Banks don't love new ABNs, private sales, mixed-use rigs, or a file with one bad year on it. But those files are most of what an equipment finance broker actually does — and most of them still get funded, provided they're read properly and put in front of the right lender.
If you've been knocked back by a bank or another broker, "computer says no" is often just the wrong lender reading the wrong page. Here's how the hard files get done.
Sound familiar?
These are the files that stick with a bank but are day-to-day work for a specialist desk:
- Knocked back by a bank or another broker
- New ABN or thin trading history
- Private sale — no dealer in the middle
- Arrears, a paid default or a tax debt
- One bad year on the financials
- Tight settlement timeline
- Unusual or mixed-use asset
- Older or high-hours machine
- Cash-out or end-of-term restructure
If you've heard "computer says no", read on — each of these has a lender category built for it.
The business is new, the operator isn't
A son taking over the family transport run, a foreman going out on his own, a trade hand starting their own shop — the ABN might be six months old, but the experience behind it isn't. Banks read the ABN age and stop. A specialist desk frames the operator's history so the lender sees the whole picture, not just the registration date. The first owned machine is exactly the file a bank gets nervous about — thin trading history, no asset on the balance sheet yet — and it's also the file we write most weeks. The trick is knowing which lender category backs the step up, and what they need to see. For the finance side of scaling from one unit up, see trucks #1 to #3.
The work has started — the gear's needed now
A contract's been won and the machine has to be on site in a week. The right lender category and a file that's ready the first time is the difference between settling in days and missing the job. We run the file knowing the clock is going — which lender to approach, what they'll want up front, and how to avoid the back-and-forth that eats a week. Speed is usually about file quality, not luck: see what makes a deal settle in 24 hours instead of three weeks.
No dealer in the middle, no problem
Bought direct from another operator, or a rig that does two jobs at once? Private sale changes the paperwork — payout, PPSR, inspection — not the outcome. We handle the coordination so a private deal settles as cleanly as a dealer one. If the machine you're buying still has money owing on it, that's workable too — see buying gear the seller still owes on.
One bad year doesn't end the conversation
Arrears, a paid default, a tax debt, a year where the numbers went backwards. Credit teams read context, not just the headline. We package the explanation with the numbers so the file gets a fair read — and we'll tell you straight what it's likely to cost. More on how arrears actually get handled: refinancing equipment with arrears, and on the season-to-season reality of that, equipment finance after a bad year.
The honest version
We won't promise every file gets through. What we promise is this: we read the file properly, tell you what's possible, and run the lender shortlist that actually fits. Sometimes that means a yes others couldn't get. Sometimes it means "this will cost more than you'd like, and here's why". Either way, you get a straight answer fast — not a runaround.
Wherever you are — the Gold Coast, regional Queensland, or anywhere across Australia — the job is the same: read the file, say straight what's possible, and put it in front of the lender that'll actually settle. Send us the file others wouldn't take and we'll give you a straight read, fast.