Kubota Kaizen Funds: How Dealers Can Apply Them to Tractor Zoom

If you're a Kubota equipment dealer who has been thinking about upgrading your dealership's tools and workflow, there's a funding opportunity you may not be fully taking advantage of. And the short window to act is open now.

The Kubota Kaizen Excellence Program (KEP) provides subsidy dollars that dealers can apply toward investments in tools, training, or services that improve their performance across the program's key metrics. And here's the part that matters for Tractor Zoom customers and prospects: Initial Tractor Zoom implementation fees have been confirmed as eligible for KEP subsidy consideration, directly with Kubota Dealer Development.

What is the Kaizen Excellence Program?

KEP is Kubota's framework for helping dealers continuously improve across four core pillars: Profitability, Performance, Customer Satisfaction, and Facilities Appeal. The program tracks 18 specific metrics across these areas, and Kubota provides subsidy funds that dealers can direct toward investments that move those numbers in the right direction.

Each application is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. To be approved, a dealer needs to demonstrate that the proposed investment will improve one or more of the 18 KEP metrics. This is not a blanket reimbursement program but rather rewards intentional and strategic investments.

What Tractor Zoom fees qualify?

KEP subsidy funding applies to one-time fees only. This applies specifically to initial implementation costs for any new Tractor Zoom services. Ongoing subscription fees do not qualify.

The eligible fees appear in your Tractor Zoom Statement of Work under professional services and cover things like technology infrastructure setup, configuration of dashboards and workflow tools, data ingestion from your DMS, initial Anvil Pro quoting setup, user permissions, training, and project management through go-live.

View the PDF for full details on application for Kaizen funds.

How and when to apply for KPE funds

There are six steps in the KEP subsidy process, and the most important thing to understand is that you should apply as early as possible, ideally before or as soon as you have started onboarding your Tractor Zoom solution(s). Waiting until after implementation is complete makes the process harder and may affect eligibility. 

With a June 30, 2026 deadline approaching, now is the time to move.

Here's how the process works:

1. Submit through Kubotalink. Log in and navigate to the Dealer Development tab to submit your KEP fund request.
2. Include supporting documentation. You'll need a quote from Tractor Zoom for the initial implementation fee, along with materials explaining how the investment improves your KEP metrics. Your Tractor Zoom rep can help prepare those materials.
3. Receive approval from Dealer Development. Casey Quigg (Senior Dealer Development Director) and his team review submissions based on the demonstrated connection to KEP metric improvement.
4. Submit proof of purchase after going live. Once your contract is signed and you've received your Tractor Zoom invoice, submit those documents to complete the reimbursement request.
5. Receive reimbursement. Kubota processes payments via ACH, generally within four to six weeks of proof of purchase submission.

What to expect

Reimbursement is up to 50% of eligible one-time fees, calculated per dealership location. Submissions are evaluated individually, and approval is not guaranteed — but dealers who can clearly connect the investment to KEP metric improvement have a strong case to make.

Ready to get started?

For questions about the application process, contact Kubota Dealer Development at ktc_g.kep@kubota.com or reach out to your Division Office Business Systems Trainer.

For questions about Tractor Zoom pricing and implementation, contact Jeremy Hewitt, VP of Business Development, at jhewitt@tractorzoom.com or 913.940.9970.

Information in this article is based on KEP Program Guidelines (Version 1.2, November 2025) and direct guidance from Kubota Dealer Development. All fund applications are subject to Kubota's KEP subsidy policy. Tractor Zoom does not administer KEP funds.