Equipment finance · Medical, dental, allied health, veterinary and cosmetic
Practice equipment finance, sized to the life of the equipment.
Most of the mistakes we see in practice finance aren't about the rate. They're about a seven-year commitment on something the practice will want to replace in four, or a repayment that looks affordable until the first service contract and consumables invoice arrives. This page is about getting the structure right before you sign the supplier's order form.
Start here
Two different purchases usually arrive as one invoice.
When a practice says "we're financing the new room", the quote in front of them almost always contains two quite different things. Separating them is the first useful thing a broker can do, because lenders treat them differently and the sensible term for each is rarely the same.
Practice-defining capital equipment is the identifiable, serial-numbered, movable gear that does the clinical work — imaging units, dental chairs and delivery units, lasers, sterilisation and autoclave equipment, surgical and anaesthetic machines, veterinary tables and monitoring, ophthalmic and diagnostic instruments. It has a resale market, it can be identified on a security register, and it holds some value independently of the room it sits in. That combination is what makes a lender comfortable securing against it.
Fit-out, software and installation is everything that makes the room work but can't easily be lifted out and sold — joinery and cabinetry, plumbing and gas lines, lead shielding, electrical upgrades, flooring, reception build, practice management software, licences, freight, commissioning and training. Once installed it is generally worth far less on its own, so lenders look at it differently, and often on shorter terms.
| Capital equipment | Fit-out, software and install | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical items | Imaging and scanning units, chairs and delivery systems, lasers, autoclaves and sterilisers, surgical and monitoring equipment, diagnostic instruments. | Cabinetry, shielding, plumbing and gas, electrical, flooring, signage, practice software, licences, freight and installation labour. |
| Identifiable and movable? | Usually yes — serial numbered, and it can be removed and resold. | Usually no — once it is in the building it largely stays there. |
| Second-hand market | Genuine, though it varies enormously by category and by how quickly the technology moves. | Limited to none. Software licences in particular often have no transferable value at all. |
| How lenders tend to treat it | Can generally be funded as a secured asset in its own right, over a term reflecting its working life. | More often assessed on the strength of the practice rather than the item, and commonly over a shorter term. |
Most practices don't want three separate facilities with three separate settlement dates for one project. It is often possible to structure the whole thing together — the equipment funded against itself, the fit-out and software funded alongside it — so there is one approval and one set of paperwork. What that looks like depends on the lender and on your practice, which is precisely what we work out for you before anything is lodged. Bring the whole quote, not just the equipment lines.
The thing that makes this asset class different
You are financing technology, not just equipment.
A tipper truck bought today does much the same job in seven years as it does now. A lot of clinical equipment does not age that way. Software-driven imaging and diagnostic gear, in particular, tends to move in generations: a platform is supported, then it is supported grudgingly, then the vendor stops issuing updates and the third-party integrations stop being tested against it. Long before anything breaks, the practice can find itself running equipment that no longer fits the way it works.
That is a finance problem as much as a clinical one, and it shows up in a very specific way: you can end up still paying for something you have already replaced. A practice that took the longest term on offer because it produced the lowest monthly figure, and then upgraded at year four, is carrying two commitments at once — the payout on the old facility and the repayment on the new one. That is a genuinely uncomfortable position, and it is entirely avoidable at the outset.
The defence is unglamorous. Ask the question the salesperson is not asking you: realistically, how long will we run this before we want the next one? Then set the term against that answer rather than against the maximum the lender will allow. Not every category needs this treatment — a sterilising unit or a good chair frame often goes the distance, while anything with a screen and a licence key usually does not.
Fit-out deserves the same treatment for a different reason. There the constraint is usually the lease rather than the technology: committing to a fit-out term that runs past your tenure at the site is a decision worth making deliberately rather than by accident.
Stretching a term reduces the repayment and increases the total interest paid, and in this asset class it also increases the chance you are still paying for equipment you no longer use. A balloon or residual at the end has the same effect from a different direction — a smaller repayment now, a lump sum later, and a real question about whether the asset will be worth that lump sum when it falls due. Both can be perfectly sensible. Both should be a choice rather than a default.
Compare
Chattel mortgage, lease or rental.
These are the three common shapes for funding practice equipment. The differences that matter are about who owns the asset, what happens at the end, and how the whole thing is treated in your books — and that last part is your accountant's call, not ours. We can tell you what each structure is and what it costs to run; the tax, GST and depreciation consequences depend on your entity, your turnover, your accounting method and the rules in force when you sign. Ask your accountant before you commit, not after.
| Structure | Who owns it | End of term | Where it tends to suit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chattel mortgage | You do, from day one. The lender takes security over the equipment and registers its interest. | The security is released once the facility is paid out. If there's a balloon, it falls due then. | Equipment you intend to keep and run for its full working life, where owning the asset outright at the end is the point. |
| Finance lease | The financier owns it and leases it to the practice for the term. | Governed by the lease — typically a residual to be dealt with, by payout, refinance or return, depending on the agreement. | Practices that want the asset on a defined term with a defined exit, and prefer not to own it outright from the start. |
| Rental or operating lease | The financier owns it throughout and carries more of the residual risk. | Usually return, extend or renegotiate. Ownership is not the assumed destination. | Fast-moving technology you expect to swap out, where the ability to hand it back and take the next generation is worth more than equity in the old one. |
Read the end-of-term clauses in any rental or lease before you sign, and read them for the boring parts: notice periods, automatic rollovers, return condition, and who pays to de-install and freight the equipment back. Those clauses are where the real cost of a cheap-looking monthly figure sometimes hides. We will read them with you.
The assessment
What a lender is actually weighing up.
The practice behind the application
How long the entity has been trading, what the financials or bank conduct show, existing commitments, and whether the equipment fits the work the practice already does. An established practice adding a second chair is a very different file from a first-time fit-out.
You, and your registration
Professional qualifications and current registration carry real weight in this category — they speak to the practitioner's ability to earn from the asset. Lenders also look at personal credit conduct and, in most commercial lending, will want directors' guarantees.
The equipment itself
What it is, its age and condition, whether it is identifiable and movable, and what a realistic second-hand market looks like. This is what decides how much of the deal can sit against the asset and how much rests on the practice.
Where you're up to
A new practice and an established one are assessed differently.
Not unfairly, and not in a way that rules out new practices. It is simply that the two files answer the lender's central question in different ways.
Established practice
Trading history does most of the talking. Lodged financials, consistent banking, an existing patient or client base and a track record of meeting commitments all reduce the guesswork. Where the equipment replaces or supplements something the practice already runs, the case is easier to put, because the demand is demonstrated rather than projected.
New or newly acquired practice
With no trading history, the weight shifts to you: your qualifications and registration, your experience in the discipline, your own credit conduct, the contribution you're making, and how credible the plan looks. Buying into an existing practice with its own history is generally a more straightforward proposition than opening cold, because there is something to assess.
Both routes are ordinary work for a broker. What we will not do is tell you it's a formality — it isn't, and anyone who says otherwise hasn't looked at your file.
The other half of affordability
The repayment is not the whole cost of the equipment.
This is the part practices most often underestimate, and it is why two rooms with identical repayments can feel completely different to run. Put the ongoing costs next to the repayment and look at the combined figure.
- Service and maintenance contracts. Often quoted separately, sometimes optional in year one and effectively compulsory afterwards. Ask what the contract covers, what it excludes, what a call-out costs outside it, and what happens to the price after the introductory period.
- Consumables. The recurring items the equipment needs to do its job. Where these are proprietary to the equipment, you are committing to that supply chain for as long as you own it — worth knowing before you choose, not after.
- Calibration, validation and compliance testing. Periodic, documented and non-negotiable for a lot of clinical equipment. Budget for the testing itself and for the downtime around it.
- Software licences and support. Annual or monthly, frequently escalating, and occasionally the thing that quietly determines when the equipment reaches end of life.
- Installation, training and downtime. The room may be out of use while the work happens, and staff take time to get fluent on new equipment.
- Insurance. Cover appropriate to the equipment, and its place in your business policies.
A repayment that fits comfortably on its own can stop fitting once a service contract, consumables and licence fees sit beside it. If the combined monthly number only works on your best quarter, the structure is too tight — and a smaller amount or a different piece of equipment is a better answer than discovering it in month five.
Common questions
Practice equipment finance, answered.
Can I finance equipment for a practice that hasn't opened yet?
It's regularly done, though the file is assessed differently. With no trading history to look at, the weight shifts onto you — your professional registration and qualifications, your experience in the discipline, your personal credit conduct, what you're contributing, and how credible the plan is. Buying into a practice that already has a history is generally a more straightforward proposition than opening cold. We'll tell you honestly where your situation sits before anything is lodged, rather than submitting it and hoping.
Should I take the longest term available to keep the repayment down?
Only if the equipment will genuinely still be in service at the end of it. Stretching the term lowers the repayment and raises the total interest, and in this asset class it also raises the risk of paying out a facility on equipment you've already replaced. The better starting point is how long you realistically expect to run the item, then choosing a term that fits inside that. Sometimes the answer really is a long term — for a solidly built mechanical asset, that can be perfectly reasonable.
Chattel mortgage, lease or rental — which should I choose?
It depends on whether you want to own the equipment at the end and how fast the technology moves. A chattel mortgage suits gear you intend to keep and run out. A lease gives a defined term with a defined exit. A rental or operating lease suits equipment you expect to swap for the next generation, where the ability to hand it back matters more than building equity in it. The tax, GST and depreciation consequences differ between them and are genuinely important — take that part to your accountant before you decide, because it turns on your entity and your circumstances, not on general advice from a website.
Can fit-out, installation and software go in with the equipment?
Often, yes, and most practices would rather have one facility than three. Lenders do look at these components differently — identifiable, movable equipment can be funded against itself, while cabinetry, shielding, licences and installation labour have little standalone resale value and lean more on the strength of the practice. That usually shapes the term and the mix rather than ruling anything out. Send us the full itemised quote and we'll structure it properly instead of guessing from a total.
Do my qualifications and registration actually matter to a lender?
Yes, and more than in most equipment categories. Current professional registration and relevant qualifications go directly to whether the practitioner can earn from the asset, which is the question underneath every application. They don't replace the ordinary assessment — trading history, existing commitments, credit conduct and the equipment itself all still count — but in this category they carry real weight, particularly where trading history is short.
What if I want to upgrade before the term ends?
You can generally pay out a facility early and start again, but check the payout terms before you sign rather than at the moment you want to move. What you'd owe, whether there's an early termination cost, and what the equipment is worth at that point all determine whether an upgrade is comfortable or painful. This is the single strongest argument for matching the term to the useful life at the outset. If you already know you'll want the next generation in a few years, say so early — it changes which structure suits you.
Will I need to provide full financials?
Not always. Requirements vary considerably depending on the lender, the amount, the equipment and the practice, and there are lower-documentation options in commercial equipment finance where financials aren't available. What's asked for typically scales with the size and the perceived risk of the deal. The practical answer for you depends on your circumstances, so we'd rather establish what a particular lender needs before you spend a week assembling documents nobody asked for.
Should I just take the finance the supplier offers?
Compare it before you accept it. Supplier finance is sometimes genuinely competitive and sometimes not, and the monthly figure on the order form is the least informative part of the offer. Look at the term, the end-of-term position, any residual or balloon, what happens if you upgrade early, and the total cost over the life of the facility. Bring us the offer and we'll put it beside what's available on our panel. If theirs is better, we'll tell you that.
Let's talk
Send us the quote. We'll structure it properly.
No cost, no obligation, and no credit enquiry while we work it out. We'll separate the equipment from the fit-out, set the term against the working life rather than the maximum on offer, and put the running costs beside the repayment so you're looking at the real number.
Prefer to talk it through?
Use the call back form at the top of this page and a broker will come back to you. If you already have the quote and your entity details together, you can start a full application instead.
Worth having handy: the itemised quote including fit-out, freight and software; your ABN and entity details; financials or business bank statements; your current professional registration; how long the lease on the premises has to run; and any existing equipment or vehicle facilities. You don't need all of it to start a conversation, only to finish one.
The Finance Team is the trading name of Online Showroom Pty Ltd, a credit broker rather than a lender, holding Australian Credit Licence 551493. Everything on this page is general information only. Any figures discussed with us are estimates, not a quote and not an offer of credit, and every application is subject to assessment and approval by the lender. Nothing here is tax or accounting advice — speak to your own accountant about how a structure would be treated for your practice.