Equipment Appraisal Blog | Understanding Machinery Appraisals

When you're considering having an equipment valuation performed, one option that is available is having a USPAP compliant appraisal performed. But what exactly is USPAP and how are appraisals that are compliant to USPAP standards different than other types of appraisals? Here's a quick look at this type of appraisal and how it can benefit you.

What exactly is a USPAP compliant appraisal?

Standing for the Universal Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, this represents a set of standards set and published by the Appraisal Standards Board, which in turn is authorized by the Appraisal Foundation. The Appraisal Foundation itself was authorized by Congress to be the source of appraiser qualifications and appraisal standards. Though USPAP appraisal practices were initially focused on real estate appraisal specifically, it has since grown to encompass virtually every possible item that can be appraised in business. 

But how can these standards benefit your equipment appraisal? Because of the high scrutiny under which USPAP has been developed and the number of different situations under which it has been applied, it has developed into a comprehensive standard that deals well with a wide range of situations. Over time, it has been tested in a wide range of legal, financial, insurance and tax agency circles. For this reason, it has become a trusted standard that provides business and equipment owners with many benefits.

When a business suffers a loss, whether due to a fire, natural disaster or theft, insurance companies must be dealt with. If the equipment has not been properly appraised, the business has no basis for claiming a value different than the one generated by the insurance company. But the insurance figure may be a generalized average across the industry, which does not recognize that the equipment has been maintained exceptionally well in a clean, dry environment. How do you fight that figure?

What about when a tax assessment is much too high on a piece of machinery that was purchased as a disposable asset, intended to be used hard for a short period of time? When a piece of equipment is purchased as a stop-gap until something different can be made to work, it often doesn't receive the best treatment. Receiving a high assessment on a machine that has a much lower value can be difficult to fight.

When you're getting ready to expand your business, do you need to secure financing using your equipment as collateral? How can you prove to the financial institution how much it is worth? A business loan can be difficult enough without having to deal with proving your equipment's value to the bank.

Fortunately, when a USPAP appraisal is performed, it provides documentation of the machinery's value, which will hold up to strong scrutiny in a wide range of situations. The standard has been tested in many situations, so it is trusted as an accurate measure of value for the machinery in question. An appraisal report prepared by a certified appraiser ensures that your interests are being protected during the process.

Though a USPAP compliant appraisal seems like a complex process, its many benefits help provide you with a wide range of benefits. Because a certified appraiser is already familiar with these standards, they're able to properly apply them to your equipment appraisal to ensure you get an accurate value. Working with a certified equipment appraiser provides you with a range of protections that may last well into the future.

If you're thinking about having equipment appraised, you may have heard any number of appraisal types tossed around. One type of calculation that is commonly used is actual cash value. But what is this appraisal type, how is it performed and in what situations is it the best option to consider? Here's a quick look at these questions and how they apply to your machinery assets.

How is actual cash value determined by a certified equipment appraiser?

When it comes to determining actual cash value, many people are a bit confused over how this figure is calculated. It doesn't help that over the years, the court system has defined it in several different manners. Some people think it's the same as fair market value. Others think that it's replacement cost minus depreciation. Others think it's a hybrid of the two.

But what's the difference between these two approaches? Replacement cost minus depreciation can work in some situations, but not in others. A piece of machinery is lost in a fire, and the cost to replace it is $50,000. Depreciation on the original equipment would have been $5,000, so the equipment is valued at $45,000. Using fair market value, the same equipment may be older and fully depreciated. Using replacement cost minus depreciation may only provide a value of $5,000, but if the equipment was well maintained, it may still deliver years of reliable service. At this point, the value of $5,000 may be unrealistic for replacement in a loss.

Obviously, calculating actual cash value is a difficult process, with contradictory precedents depending on the state where the equipment or company is located and where you're going through legal or insurance issues. Despite the vague definition of actual cash value, many legal, financial, tax and insurance organizations still use it, leading to potential disputes between the customer and the company. Hiring a certified equipment appraiser to provide you with an appraisal report on the actual cash value of your equipment can help your side of the debate. 

In a number of court cases, the report or testimony of a certified equipment appraiser has made all the difference between a poor value and a fair value for equipment. A certified appraiser goes through an extensive educational process that includes learning which appraisal methods are applicable to which situations. Because they are taught proven methodologies that have been tested in legal, financial, insurance and tax circles, the reports they generate hold up well to scrutiny and are considered more reliable and accurate than a number of other sources you may be tempted to use in your situation.

A certified appraiser has the knowledge, experience and ability to help you fight a poor estimate of actual cash value. They've been trained to know in what situations different rules must be applied to determine a fair value for your equipment. When you work with a certified appraiser, you'll realize significant benefits for your machine values.

When you have actual cash value calculated on your equipment, you're gaining good insight into what your machinery is worth. However, if your appraisal isn't performed by a certified equipment appraiser, you may not be getting accurate information or an appraisal report that will hold up in financial, insurance, tax and legal circles. Make sure the appraiser you use is certified to ensure that your documentation will stand up to strong scrutiny in the future.

When we've been discussing equipment appraisals in the past, we've discussed a number of ways in which machinery may be appraised. But one type of appraisal we haven't gone into depth with is replacement cost new. Because it's only used in certain circumstances, it's a type of appraisal that many people are still unaware of. Here's a quick rundown of how it's different and a situation where it's commonly used.

How is replacement cost new different than other appraisals?

When you purchase insurance on your machinery, it's important to know what type of insurance you have in place. Replacement cost is a commonly used variety, but will only cover the replacement of the machinery with similar machinery. This can backfire for many equipment owners, especially when the equipment has been customized to their operation, such as an extruder that has been customized to their exact needs. An insurance adjustor may not understand the find differences between the types of equipment, dragging your claim out.

For that reason, many people will insure their equipment for replacement cost new. When a technical company in North Carolina had an office flood, they lost a significant portion of the equipment in their computer lab. The insurance company didn't understand that the equipment had been bought over time from a number of sources to ensure the company could work with the wide range of systems their clients were using. Because they had replacement cost insurance, they had to fight with the insurance company for many months to reach a settlement, as the insurance company didn't understand the current value of those machines to the business.

In another example, a company had a break in where several key pieces of equipment were stolen. Because they had replacement cost new coverage on the equipment, they were able to get compensation that allowed them to replace the stolen machinery with equivalent new machinery. This made it much easier for the shop to get back into working condition without too much lost production. Some of the machinery was much older, so finding the same equipment used would have been very difficult and very time consuming for the business. Because of the coverage they had on the equipment, they could find machinery that met a minimum set of specifications and be reimbursed for the purchase of that machinery by the insurance company. For example, an old bandsaw used in the shop provided resawing capability at 3 HP could have been replaced with a new resawing 3 HP bandsaw.

The difference between these two businesses is fairly clear. Both lost older machinery that was difficult to replace. However, one spent months trying to prove the value of the machinery in their business while the other merely had to shop for new equipment that met the same needs in the business. This had a huge impact on the productivity of the business and the amount of time the company's owners had to spend on growing the business versus chasing the insurance adjuster's latest numbers.

When you need to make an insurance claim or otherwise need to know the replacement cost new of your equipment, it's important to work with a certified machine appraiser who has experience in your industry. Why? It's important that they know why particular features and capabilities are vital to keeping your operation moving. They also have the knowledge of how to calculate this machine value accurately, which is important to your claim or need when you've had an equipment loss.

Let's face it - nobody gets excited about a dissolution. Whether it's your business, a partnership or a marriage, breaking up something that's worked well in the past can be a difficult and trying process. But instead of simply getting it over with, you may want to consider how to protect your interests before you lose out. Here's how to use an equipment appraisal to help document your assets in a way that will hold up well during negotiations and in legal circles.

What do you need to know to protect your interests in a dissolution?

We've all heard horror stories about how a dissolution can come out badly. Whether it's the businessman who lost the company Jaguar and computer lab while taking care of the employees or the divorced individual whose ex sold off all the equipment at a pittance, it's important to know what to do in these situations. Doing nothing will often leave you with nothing.

But what if you're not sure how much your assets are worth? As an example, an insulator in northern Minnesota was a handy sort. When he started his business, he had purchased a box van and installed a blower system for cellulose insulation. Because he had a keen eye for mechanical maintenance, the system was in excellent condition when, after many years in business and no takers to buy the company, he dissolved the business. The system had been fully depreciated many years before, yet it still retained excellent value because of the care it had received over the years.

On the books, the equipment had no value. In real life, it was worth quite a bit, especially when an enterprising sort from a few hundred miles away contacted him as the equipment sat in his empty warehouse. Years after the equipment had been purchased, the retired insulator ran into the young man who had purchased the machinery. "You know, I would have paid three times what you were asking for that equipment," the young man admitted.

This type of story is classic to any type of dissolution, but when two partners, either in business or marriage, dissolve a business, things can get ugly. If a divorce had been involved in the above case, the spouse could have come back and claimed the husband had intentionally gotten rid of the asset at a low price to avoid paying a fair share for the equipment during the dissolution.

When you have an equipment appraisal performed, you're able to provide documented evidence for the machinery's value. One party in the dissolution may claim equipment has a much higher or lower value to cause problems or get more out of the situation. The best way to resolve the issue is by having an independent third party determine the fair market value of the assets involved. This ensures that both parties get a fair shake out of the deal.

Dissolution is never fun, but it can be less painful if you take the time to protect your interests during the process. But don't expect your local equipment sales rep to provide you with a solid appraisal that will hold up in court! When you work with a certified equipment appraiser, you'll get a fair report of your equipment values that meets or exceeds legal requirements that won't be thrown out if things get ugly.

Anyone who is facing bankruptcy knows how agonizing the process is. You lose all control over your assets, being allowed to only retain a small portion of what you originally owned. You're asked to provide documentation of the value of material possessions, just to find that the documentation provided often doesn't meet the needs of the court system or the financial companies involved. Fortunately, there is one way you can document values to protect your interest in your assets - equipment valuation.

Facing Bankruptcy: How Equipment Appraisals Help Verify Asset Value

But why would an equipment appraisal hold up better than documentation from a common book of value, such as a Kelley Blue Book? General value guides will provide you with the information needed to value an asset in general terms, not specific ones. If you've taken exceptional care of your machinery, you don't want it lumped in with the same value provided to poorly kept equipment. You want it to be valued fairly, which is how equipment is valued during an appraisal. Another reason why certified equipment appraisal reports hold up better in court is the neutrality of the appraiser. Because the appraiser is a neutral third party, they're not going to gain anything by creating a false value. This, in turn, gives stronger credence to your report's validity.

Furthermore, when you work with a certified equipment appraiser, you gain the benefit of their knowledge. When an appraiser goes through the certification process, he or she has the opportunity to learn what methods are acceptable in which situations. The methodology used in valuing equipment for salvage or when waiting for the perfect buyer can vary greatly, and that's taken into account when the appraiser learns their trade during the certification process. For that reason, they already know what the proper valuation method is for the situation and can apply it properly in their valuation process.

Though liquidation value is the most commonly used approach to equipment valuation, it's not the only one that is allowed by the bankruptcy code. Other methodologies that are commonly applied include value in use, net realizable value, value in trade or any number of additional valuation methodologies may also be used, depending on your situation. Because a certified machinery appraiser is aware of the nuances of different appraisal approaches, they're in the best position to provide you with good advice as to the right methodology for your situation.

Once they've finished valuing your equipment, appraisers will document the method they used and any aspects of the machinery that impacted that value. This can include kits or expansions you added after the fact that still meet the manufacturer's specifications, the exceptional condition of your very well well maintained machinery or the high or low demand for your machinery in the industry or market as a whole. Because they've documented the entire process and have used proven methodologies in their calculations, their appraisal report will stand up well in court, with financial circles or any other organization involved in the process.

When you're facing a bankruptcy and want to ensure you're getting a fair shake on your equipment values, an equipment appraisal can go a long way towards securing your interests during the process. By taking the time to have an equipment valuation performed now, you can better protect yourself from being taken advantage of during this difficult time.