This Cedarmark Advances post for child care centers in Anderson, IN lists the furniture and equipment a classroom may need, explains how daycare furniture financing works, compares a loan, a lease and cash, and notes what partners review. Madison County, IN child care counts are included.
A Daycare Equipment List, Room by Room
Requirements depend on the ages served and on licensing, which is outside this post, but the list below is a starting point. The center-level picture is on daycare business loans.
- Infant rooms: cribs, changing tables, high chairs, gliders, storage for each child's supplies
- Toddler and preschool rooms: child-height tables and chairs, cots or mats, cubbies, shelving
- Learning materials: blocks, manipulatives, art supplies, books, dramatic play sets
- Shared areas: playground equipment and safety surfacing, strollers, a van if the center transports children
- Office and kitchen: check-in tablets, refrigeration, a dishwasher where meals are served
How Daycare Furniture Financing Works
A classroom can be financed as an equipment package from one supplier's quote, repaid in fixed monthly payments. Because used children's furniture has little resale value, some partners treat these packages as only partly secured and weigh the center's cash flow more heavily than they would for a van or a commercial dishwasher. Playground equipment can be financed with its installation and surfacing.
Loan, Lease or Cash?
| Approach | Works well when | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment loan | The center wants to own the furniture | Monthly payment; partner may want a guarantee |
| Lease | Lower payments matter more than ownership | Total cost can exceed the price |
| Cash | Reserves are strong after the purchase | Less cushion for payroll |
| Working capital | Furniture is part of a broader opening cost | Shorter term, higher payments |
When the furniture is one piece of a room opening that also needs teachers hired before enrollment fills, working capital may cover the staffing gap while equipment financing covers the furniture.
Child Care in Madison County, IN
Madison County, IN had 25 child day care employer establishments in 2023, with 133 employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023), and 174 child day care businesses with no paid employees in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024). The two counts come from separate programs and are not compared; a center opening a room can finance the furniture.
Illustrative Budget for a Preschool Room
Illustration with invented figures, not an offer. A preschool room for 16 children: tables and chairs $2,400, cots and storage $1,600, cubbies and shelving $2,200, learning materials $3,000, rugs and soft furnishings $800, for $10,000. Financed over three years at a rate of ten percent a year, the payment is about $323 a month. At $230 a week per child, one enrolled child more than covers it; the real costs are the teachers.
What Partners Review
- Bank statements showing tuition deposits
- Current enrollment and capacity
- The supplier's quote
- Licensing details, if asked
County figures are on the Anderson, Indiana page.
Questions to Ask the Supplier
- Does the quote include delivery and assembly?
- Which items meet the standards your licensing consultant has flagged?
- Is there a discount for equipping two rooms at once?
- How long until delivery, and does financing start before the furniture arrives?
Timing matters: a payment that starts weeks before the room can open adds cost before any tuition comes in.
