Equipment and vehicle funding: getting the gear without draining the account

A new excavator, a refrigerated van, a coffee machine, a CNC router, a second ute — equipment is how a business grows its capacity. Paying cash for it feels responsible, but it can leave the account too thin to cover wages and the next BAS. Funding equipment spreads the cost over the period the asset earns its keep, and it can be arranged quickly.

What are the ways to fund equipment and vehicles?

Option	How it works	Best for
Unsecured business loan	Lump sum assessed on turnover	Second-hand or private-sale items, urgent buys
Business line of credit	Draw for the purchase, repay over time	Smaller, recurring equipment needs
Cash flow loan	Short-term, sized on bank statements	Fast replacement of a broken item
Property-secured loan	Uses property equity	Large fleets, major plant, several items at once
Asset-secured equipment finance	Secured over the item itself	New equipment from established dealers

General business loans are often the fastest route when the item is second-hand, bought at auction, sold privately or needed this week — situations where dedicated asset finance can be slower or stricter about the asset.

How does the instant asset write-off affect timing?

The ATO announced in September 2026 that the $20,000 instant asset write-off is permanent from 1 July 2026. Small businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million can immediately deduct the business portion of assets that cost less than $20,000, and it applies to each asset — so several items under the threshold can each qualify.

Timing matters. The asset must be first used, or installed ready for use, in the income year you claim it. A machine delivered on 28 June but not installed until 3 July falls into the next year. Talk to your accountant about how the write-off applies to your situation; the business.gov.au page on the instant asset write-off is a good starting point.

Funding can help here: if a well-priced asset is available now and the business would rather keep cash for wages, a loan lets you buy and install it in the right year without emptying the account. If that’s your situation, you can apply now with the supplier’s quote ready.

How fast can equipment funding arrive?

With a quote or invoice, bank statements and ID ready:

• Smaller unsecured amounts — same-day funding is possible.
• Larger unsecured amounts — within 24 hours is our aim for complete applications.
• Property-secured — $20k to $250k is possible on the same day; larger amounts within 24–48 hours on a clean deal.

Funds can often be paid directly to the supplier, which suits dealers and auction houses who want cleared funds before release. See equipment breakdown for the urgent version of this.

What will a lender want to see?

• A quote, invoice or auction details for the item.
• Business bank statements, usually six months.
• ID and ABN details.
• For larger amounts, recent BAS or financials.
• For property-secured options, the property details and loan statement.

If a lender secures the loan over the equipment itself, it will usually register that interest on the PPSR — the government’s online noticeboard of security interests in personal property. Buying second-hand? A PPSR search on the item before you pay tells you whether someone else already has a registered interest in it.

Should you lease, borrow or pay cash?

There’s no universal answer. Some questions to ask:

• Will paying cash leave enough for three months of wages, rent and BAS? If not, borrowing is probably safer.
• How long will the asset earn? Match the loan term to the useful life — don’t finance a two-year laptop over five years.
• Will the asset produce more than it costs? A machine that wins new work pays for itself; one that sits idle doesn’t.

An illustrative example: a Brisbane concreting business wins a run of driveway contracts and needs a second ute and a trailer-mounted mixer — about $85,000 in total, all second-hand from a private seller. Dealer finance won’t cover a private sale quickly. A 24-month unsecured business loan, assessed on strong bank statements, funds within a day; the seller is paid directly and the gear is working on the first job by the weekend.

How do you avoid over-financing equipment?

It’s easy to borrow more than an asset is worth to the business. A few checks:

• Match the term to the asset’s working life. A five-year loan on a vehicle you’ll replace in three leaves you paying for something you no longer have.
• Count the running costs. Fuel, servicing, insurance and registration all come on top of repayments.
• Buy for the work you have. A larger machine for work you hope to win is a bet; a machine to meet booked demand is a plan.
• Consider second-hand. Good-quality used equipment can do the same job for much less, and general business loans fund it easily.

If you’re upgrading several items at once, it can be worth combining them into a single facility — one application, one set of repayments. Property-secured funding often suits larger combined purchases, while a line of credit suits a steady trickle of smaller tools and replacements.

Get the gear working sooner

If the right equipment is available now, don’t let the paperwork make you miss it. Enquiring involves no credit check, your enquiry stays with one team rather than being spread across lenders, and a real person calls to work out the fastest way to fund the purchase. Please include the real price and what the equipment is for — it helps us match you properly first time. See if you qualify.