Asset and equipment finance
Asset & Equipment Finance for Business
Vehicles, plant, equipment and machinery, financed against the asset.
Asset finance funds the vehicles, plant, equipment and machinery a business uses to earn. Oakwood Finance arranges it through lenders that look at the asset itself and the business behind it, and we look for a term and repayments that suit how long the asset lasts and how it earns, within what the lender will offer. All lending is subject to lender assessment.
What we arrange
What are you financing?
Asset finance is one name for several different purchases. Working out which one you are making tells us which lenders to look at and how the facility is likely to be structured.
Vehicles for the business
Utes, vans and trucks, prime movers and trailers, a vehicle fleet, or a car bought through the business. Lenders look at the vehicle (new or used, age and resale) and the business behind it. Illustrative purposes: a trades business replacing a ute and adding a trailer; a distributor bringing deliveries in-house with its own vans; a company adding cars for its sales team. Buying a car for personal use? See vehicle finance and personal loans.
Business equipment and plant
Machinery, manufacturing and workshop equipment, earthmoving and agricultural machinery, commercial kitchen equipment, IT and office equipment, and fit-out where a lender will take it. Illustrative purposes: a manufacturer adding a machine to meet a new contract; a civil contractor adding an excavator; a cafe refitting its kitchen. Fit-out and installation are largely not asset-backed, so they are often funded as a separate facility from the equipment itself. For agricultural machinery, see also agricultural lending.
Medical, dental and veterinary equipment
Dental chairs and imaging units, ultrasound, theatre and anaesthetic equipment, sterilisation, pathology and diagnostic equipment, veterinary surgical and imaging equipment, and the practice vehicle. Clinical equipment has a narrower resale market than a truck or an excavator, so lenders assess the security differently and some do not consider it; we look for lenders comfortable with the asset rather than fitting a generalist policy to it. The surgery or consulting room fit-out is commonly funded separately from the equipment, on a term that suits each. This applies to doctors, dentists, veterinarians, allied health professionals and healthcare business owners alike. Practice purchases, premises and home lending for healthcare professionals are on our medical and healthcare finance page.
You can work out an indicative repayment estimate for equipment online in a couple of minutes without creating an account or lodging an application, and ask us to review your options at the end. The estimate is indicative only and is not a quote, offer, approval or credit assessment.
What can be financed
Most equipment a practice uses to earn can be financed against the asset itself: imaging and diagnostic equipment, dental chairs and units, intra-oral and panoramic imaging, ultrasound, theatre tables and lights, anaesthetic and monitoring equipment, sterilisation and autoclaves, pathology analysers, veterinary surgical and imaging equipment, physiotherapy treatment tables and rehabilitation equipment, optometry instruments and practice vehicles, from a mobile veterinary vehicle to a practitioner's own car. New and used equipment are assessed differently, as is highly specialised equipment with a small resale market, so the lender's view of the asset matters as much as its view of the practice, and each lender decides for itself.
Equipment, fit-out and working capital are usually funded differently
Equipment is commonly funded on a term matched to its useful life, so that it is paid off over the years it earns rather than rolled into a long property facility. Fit-out, installation and building works are largely not asset-backed, so they are commonly funded as a separate facility with a repayment profile matched to the practice's billing cycle. Working capital through an installation or a new service line is assessed on cash flow. Splitting the funding this way is the usual starting point for a clinical equipment file; the lender decides the structure it will offer. The business equipment and plant section above describes how business equipment is financed generally.
Imaging and diagnostic equipment
Diagnostic imaging equipment for radiology and specialist practices is among the most specialised equipment a lender is asked to finance: high value, a long service life and a narrow resale market. Lenders differ in their appetite for it and in the terms they offer, and some decline it. We approach lenders comfortable with clinical equipment rather than forcing a generalist policy to fit, and we match the term to the equipment's expected service life as your supplier and accountant describe it.
What a lender looks at for clinical equipment
The asset: new or used, how quickly it loses value and how easily it can be resold. The business: trading history, financial statements, BAS and ATO position; some lenders assess established practices on their ABN and GST history and others ask for financial statements, and the lender decides what it needs. The structure: whether the equipment is financed under a loan, a lease or a chattel mortgage, whether a balloon or residual payment applies at the end, and how your accountant expects the arrangement to be treated for tax. Compare the total cost over the term, not only the repayment, including fees and any final payment. Tax advice comes from your accountant; we arrange the finance and coordinate with them, and the lender decides whether to proceed.
Equipment finance questions
Can a new practice finance equipment before it has trading history?
Sometimes. Lenders differ: some assess the practitioner's own income history, the business plan and the supplier quote; others want trading history first. We find out which lenders will consider a new practice before you commit to the equipment.
Does financing equipment affect my home loan?
It can. Where you are personally liable for the practice's facilities, a lender may count them when it assesses you personally. We look at the practice and the home together.
How quickly can equipment finance be arranged?
It depends on the lender, the asset and how complete the file is. Established practices with current financials and a supplier quote are usually the most straightforward. Timeframes are not a commitment.
Is the online estimate a quote?
No. It is an indicative estimate of what you could be offered, based on the information you enter. It is not a quote, offer, approval or credit assessment, and a lender's actual offer depends on its assessment of the asset and the business.
Not sure which applies? Speak with us and we will point you to the right starting point.
Illustrative examples
Three illustrative purchases
Purposes of a kind we see, and how the finance is commonly structured. None describes a specific client.
Illustrative example
A distributor bringing deliveries in-house with its own vans
Lenders look at the vehicle (new or used, age and resale) and the business behind it. For several assets, the question is whether they are funded in one round or staged.
A lender may fund the vans in one round or staged, assessed on the business and on each vehicle. Each is assessed and priced by the lender on the asset, the business and the term.
Illustrative example
A civil contractor adding an excavator
Earthmoving machinery is financed against the asset itself, on a term set against the working life of the asset. Your accountant's view on the structure comes in here.
A lender may offer a chattel mortgage, a finance lease or a rental, with or without a balloon at the end. The rate, fees and conditions are the lender's, and every application is subject to lender assessment.
Illustrative example
A practice adding clinical equipment and a surgery fit-out
Clinical equipment has a narrower resale market than a truck or an excavator, so lenders assess the security differently and some do not consider it. The surgery or consulting room fit-out is commonly funded separately from the equipment, on a term that suits each.
A lender comfortable with the asset may fund the equipment on a term matched to its useful life, with the fit-out as a separate facility. The lender decides the structure it will offer.
Illustrative examples: representative scenarios of a kind we see, not a specific client. No outcome is implied for any client. Oakwood Finance arranges credit through its lending partners; all lending is subject to lender assessment and approval.
