What that machine actually costs each week.
An independent calculator and education site for New Zealand businesses financing plant, machinery and commercial equipment. Indicative weekly and monthly figures on any amount, before anyone runs a credit check.
Indicative repayment
Weekly
$358/week
Indicative only. Not a quote or offer of credit. Actual rates, fees, and repayments depend on the business profile and the lender's decision.
Sending to Prospa
Your $60,000 scenario
4 years at 11.00% . Prospa will ask a few quick questions, then provide a firm quote and funding if eligible.
Redirecting…
What this is
A number you can act on, before you talk to anyone.
Most equipment purchases in New Zealand stall at the same point. The dealer quote is clear, the machine is right, and nobody in the business can say what it does to the weekly cash position until a lender has been approached and a credit check has been run. That is the wrong order, because by then the decision has already acquired momentum.
The calculator on this page answers that question first. It takes an amount, a term and an indicative rate and returns the weekly, monthly and total interest figures, and it does all of it in the browser. Nothing is submitted, no personal information is collected, and no credit file is touched. The figure is indicative rather than a quote, and that is precisely what makes it useful at this stage.
The rest of the site explains why the number lands where it does. Eleven guides cover what each class of machine costs to finance and how long a term is realistically available. Five sector guides cover what changes when the same digger is bought by a civil contractor rather than a farmer. Seven longer guides cover the mechanics underneath all of it.
Machine classes covered
11
Indicative amount range
$5k to $500k
Common terms
24 to 60 months
Personal details collected
None
By machine
Eleven classes of equipment, costed.
Each guide covers indicative New Zealand price bands, the finance structures available, the age and hour caps that decide the term, and how the GST and depreciation fall. Illustrative bands only.
Forklift finance
The deepest used market of any class in New Zealand, which is why terms run longest and deposits are often nil.
Read onExcavator and digger finance
Earthmoving plant from mini-excavators to 20-tonne machines, where hours matter more than years.
Read onTractor finance
Rural plant with a strong resale market and a repayment schedule that commonly has to fit a season.
Read onTruck finance
Rigids, curtainsiders and prime movers, where certification and RUC sit alongside the finance decision.
Read onTrailer finance
Flat-decks, tippers and plant trailers. Small amounts, long lives, and often financed alongside something larger.
Read onCNC and machine tool finance
Workshop plant where the machine is expensive, long-lived, and the resale pool is narrower than it looks.
Read onCommercial kitchen finance
A fit-out is many machines rather than one, which changes how the facility is usually written.
Read onRefrigeration and cool store finance
Plant that carries the stock, so downtime cost drives the replacement decision more than age does.
Read onMedical and dental equipment finance
High value, long life, and a resale market that is national rather than local.
Read onIT and technology finance
Short terms and fast depreciation, which is why this class leases more often than it buys.
Read onPrinting and signage equipment finance
Specialised plant configured to a workflow, where the lender pool narrows and terms shorten.
Read onIndicative figures
What common amounts cost each week.
Produced by the calculator on this page at an indicative 11% p.a. over 48 months, rounded. Illustrative only, and not a quote or offer of credit. Actual rates, fees and repayments depend on the business, the machine and the lender’s assessment.
| Amount financed | Indicative weekly | Indicative monthly | Indicative total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15,000 | ~$89 | ~$388 | ~$3,600 |
| $30,000 | ~$179 | ~$775 | ~$7,200 |
| $45,000 | ~$268 | ~$1,163 | ~$10,800 |
| $60,000 | ~$357 | ~$1,551 | ~$14,400 |
| $90,000 | ~$536 | ~$2,326 | ~$21,700 |
| $150,000 | ~$893 | ~$3,877 | ~$36,100 |
Indicative repayment figures at 11% p.a. over 48 months. Illustrative, not an offer of credit.
The structural choice
Own it at the end, or hand it back.
Hire purchase
The machine becomes yours.
The business takes possession at settlement, the machine sits on its balance sheet from day one, and title transfers formally when the final payment is made. This is the structure most New Zealand buyers use for plant they intend to run for years.
Because the business is treated as the owner, the depreciation claim generally sits with it, and a GST-registered business is usually able to claim the GST on the full purchase price in the return covering the period the agreement begins rather than across the payments, subject to the accountant’s confirmation of the accounting basis used.
The trade is that the business carries the resale risk. If the machine is worth less at the end than expected, that is the business’s problem rather than the financier’s.
Lease
The financier keeps the risk.
Under a finance lease the financier holds title, a residual amount is set at the start, and payments are typically lower than the equivalent hire purchase because the residual is not being repaid across the term. At the end the residual is settled, refinanced, or the machine returned.
An operating lease goes further and is closer to a long rental. The machine goes back, the financier carries the resale exposure, and servicing is sometimes bundled into the payment. Businesses replacing on a fixed cycle, and those whose utilisation is genuinely uncertain, commonly prefer this.
The tax treatment follows ownership, so the depreciation claim ordinarily stays with the financier and the business claims the rental as an expense instead, again subject to the accountant’s confirmation on the specific arrangement.
By sector
The same machine, five different lending questions.
Sector does not change the rate as a matter of policy. It changes the equipment mix, the shape of the cash flow the repayments have to fit, and the regulatory items that sit outside the finance agreement.
Civil and building contractors
Plant-heavy, contract-driven, and exposed to a season that pauses. Total commitments across several machines are commonly the binding constraint rather than any single application.
Read on TransportFreight and logistics
The largest fleets and the most frequent replacement cycles. Certification, RUC and compliance costs all sit outside the finance agreement and are budgeted separately.
Read on ManufacturingProduction and engineering
Expensive, long-lived plant with a resale market that is narrower than the invoice suggests. Installation and commissioning are commonly financed inside the same agreement.
Read on HospitalityCafes, restaurants and kitchens
The smallest average ticket and the highest item count, because a fit-out is many machines. Usually written as one facility against a single supplier invoice.
Read on AgricultureFarms, orchards and packhouses
The largest individual amounts and the most seasonal revenue. A schedule set as though income arrives evenly is the most common avoidable problem here.
Read onTax treatment
The GST and the depreciation follow the structure, not the machine.
Two businesses buying identical machines on the same day can end up with different tax outcomes purely because one signed a hire purchase and the other an operating lease. Under a hire purchase the GST on the full purchase price is generally claimable in the return covering the period the agreement begins, and the depreciation claim ordinarily sits with the business, both subject to the accountant’s confirmation. Under an operating lease the GST is typically claimed on each rental and the depreciation stays with the financier, again subject to the accountant’s confirmation. Inland Revenue publishes the applicable depreciation rates in its rate finder, and the category a particular machine falls into is a question the accountant is the right person to settle before the documents are signed rather than after.
Using the calculator
Three inputs, one number that matters.
01
Set the amount to the invoice, not the machine
Freight to site, installation, attachments and ancillary items are commonly financed inside the same agreement where they form part of the same purchase. A figure set to the bare machine price understates the weekly cost of actually having it working.
02
Set the term to how long the machine will be kept
A longer term lowers the weekly figure and raises the total interest. Where the plan is to replace on a cycle, a term that runs past the replacement point means paying off a machine that has already been traded, which is what makes end-of-term planning worth doing early.
03
Treat the rate as a band rather than a number
Nobody publishing a website can say what a specific business will be charged, because the rate is a function of trading history, the machine, the deposit and the credit assessment. Running the calculator at both ends of a band shows how much of the decision actually turns on the rate, which is often less than expected.
The mechanics
Seven guides to how the lending works.
How equipment finance works in NZ
What is being secured, who owns what during the term, and why the pricing sits where it does.
Read onNew against used equipment finance
Why age caps shorten terms, and what that costs across the life of a machine.
Read onWhat equipment lenders assess
Trading history, the machine, and the documents commonly requested at each stage.
Read onPlant and machinery depreciation
How the Inland Revenue rate finder works, and where the accountant’s confirmation is needed.
Read onPPSR checks on used plant
What a search shows, and why a registered interest follows the machine rather than the seller.
Read onDealer against private sale
How the purchase route changes the paperwork, the risk and sometimes the finance itself.
Read onEnd of term and upgrade options
Settling a residual, trading in with debt outstanding, and how replacement cycles are actually funded.
Read onWhat this is not
An education site, and a calculator.
This site is not a lender, not a broker, and not a registered financial adviser. It does not arrange credit, hold client money, or collect personal information. Everything published here is general information about how a class of finance works, which is what New Zealand’s financial advice regime calls class information, and none of it is a personalised recommendation to any individual reader.
There is one commercial relationship and it is disclosed on every page. The calculator’s "See if you qualify" button hands off to Prospa, a New Zealand business finance provider, and this site is paid for that referral. Prospa is an unsecured cash-flow lender rather than a specialist asset financier, which means it fits some equipment purchases well and others poorly, and saying so plainly is more useful than implying otherwise.
No calculator inputs travel with the referral. The handoff is an outbound link, the figures stay in the browser, and the application, the credit assessment and any offer are entirely Prospa’s.
References
Sources
- Personal Property Securities Register
Backs the statements about security interests being registered against a machine rather than against the seller.
- Inland Revenue depreciation guidance
The published source for the depreciation treatment described in the tax section.
- Inland Revenue, GST
Backs the description of when GST is generally claimable under a hire purchase against an operating lease.
- Financial Markets Authority, financial advice
Backs the distinction drawn between class information and regulated financial advice.
FAQ
Equipment finance in New Zealand, questions answered
What is equipment finance in New Zealand?
Equipment finance is lending secured against an identified piece of business plant rather than against property or on an unsecured basis. The machine itself carries the security, the lender registers its interest on the Personal Property Securities Register, and the business has use of the equipment from settlement. Because the security is identifiable and resaleable, indicative pricing generally sits below unsecured business lending for the same borrower.
How much can a New Zealand business finance for equipment?
Amounts from around $5,000 to $500,000 cover most of the New Zealand small and medium business equipment market, with individual machines commonly falling between $20,000 and $150,000. Agricultural and specialised production plant runs well above that. The achievable amount depends on trading history, the machine, any deposit offered and the lender’s credit assessment.
What rate does equipment finance carry?
Indicative bands widely observed in the New Zealand market run from around 8% to 16% per annum on asset-secured equipment lending, against a materially higher band on unsecured facilities. That is a description of a market rather than an offer. Only the lender can quote a rate, because it is a function of the business, the machine, the deposit and the term together.
How long can equipment be financed for?
Terms of 24 to 60 months cover most New Zealand equipment lending. The ceiling is usually set by the age the machine reaches at the end of the term rather than its age at purchase, which is why an older machine attracts a shorter term at the same price. Technology hardware commonly runs shorter because it depreciates faster.
Is a deposit needed to finance equipment?
Not always. Nil-deposit facilities are commonly available on newer machines for businesses with a reasonable trading history. Deposits are more often sought on older machines, specialised classes and businesses trading under two years. Where a deposit is offered rather than required, it reduces the lender’s exposure and typically improves the indicative rate.
Can a business finance used equipment?
Yes, and a large share of New Zealand equipment finance is written against used machines. Age caps apply and terms shorten as the machine ages. A search of the Personal Property Securities Register matters more on a used purchase than a new one, because a registered security interest travels with the machine rather than with the seller.
When is the GST claimable on financed equipment?
Under a hire purchase, a GST-registered business is generally able to claim the GST on the full purchase price in the return covering the period the agreement begins rather than spreading it across the payments, subject to the accountant’s confirmation of the accounting basis used. Under an operating lease the GST is typically claimed on each rental as it is invoiced, again subject to the accountant’s confirmation.
Does the calculator submit anything or run a credit check?
No. The calculation runs entirely in the browser, nothing is submitted, no personal information is collected on this site and no credit file is touched. The figures are indicative and based on the inputs shown. A credit assessment only happens if a reader chooses to approach a lender, which is a separate step on the lender’s own site.
What does this site earn, and from whom?
This site is paid a referral fee by Prospa when a reader uses the calculator’s handoff and goes on to take finance. That is the only commercial relationship it has, and it is disclosed on every page rather than in the small print. No lender pays for placement in the guides, and no lender sees anything a reader does here.
Is anything on this site financial advice?
No. Everything here is general information about how a class of finance works, which New Zealand’s financial advice regime treats as class information rather than regulated advice. Personalised recommendations require a Financial Advice Provider licence this site does not hold. Final rates, fees and approval decisions are made by a lender after its own assessment.
Related
Where to next
Equipment finance by machine
Eleven guides, one per class of equipment, with indicative price bands.
Read onEquipment finance by industry
What changes when the same machine is financed in a different sector.
Read onAll guides
The mechanics behind the machine pages, sourced to NZ primary references.
Read onAbout our finance partner
Who Prospa is, what the relationship is, and where it fits.
Read on