The right gear wins jobs. A second excavator lets you run two sites. A bigger trailer saves a trip a day. A better ute means your apprentice isn’t waiting around. Equipment finance for tradies doesn’t have to mean dealer paperwork and weeks of waiting. A fast business loan lets you buy what you need, where you want, and own it from day one.
What equipment can a tradie buy with a business loan?
Pretty much anything that earns money in your business. Common purchases include:
- Earthmoving and plant: excavators, skid steers, bobcats, rollers, tippers
- Vehicles: work utes, tray tops, vans, small trucks
- Trailers and attachments: plant trailers, tilt trailers, buckets, augers, hammers
- Site gear: scaffolding, formwork, generators, compressors, lighting towers
- Tools: a full cordless kit for a new crew, a laser level, a concrete saw, a tile cutter
- Workshop gear: a panel saw, a CNC machine, a spray booth, a welder
The loan must be for business purposes, so the gear needs to be for work.
Why use a business loan instead of traditional equipment finance?
Traditional equipment finance, where the lender takes security over the item itself, works well for new gear from a dealer. It gets clunky when:
- You’re buying used. Older machines, or gear without a clear serial number, can be hard to finance.
- You’re buying at auction. You need cash ready on the day and settlement within days.
- You’re buying privately. A mate retiring and selling his whole setup doesn’t fit a dealer template.
- You’re buying a bundle. A machine plus trailer plus attachments plus tools from different sellers.
- You need it this week. A job starts Monday and you can’t wait on a dealer’s approval queue.
A business loan gives you cash. You negotiate like a cash buyer, you buy from whoever has the best machine, and there’s no lender sitting on the title of your gear. Our guide to equipment finance vs a business loan weighs up both options.
How is the loan secured?
Not against the equipment. You have two paths.
Unsecured. If your business has an ABN and has been trading for 6 months or more, an unsecured cash flow loan is sized to your turnover and assessed on recent business bank statements. Some are approved and funded within hours. This suits tools, a ute, or smaller plant.
Property secured. If you or a guarantor own a home, investment property, commercial property or land with equity, you can borrow against it for bigger purchases. No financials needed, bad credit considered, and funding in as little as 24 hours in some cases. A fast second mortgage is the usual structure. Terms typically run 1 to 12 months, so many tradies use it to buy fast, then repay from the extra work the machine brings in or refinance later.
Example: buying a second excavator at auction
Hypothetical example only.
An earthmoving contractor on the Sunshine Coast has one 5 tonne excavator booked out for months. A clean used machine with a tilt bucket and trailer comes up at an online auction. Traditional finance won’t approve in time and won’t cover the trailer and attachments as one package.
She has equity in her home. She arranges a second mortgage before auction day, bids knowing the funds are there, and settles within the auction house’s deadline. The second machine goes straight onto a subdivision job, and the extra work helps repay the loan within the term. More earthmoving examples are on our finance for earthmoving and excavation page.
Will the machine pay for itself?
Before you buy, do the simple maths:
- How many extra days of work will it bring in? Be honest, not hopeful.
- What’s your charge out per day, less fuel, wages, float costs and servicing?
- How long until that covers the purchase and loan costs?
- What happens if work dries up? Could you sell the machine without a big loss?
If the gear pays its way inside the loan term, it’s a good buy. If it relies on work you haven’t won yet, slow down or buy smaller. Your accountant can also tell you how the purchase affects your tax position.
Key facts: equipment finance for tradies
- Loan size: $20,000 to $5 million
- Security: Unsecured for businesses trading 6+ months, or existing property equity; not the equipment itself
- Speed: Some unsecured loans funded within hours; property loans in as little as 24 hours in some cases
- Term: Property secured loans typically 1 to 12 months
- Buy from: Dealers, auctions, private sellers, or a mix
- Suits: Tradies, earthmovers, concreters, builders and trade businesses growing their fleet
What to have ready
- A quote, auction listing or seller details for the gear
- The total you need, including transport, rego, insurance and any attachments
- Photo ID for all borrowers and guarantors
- Recent business bank statements (unsecured) or the security property details (secured)
Common mistakes when buying equipment
- Leaving finance until after you’ve won the bid. Sort it before auction day.
- Forgetting the extras. Transport, rego, servicing and insurance add up.
- Overbuying. A bigger machine than the work needs just costs more to run.
- Stretching the business. Don’t drain working capital for gear; that’s what the loan is for.
Get the gear, win the work
If a machine or a set of tools will make you money, don’t let finance hold you up. See if you qualify in about 60 seconds. Browse more options on our finance for tradies page.
