A two-group espresso machine that dies on a Friday isn't an equipment problem, it's a revenue problem. Hospitality gear has a habit of failing at the exact moment the venue can least afford to close a station, and the replacement decision usually has to be made in days rather than months. This guide covers how café and restaurant equipment purchases are funded in practice — what the full cost actually looks like, how the funding routes differ, and when the honest answer is to repair rather than replace.
The invoice is not the cost
The single most common sizing mistake is borrowing the quoted price of the machine. In hospitality, the machine is often the smaller half of the job. A commercial espresso machine needs plumbing, filtration and frequently a dedicated circuit. A combi oven needs three-phase power, exhaust and mechanical ventilation that may not exist where you want to put it. A coolroom needs a slab, a door swing that works with your kitchen flow, and a condenser somewhere that will not roast the back of house in February.
Add freight for something that weighs more than most people expect, an electrician, a plumber, a refrigeration mechanic, possibly a certifier, and the training so the staff can actually use it. Then add the day or two of disrupted trade while the install happens. Fund the invoice alone and you will be paying for the rest out of the till in the same fortnight the first repayment lands — which is precisely the squeeze the borrowing was supposed to prevent.
Cost the whole job before you decide the amount. Our equipment funding page goes through this sizing exercise in more detail, and the same logic applies to anything structural in the venue, which is covered under renovations and fit-outs.
Unsecured loan or asset finance?
There are two honest routes, and they suit different purchases.
Asset finance — a chattel mortgage or lease — secures the borrowing against the equipment itself. Because the financier holds security, it is often priced lower, and it works well for big-ticket, long-life, readily resaleable items. The trade-offs matter in hospitality though: the financier has to approve the specific asset, second-hand and private-sale gear can be difficult to fund, the equipment stays encumbered until the finance is paid out, and the associated install costs usually aren't covered because they aren't the asset.
An unsecured business loan works the other way round. The assessment is about your trading revenue rather than the machine, so nothing is pledged against the equipment and it is yours unencumbered from day one. The funds can cover the entire job — machine, freight, electrical, plumbing, ventilation, training — instead of just the line on the invoice. Because the lender carries more risk without security, it typically costs more than secured asset finance, and a director's guarantee may still apply.
Smoko Finance is a business-finance referral service, not a lender. Enquiries are referred to licensed Australian finance specialists who arrange unsecured business finance of up to $200,000, subject to eligibility, assessment and lender approval. If a chattel mortgage genuinely suits your purchase better, a good specialist will say so.
| Purchase | Typically better suited to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New combi oven from a dealer | Either route | New, identifiable, resaleable asset a financier can secure against |
| Second-hand espresso machine, private sale | Unsecured | Private-sale and used gear is often awkward for asset financiers to approve |
| Coolroom including slab and install | Unsecured | Most of the spend is trades and building work, not a securable asset |
| Several small items at once | Unsecured | One facility covering the lot beats separate agreements per machine |
| Truck or major long-life plant | Asset finance | High value, long life, strong resale — what security is designed for |
Why card takings help a hospitality application
Cafés and restaurants have an advantage a lot of businesses don't: the revenue is banked daily, through a terminal, in small consistent amounts. Revenue-led assessment reads your latest six months of business banking, and a venue's settlement pattern is about as legible as trading data gets — steady daily deposits, a visible weekly rhythm, obvious seasonality.
That is why full financial statements may not be required for eligible applications in this category, and why decisions can move quickly. Our guide on what lenders look for in bank statements covers what that record is being read for. The flip side is that the same data shows dishonours, overdrawn days and cash that never reaches the bank — so the cleaner the banking, the better the picture.
Repair, buy used, or replace
Borrowing is not automatically the right answer, and a service that never says so isn't worth listening to.
- Repair makes sense when the machine is otherwise sound, parts are available, and the fault is a known one. A grinder or a boiler element on a well-maintained machine is rarely a replacement trigger.
- Used can be genuinely good value in hospitality, where commercial gear is built to outlast several owners. Have it inspected, confirm parts availability for the model, and budget for a service before it goes on the line.
- Replace earns its keep when the old machine is capping what the venue can sell — queues at peak, a station that can't keep up, a menu you can't run — or when repair bills have become a recurring monthly line rather than an occasional one.
The question worth asking before any of it: what does this machine actually change about what the venue can sell? If the answer is a specific, countable improvement — more covers at peak, a station that stops bottlenecking, a product you currently turn away — the borrowing has something to repay it. If the answer is that it would be nicer, the till is the better source.
What to have ready
Nothing exotic, and having it to hand is the difference between a quick conversation and a week of back-and-forth: the supplier quote, a realistic figure for install and trades, your ABN details, and access to the last six months of business banking. Our documents page lists the full set. To sanity-check a repayment against your trading before enquiring, the repayments page explains how these facilities are usually structured.
When you're ready, the enquiry is free, takes about two minutes, and is not an application for credit — a specialist calls you back, usually within one business day, to talk through the options for your venue. More on hospitality funding generally at café and restaurant business loans.
Frequently asked questions
Can I fund a second-hand espresso machine from a private seller?
Usually yes, through an unsecured business loan rather than asset finance. Because an unsecured facility is assessed on your trading revenue rather than the machine, it does not depend on a financier approving the specific asset — which is what tends to make private-sale and used hospitality gear difficult to fund conventionally. Any funding is subject to eligibility, assessment and lender approval.
Does the funding cover installation, or only the machine?
An unsecured business loan is not tied to a particular asset, so the funds can cover the whole job — freight, electrical, plumbing, ventilation, certification and staff training alongside the machine itself. This is the main practical reason hospitality operators choose it over asset finance, where the associated trades work usually falls outside what is financed.
How much can a café borrow for equipment?
Unsecured business finance of up to $200,000 is available through Smoko Finance for business purposes, subject to eligibility, assessment and lender approval. What any particular venue is offered depends on its recent trading revenue, existing commitments, time trading and the lender’s own assessment. Size the request to the full cost of the job rather than to the maximum available.
Will I need financial statements to fund kitchen equipment?
Not always. Assessment is led by recent business revenue, particularly the latest six months read from bank statements or secure read-only bank data, so full accountant-prepared statements may not be required for eligible applications. Identity, ABN and business verification still apply, and a lender may ask for more depending on the amount and your circumstances.
Is it better to repair the machine instead?
Often, yes. If the machine is fundamentally sound, parts are available and the fault is a known one, repair is usually the cheaper and faster answer. Replacement earns its keep when the equipment is limiting what the venue can sell at peak, or when repair costs have turned into a recurring monthly line rather than an occasional bill.