Investing in a new truck or equipment is a big decision requiring some forward planning, consultation and research for the right truck finance.

The wrong choice can be financially draining to your business, impact future contracts, and damage employee engagement — after all, having the right tool for the job makes a huge difference to those using it day-to-day.

Avoid common pitfalls by following these five steps.

1. Do You Need the Equipment or Heavy Vehicle You’re Looking to Purchase?

While this question might seem obvious, it’s surprising how frequently businesses invest in new equipment or technology that doesn’t actually fit their needs.

Answering the question of ‘need’ requires a two-pronged approach.

Firstly, you need to assess whether you have (enough) work lined up for it.

Simply put: will the income generated or time saved by purchasing the additional equipment be greater than the cost of repaying and maintaining it?

Secondly, you need to confirm whether the equipment is the right age and type for your intended use (see below).

2. Are You Purchasing the Right Equipment For the Task and Your Future Clients?

To work with any business, you must sign a contract outlining any terms and conditions.

In the world of heavy vehicles and equipment, it’s common to see contract requirements concerning the age of vehicles permitted onto job sites.

Before investing in a new truck or equipment, be sure you know the fleet requirements of your major clients as well as any you hope to work with down the track.

Then, it would help if you considered whether the equipment is suited to the job.

Think horsepower, size, body type, safety specs and more.

Taking the time to assess the capabilities of your future purchase and how your clients will regard it can save plenty of headaches in the long term.

3. Do You Have Good Credit?

Without a good credit history, securing finance can be either very expensive or impossible, especially if you’re applying for a loan without expert advice from a finance broker.

Our highly skilled brokers at AGM Finance ensure we have all the facts before we submit any applications, ensuring there are no unnecessary delays.

By securing a copy of your credit file, we can determine your financial eligibility and decide the best course of action for you and your business, as well as your next acquisition.

4. What Sort of Loan is Right For Your Needs?

Choosing the right type of finance is as important as selecting the right truck or equipment.

To determine the best loan type, you need to if you want to own your new acquisition outright at the end of the loan or pay a balloon payment.

The determining factors for this decision will be how long you want to own the vehicle or equipment, and how you want to structure your cash flow.

If you intend on retaining your truck or equipment for a long time, a long-term loan with a balloon payment can be more suitable.

Short-term equipment purchases may be better off with a shorter loan, demanding higher monthly repayments and no exiting balloon payments.

To decide the best loan type for your business, always seek expert advice from your financial advisor or accountant.

5. Utilise the Buying Power of Financial Brokers to Secure the Best Finance Deal.

You may assume it doesn’t make much difference whether you apply for a truck loan in person or use a finance broker.

The truth is, individual loan applications will never have the buying power of a broker, and you run the risk of missing opportunities should your self-submitted finance application be unsuccessful.

At AGM, we have a 98 per cent success rate for loan approvals and access to over 40 different lenders.

Meaning, we can guide you through your financial opportunities to ensure the best possible outcome.

To get started, call our award-winning finance experts today about your new heavy vehicle or equipment purchase. Call 1300 664 687 now.

We’ve been providing equipment finance for customers across Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth and more for over 25+ years.

Whether you’re reasonably new to the trucking industry, or you’re a seasoned veteran with an already impressive fleet; every business reaches a point where expansion is necessary.

If you are considering expanding your trucking fleet now, or in the not too distant future, there are certain things you should consider first to ensure the process is smooth.

Finance Options

When it comes to selecting the right truck finance option for you and your business, our highly skilled team of experts can provide advice specific to your circumstances and guide you through the entire process.

In essence, they will be helping you through one of two options: low document (doc) finance , or a full document finance application.

Here’s the difference.

A low doc application requires no proof of financials, but you must have a GST registered ABN that has been active for a minimum of two years, a good credit record and property assets to back you.

In the absence of property, you will need to provide a 20 per cent deposit.

One of the significant advantages to a low doc application is the turn around time.

Because of our excellent business relationships with more than 60+ different Australian lenders, we aim to provide our clients with low doc finance results in only 24 hours.

A self-managed low doc application would have wait times of up to two weeks.

Alternatively, a full documented finance application might be your best opportunity to secure low-rate finance.

However, to make the application process smooth, our finance team can assemble your application and step you through the process while ensuring you don’t hit any lender exposure limits.

Meaning, we will ensure your loans are dispersed through multiple lenders to allow for maximum finance opportunities, avoiding any exposure limitations imposed by individual lenders.

Timing

Being under-resourced and having to turn down opportunities or retire some of your fleet before sourcing a replacement are not ideal situations for any business.

To avoid short-changing your business and missing out on opportunities, be on the front foot with your finance application.

Depending on your unique circumstances, this may mean seeking finance pre-approval to ensure you are prepared when the right truck or trailer becomes available.

Or, it could mean taking advantage of generous tax incentives currently available to Australian businesses.

Until June 30, 2021, the Australian government has provided unprecedented incentives designed to stimulate the economy: Australian businesses can instantly write off new or used asset purchases to the value of $150,000.

If you were planning on purchasing a truck or equipment later this calendar year, seek financial advice from your tax accountant to determine whether it’s beneficial to bring this purchase forward.

You might be surprised at just how much you could save.

Type of Equipment

Because of our long and established history with more than 40 different lenders, we can provide finance options for trucks, trailers or equipment of any age while still ensuring the best possible rate.

Having this option to purchase both new or used means you don’t have to be limited and can instead focus on getting the right equipment for your business at the right time, allowing you to meet the needs of your customers, now.

Contact our team today for more information on how you can expand your trucking fleet; call 1300 664 687.

We’ve been providing truck finance for customers across Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth and more for over 25+ years. Contact us today to find out how our loan services can help you and your business.

At AGM Finance, we have always been proud to provide finance approvals to you in the fastest possible time.

Our highly skilled team can quickly determine the right type of finance for each client, and work with them every step of the way to quickly and easily assemble your application.

Highest Success Rate

This means we can turn around your application quickly and have a 98% success rate because we only submit finance applications we are confident will be approved. Our repayment calculator can help you plan ahead and be informed.

This year has been a time of big and small changes for everyone across the world, and the finance sector has not been immune to changes.

Because of variations to the way lenders are managing their workforce, workload and internal processes, all lenders now have significantly longer approval wait-times.

Finance Experts in Australia

Our truck finance experts at AGM will still be able to process your application as quickly as before, but the application assessment process at banks and lenders has increased from one day to five business days.

This means it could take one to one-and-a-half weeks for our clients to purchase a truck, heavy vehicle or equipment for your business.

In light of these changes, we are encouraging any of our clients who are considering purchases, to  arrange their finance pre-approval now.

Your approval will be valid for up to three months and will make your purchasing process faster when it comes time to make the sale.

We still have access to over 60+ different lenders across the country, and will still work to secure you the best rate as quickly as possible, keeping you informed and updated every step of the way.

If you are thinking of making any major purchase in the next few months, contact one of our team members today to arrange your pre-approval on, 1300 664 687.