opportunities. But where is that capital going to come from? Though you can get a business loan, if your business' credit history has had any shaky points, you may not be able to secure the best available rates. This is one area where being able to use the capital tied up in asset value can be beneficial to your company. 

A financial institution that may not be willing to issue a loan or that is charging a higher interest rate may be willing to negotiate if they feel that their interests are being protected. If you can offer substantial collateral on the loan, such as the value of your equipment assets, you're able to bring something more to the table that allows them to make a better offer.

But how do you prove exactly what your machinery is worth so that the bank feels comfortable in negotiating its loan terms with you? You could have an equipment retailer estimate the value of the machinery, but their estimate is going to be based on what their current interests are, so they may not provide you with an accurate assessment of value.

Basing your equipment values on what similar machinery is being sold for in a magazine or online will only provide you with a rough estimate and may not take the condition of the equipment into account. Working with a certified equipment appraiser is the only way to provide your financial institution with equipment values that are based on tested methodologies that will hold up to strong scrutiny in a range of situations.

By having a construction contracting asset appraisal performed on your company's essential equipment, you can use idle equipment as collateral for a loan, make smart decisions about what equipment to keep and what equipment to sell and replace or have documentation estimating the value of your machinery for an insurance claim. Whatever you decide, make sure you're working with a certified equipment appraiser to ensure that you're getting an accurate value for your construction and contracting equipment.