IT equipment finance for computers, servers and POS

What can be financed?

Any hardware with a serial number and a supplier invoice: desktops, laptops and tablets; servers, storage and racks; switches, routers, firewalls and Wi-Fi; phone systems; printers and multifunction devices; point-of-sale terminals and self-checkout; CCTV and access control; screens and boardroom equipment.

Some lenders extend to the installation, cabling and configuration on the same invoice, and a smaller number finance software licences. What is not financeable is a subscription: a monthly SaaS bill is an operating expense and no lender will capitalise it.

Lease or chattel mortgage for IT equipment?

The decision turns on what the equipment is worth at the end. A three-year-old laptop is worth a fraction of its price, so owning it outright buys you little. A lease puts the hardware on the lessor's balance sheet, spreads the cost as a deductible rental, and ends with a hand-back, a purchase for the residual, or a rollover into new equipment; Grenke publishes all three options at the end of its Classic Lease, and Westpac publishes a finance lease where you return the asset when it ends. That is the natural fit for anything on a refresh cycle.

A chattel mortgage suits equipment you will run for five years or more: a server, a network core, a POS system across several sites. You own it from day one, claim the GST in your next BAS if you are registered, and claim depreciation and interest. The operating lease guide and the chattel mortgage guide go through each in detail.

Who finances IT equipment, and what do they publish?

Four groups: the major banks through their general equipment finance, specialist small-ticket lessors, technology brokers and financiers, and the vendors' own finance arms. Checked against each lender's published page on 20 September 2026; "Not published" means the page does not state it. Terms change without notice, so confirm before relying on them.

Can software and installation be financed?

At the vendors and the technology specialists, yes within limits. HPE Financial Services publishes a program that spreads its CloudOps software suite over the licence term, annually, up to three years at no additional cost. Finlease publishes software finance and IT services alongside hardware.

The banks finance the tangible asset and will sometimes accept installation and configuration on the same supplier invoice, but a standalone software licence is outside most bank credit policies. Subscriptions are never financed; if the fit-out is mostly SaaS, an unsecured business loan or a line of credit is the tool.

Vendor finance, a lessor or a broker?

Vendor finance is quick and is approved with the order, and the published offers can be strong on the vendor's own kit: HPE's $0 for the first two months and up-to-10% saving versus cash is an example. It only covers that vendor's products. A small-ticket lessor such as Grenke is built for a few laptops and a phone system with a clean end-of-term path. Shift's equipment line suits a business that buys equipment from several suppliers through the year and wants one facility and one monthly debit. A bank is the cheapest money for a larger fit-out where the business has the trading history and financials.

An asset finance broker quotes across those groups from one conversation. For a mixed fit-out (hardware from two vendors, cabling, software and a POS system) that is usually the only way to get one structure over the lot.

What does a broker need to quote?

• Supplier quotes for the equipment with serial-numbered line items.
• The trading entity and director details; ABN and GST registration.
• For a bank, the last two years of financials and tax returns plus the current year's BAS.
• For a small-ticket lease under the bank floors, photo ID and six months of bank statements are usually enough.
• If any of the spend is software or installation, say so up front, because it decides which lenders can quote it.