Commercial kitchen equipment finance: ovens, ranges, fryers and dishwashers

A commercial kitchen is only as good as its weakest piece of equipment. The day the combi oven throws an error code or the dishwasher stops draining, the whole service bends around it. Most chefs and owners know exactly which piece of kit is next to go. Planning its replacement, and funding it sensibly, is what keeps the kitchen running.

What equipment do food businesses finance?

Category	Examples
Cooking	Combi ovens, ranges, chargrills, fryers, salamanders, induction, woks, pizza and deck ovens
Refrigeration	Under-bench fridges, upright fridges and freezers, blast chillers, cool rooms. See cool room finance
Cleaning	Pass-through and under-counter dishwashers, glass washers
Preparation	Mixers, slicers, food processors, benches and shelving
Ventilation	Canopies, fans, ducting, fire suppression
Coffee	Espresso machines, grinders, water filtration. See coffee machine finance

The equipment price is never the whole cost

The quote from the equipment supplier covers the machine. It rarely covers everything needed to make it work in your kitchen:

• Delivery and access: getting a large oven through a narrow laneway door or up stairs.
• Installation: licensed gas fitters, electricians and plumbers.
• Services upgrades: more power, a bigger gas supply, water treatment, drainage.
• Extraction: new cooking equipment may need changes to your canopy.
• Removal of old gear: disconnection and disposal.
• Training and downtime: learning a new combi oven takes time, and installation may close a section of the kitchen.

Our fit-out cost estimator includes equipment alongside these costs, whether you’re replacing one item or fitting out a whole kitchen.

Lease, buy or borrow?

Business.gov.au sets out the trade-offs for equipment clearly. Leasing usually means lower upfront costs, easier upgrades, predictable budgeting and maintenance often handled by the lessor, but you don’t own the equipment and pay for it even if it’s idle. Buying, whether with cash or a loan, means ownership, the option to sell later and depreciation deductions, but a higher upfront cost and full responsibility for repairs.

For long-life items such as ovens and ranges, many owners prefer to own. For technology that dates quickly, leasing can make more sense. A business loan also lets you package several items, plus installation and services work, into one facility.

Trading businesses can often use unsecured or cash-flow options, typically $5,000 to $500,000, sized on turnover and bank statements. Equipment inside a larger project can be funded with property-secured loans from $20,000 to $5,000,000. You can ask what fits your kitchen with no credit check at the first step.

New or used?

Well-built commercial kitchen equipment can last a long time, which makes the second-hand market attractive. But used gear can also be close to the end of its life, missing parts or non-compliant for your site. Before buying used, check the service history, confirm parts and technicians are available locally, have a licensed trade confirm it can be installed safely, and search the Personal Property Securities Register for any security interest. Our guide to buying used commercial kitchen equipment has the full checklist.

Tax: the instant asset write-off

The ATO says the $20,000 instant asset write-off is permanent from 1 July 2026 for businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million. The limit applies to each asset, so several items each costing less than $20,000 can each be written off, and in most cases both new and second-hand assets are eligible. Items above the threshold generally go into the small business depreciation pool. Your accountant can confirm how your purchases will be treated.

An illustrative example

Illustrative only. A busy café-restaurant wants to replace its six-burner range and add a combi oven so it can run a larger lunch menu with the same kitchen team. Quotes, including a gas upgrade, installation and removal of the old range, come to around $62k plus GST. The business has traded for five years with steady statements. An unsecured option sized on turnover covers the package, with the work scheduled for a quieter week in winter.

Planning replacements before they fail

Emergency replacements cost more: you pay for whatever’s in stock, rush installation and lost trade. Keep a simple list of your major equipment with its age and service history, and plan to replace the oldest items during your quiet season. Our seasonal trade planner helps you pick the right month.

Matching the loan term to the equipment

A simple rule helps avoid trouble: don’t still be paying for equipment after it’s been replaced. Long-life items such as ranges, deck ovens and cool rooms can reasonably be funded over longer terms. Items that wear quickly or date fast, like some small appliances and point-of-sale hardware, suit shorter terms or paying from cash flow.

It also helps to think about equipment as a package. Funding the oven, the gas upgrade and the installation together, under one facility, means the job gets finished properly rather than stalling while you find the money for the part that wasn’t in the quote. If you’re not sure where to start, list every item your kitchen needs over the next two years, rank them by risk of failure and impact on service, and fund the top of the list first. Our page on takeaway and pizza shop loans shows how that plays out in a high-volume kitchen.

Let’s keep your kitchen cooking

Whether it’s one piece of equipment or a whole new line, start with a quick enquiry. It takes about 60 seconds and there’s no credit check when you first enquire. We don’t circulate your details to a pile of lenders; a real person looks at your kitchen’s needs and your trading and calls you with options that fit. Please give us accurate details, particularly the amount, what you’re buying and whether it’s new or used, so we can match you properly first time.

See what your kitchen could qualify for →