Aspenhollow Business Capital, based in Olympia, WA, arranges chiropractic practice loans, physical therapy business loans and optometry equipment financing through funding partners. Thurston County, WA had 252 offices of chiropractors, therapists, optometrists and other practitioners in 2023, most with fewer than five employees. This page covers equipment, build-outs and claim timing.
| Offices of other health practitioners | 252 (CBP 2023, NAICS 6213) |
|---|---|
| Share under 5 employees | 64.7% |
| Paid employees | 1,302 |
| Same code, city's main ZIP | 47 establishments (ZBP 2023) |
| Practitioners with no employees | 847 (NES 2024, NAICS 6213) |
Three kinds of practice, one money pattern
Chiropractic offices, physical and occupational therapy clinics and optometry practices share a census code (NAICS 6213) and a cash pattern. Spending is front-loaded: equipment, a leased suite fitted out for treatment, and software. Revenue arrives per visit, partly from patients and partly from insurers who pay after a claim is processed.
That makes two needs worth separating. One is long-lived: equipment and space, suited to equipment financing or a term loan. The other is short: payroll and rent while claims are outstanding, suited to working capital.
Tables, modalities and chiropractic practice loans
Chiropractic equipment financing can cover adjusting and decompression tables, X-ray equipment, therapy modalities and practice software. Tables and modalities can hold resale value, which gives a partner something to value. X-ray adds shielding and installation costs that may need separate funding. Opening a chiropractic practice in Thurston County, WA walks through a start-up budget.
Physical therapy business loans
Physical therapy clinics need open floor space, rehab equipment and treatment tables, and some add an aquatic or gym area. Business loans for physical therapy can split into the build-out (term loan) and the equipment (equipment financing). Therapy plans run over weeks, so a clinic's receivables can build as it grows.
Optometry business loans
Optometry equipment financing covers exam lanes, retinal imaging, visual field analyzers and edging equipment. Optical frames are inventory, bought before they sell. Owners also ask how much it costs to buy an optometry practice; there is no standard figure, and partners look at the seller's collections, equipment age and lease before deciding what to fund.
Illustrative example: adding a second treatment room
A hypothetical example, for illustration only. A two-provider chiropractic office plans a second treatment room: $28,000 in tables and modalities and $35,000 in build-out. It finances the equipment over its working life and requests a term loan for the build-out. Insurer payments arrive weeks after visits, so the owner also keeps a modest credit line for the first months after the room opens.
Practices in Thurston County, WA
Offices of other health practitioners (NAICS 6213), the census code for chiropractors, physical, occupational and speech therapists, optometrists and similar practices, counted 252 employer establishments in Thurston County, WA in 2023, with 1,302 paid employees and $59.4 million in payroll. 163 of them (64.7%) had fewer than five employees, and 47 had a ZIP 98501 address (County Business Patterns 2023; ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023).
The separate Nonemployer Statistics program counted 847 businesses in the same code with no paid employees in 2024. The census code does not separate chiropractors from optometrists, so these counts describe the group as a whole.
Buying an existing practice
Buying an established chiropractic, therapy or optometry practice brings patients, equipment and often a lease on day one. Partners review the seller's collections over several years, the age of the equipment and how many patients are likely to stay after the sale. A term loan is one structure for the price; equipment that needs replacing soon is better financed separately so it does not inflate the purchase.
Ask the seller for collections by payer, the equipment list with ages, and the lease. Those three documents give a partner a starting point.
What changes when you add a provider
A second chiropractor or therapist adds payroll before claims for the new provider's patients are paid. The added rooms and tables are equipment; the added wages are a working capital question. Plan both before the hire, not after.
What partners commonly review
- Collections reports and payer mix
- Business bank statements
- Equipment quotes
- The lease or letter of intent for the space
- Professional license status
- Owner credit; time in practice
Partners do not publish thresholds; requirements vary.
Related pages
Medical practices and dental practices have their own pages. County context is on the Olympia, WA page; all industries are listed by group.
By Aspenhollow Business Capital · Updated