Business loan repayment calculator
Each repayment
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An estimate to help you plan, not an offer or approval. Lenders set their own policies, costs and limits.
Quick answer
This business loan repayment calculator takes the amount you want to borrow, the total cost of finance from a lender's quote, the term and how often you repay. It shows each repayment, the total you'll pay back, the cost per dollar borrowed and a monthly equivalent. It never assumes an interest rate: the cost figure comes from your own quote.
Key points
- Ask every lender for one number: the total cost of the loan in dollars, interest and fees together
- Daily and weekly repayments feel smaller but add up to the same total as monthly
- Divide cost per $1 by the years of the loan before comparing a short quote with a long one
- Test the monthly equivalent against a slow month, not an average one
Most loan offers bury the one figure that matters. You’ll see a weekly amount, an establishment fee in smaller type and a term somewhere near the signature line. This calculator pulls those pieces back together, so you can see what a business loan actually asks of your bank account, payment by payment, and what it costs you in dollars from start to finish.
It works for business term loans, short-term business loans and most fixed-repayment products from banks and online lenders. Because nothing is assumed about pricing, the answer is only as good as the quote you put in.
What do you type into the calculator?
There are four inputs, and only one needs a little homework.
| Input | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Amount to borrow | The sum you’ll receive, in dollars | Your own estimate of what the job needs |
| Total cost of finance | Interest plus every fee over the whole term | The lender’s offer or a written quote |
| Loan term | Any length from 3 to 84 months on the slider | The quote |
| Repayment frequency | Weekly, fortnightly, monthly or daily (business days) | The quote, or how the lender debits |
The second field is the homework. Ask the lender: “What is the total I’ll repay over the life of this loan?” Take the amount borrowed away from that figure; what remains goes in this field. If the answer only covers interest, ask again and have them add the establishment fee, account-keeping fees and anything else that will be charged. A quote that won’t give you this number is telling you something.
What do the four results mean?
Each repayment. The amount borrowed plus the total cost, divided by the number of repayments. The number of repayments is the term in months multiplied by the frequency (52 a year for weekly, 26 for fortnightly, 12 for monthly, 260 for business days), divided by 12 and rounded. The note under the results tells you that count, for example “104 repayments over 24 months”.
Total repaid. Simply the amount plus the cost. It’s the figure to write on the whiteboard when you’re deciding whether the job is worth funding at all.
Cost per $1 borrowed. The total cost divided by the amount. A result of $0.20 means every dollar you borrow costs twenty cents to use for the term. If you’ve seen a factor rate quoted, this is the same idea with the 1 taken off: a factor of 1.2 equals $0.20 per dollar.
Monthly equivalent. The total repaid divided by the months in the term. Even if you repay daily, this tells you what the loan takes out of each month, which is how most owners think about their overheads.
Worked example: same loan, three frequencies (illustrative)
A landscaping business wants $150,000 for a second crew’s vehicle and gear, with a quote showing $30,000 in total cost over 24 months. These are the calculator’s default settings.
| Frequency | Number of repayments | Each repayment | Total repaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 104 | $1,731 | $180,000 |
| Fortnightly | 52 | $3,462 | $180,000 |
| Monthly | 24 | $7,500 | $180,000 |
| Daily (business days) | 520 | $346 | $180,000 |
Cost per $1 borrowed is $0.20 in every row, and the monthly equivalent is always $7,500. The frequency changes the rhythm of the debits, not the price. Daily repayments look tiny on a quote, but they pull money out on quiet Mondays and slow weeks just the same as busy ones.
Pick the frequency that matches how money arrives. A café paid by card every day might prefer daily or weekly debits. For a builder whose income lands with each monthly progress claim, monthly debits scheduled just after the claim clears usually sit better.
Comparing a short quote with a longer one
This is where the cost per dollar can trick you. Say a second lender offers the same $150,000 over 12 months with a total cost of $18,000.
- Quote A: $30,000 over 24 months, $0.20 per dollar, about $0.10 per dollar for each year.
- Quote B: $18,000 over 12 months, $0.12 per dollar, $0.12 per dollar for that one year.
Quote B costs less in dollars, but it’s the pricier money per year, and its monthly equivalent is $14,000 rather than $7,500. If your cash flow can carry $14,000 a month comfortably, B saves $12,000 overall. If it can’t, A is the gentler option despite the bigger dollar total. There’s no single right answer: it’s a trade between total dollars and monthly pressure. Our loan cost comparison calculator lays two offers side by side if you want to go further, and our short-term vs long-term business loans comparison weighs up the wider trade-offs.
Not sure your quote is a fair one? Share the offer on your desk and a lending specialist can sanity-check it for you; asking never touches your credit file.
How to stress-test the repayment
The calculator gives you a repayment. Whether you can afford it is a separate question, and lenders will ask it too.
- Use a slow month. Take the monthly equivalent and set it against your weakest month of the past year, after wages, rent, GST and super. If it only works in a good month, it doesn’t really work.
- Add the loans you already have. Lenders look at total commitments. The debt service coverage ratio calculator shows whether your earnings cover all repayments with room to spare.
- Check the timing. If customers pay you on 30-day terms and the loan debits weekly, there may be a gap at the start. The cash flow gap calculator helps size it.
- Remember tax. business.gov.au points out that interest on debt finance is tax deductible, which softens the real cost. The repayment of the amount borrowed isn’t a deduction, so it comes out of after-tax money. Ask your accountant how this works for your structure.
What the calculator doesn’t model
It spreads the total evenly across every repayment. Real loans don’t always do that.
- Balloon or residual payments. Common in equipment finance. The regular repayments will be lower than shown, with a lump sum at the end.
- Interest-only periods and repayment holidays. Early repayments are smaller, later ones larger.
- Variable pricing. If the cost can change during the term, the total is an estimate on the day.
- Early payout. On a reducing-balance loan, paying out early usually saves interest. On a loan priced as a fixed total cost, it may save little or nothing unless the lender offers a discount. Ask how early repayment is treated before you sign, not after.
It also can’t tell you whether you’ll be approved. Banks are often the cheapest source of business finance, and if you fit their criteria their offer deserves a hard look. When the bank can’t help, non-bank and online lenders fill the gap, usually at a higher cost. The Reserve Bank’s research found banks were reluctant to lend to small businesses without property as security, which is a big part of why that wider market exists.
Related calculators
- Factor rate calculator: turn a factor rate quote into dollars.
- Unsecured business loan calculator: an indicative range based on your turnover.
- Business borrowing power calculator: how much repayment your profit can support.
- Equipment finance calculator: repayments where a balloon is involved.
Got a number you can live with?
Once you know the repayment your business can carry each week or month, what’s left is matching it to a lender built around that figure, instead of bending the business around someone else’s product. That’s the part we help with.
The enquiry form is short and takes around a minute. Nothing you submit triggers a credit check, so your file looks exactly the same afterwards. We don’t fire your details off to dozens of lenders at once, so your phone stays quiet. Someone on our team looks over your situation personally and phones you to go through what’s realistic. Please give us accurate figures for turnover, existing loans and the amount you need: with careful answers, our first suggestion tends to land on target.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the total cost of finance for the calculator?
Ask the lender for the total amount you will repay over the full term, then subtract the amount borrowed. Make sure it includes the establishment fee, any monthly account fees and any other charges, not just interest. Most lenders will give you this figure in writing with the offer.
Does the calculator work for a loan with a balloon payment?
Not exactly. It spreads the full amount evenly across every repayment, so a loan with a large final payment will show higher regular repayments than you would actually make. Use it for the overall cost, and ask the lender for the real schedule.
Why are daily repayments based on business days?
Many online lenders debit repayments only on business days, roughly 260 a year, so the calculator uses that count. A 12-month loan on daily repayments means about 260 debits from your account.
Will paying the loan off early reduce the total cost?
It depends on how the loan is priced. On some loans interest stops when you repay, which saves money. Others charge a fixed total cost or an early repayment fee, so the saving can be small or nothing at all. Ask before you sign.
Is the interest on a business loan tax deductible?
business.gov.au notes that interest on debt finance is tax deductible, and the ATO generally allows interest on money used to earn business income. Repayments of the amount borrowed are not a deduction. Your accountant can tell you how this applies to your structure.