Van Leasing & Finance Options To Get You Approved!

How to get a van for your business quickly.

There are many options for leasing a van for your business in Australia, whether it be short-term or longer. There are also many financial benefits attached to leasing or purchasing a van through your business.

In addition to leasing or buying a van for your business, there can be the option to do both. This is where you start with a lease and depending on usage or your business needs, you can then purchase the van at the end of the lease – less what you have already paid.

What are the different van leasing options?

There are several ways to lease a van through your business for most circumstances.

The quickest way to get a van for short term jobs
For those in need of a van for a short period of time a simple van hire is a great option. This can be done in the same day and used for a few days or week(s). There are numerous car hire companies that provide business accounts for those that need short term van access. Popular, quick, same day van hire companies include Sixt, GoGet, Orana Car & Truck, Europcar, Orix and even Bunnings.

These are very flexible and easy to access, even for those with less than perfect credit.

A van operating lease is like hiring but for longer periods of time
This type of lease allows you to access newer vehicles regularly and not have to deal with the maintenance of the van. Often its for a set monthly term where you get exclusive use of the vehicle and hold none of the responsibility of ownership.

A finance lease is more suitable for longer-term usage
This option is where the van owner leases the vehicle to the user for a longer set period with the option to purchase the van outright at the end of the term. With a finance lease, the lessee is responsible for rego, insurance, and operating costs.

A finance lease allows the lessee access to a vehicle without the high upfront costs of purchasing and the flexibility to purchase or return the van easily at the end of the agreed term.

A novated lease for a van can be an option
This can be a good option for those who have fulltime employment and a side business. With this option, your employer handles the van lease on your behalf, taking the cost of the lease payments out of your pre-tax salary. A benefit of this is that it reduces the amount of income tax you have to pay.

A novate lease works like an operating lease since it includes van maintenance but doesn’t necessarily have to be solely for commercial purposes. This could be beneficial for people who need a van for their side business but don’t have enough money to buy one outright and can still use it for personal reasons as well.

Van Leasing vs Buying

Leasing or purchasing a van comes down to your business needs and position at the time of need. Both have pros and cons which come down to a range of items that may include: Flexibility, cashflow, savings, customisation, tax and more. 

General pros of leasing a van for business

• Ability to upgrade your vehicle without hassle every few years
• Less upfront costs for getting into the van
• Depending on your lease type, there may be no maintenance costs
• Flexibility around cashflow, money is not tied up in a depreciating asset
• With a finance lease you can purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease term or just walk away.

General cons of leasing a van for business

• In less otherwise negotiated, you can’t make alterations to the van
• There are certain tax benefits you can’t claim
• It can be difficult to get approved if you have bad credit
• You may be locked into payments even if you aren’t using the van
• Depending on the lease type overall costs associated with the lease may be like that of a van loan.
• You will have to stick to terms such as annual kilometres

General pros of buying a van for business

• By purchasing the van it becomes a asset to the business that can be sold
• You are able to customise the van as needed
• You are not set to a certain amount of annual kilometres
• You may be locked into payments even if you aren’t using the van
• There are different tax benefits including operating costs that can be taken advantage of. Including GST you’ve paid for the vehicle as long as you have a tax invoice.

General cons of buying a van for business

• The upfront costs may be higher than that of a lease
• The vans value will depreciate over time
• Qualifying for a loan may be difficult
• Depending on industry or age of the van, lenders may not approve the finance
• You are responsible for all running costs and sale of the vehicle when ready to upgrade or move on.