Courier van finance: funding the van that earns your living

For a courier, the van isn’t an asset sitting in the corner. It’s the job. If it’s off the road, the income stops, and the contract you worked hard to win might go to someone else. That changes how you should think about funding it — and how a lender will look at your application.

Who is courier van finance for?

We talk to all sorts of drivers and delivery businesses, including:

• Owner-drivers contracted to a courier company or parcel network
• Platform drivers doing app-based delivery work with their own vehicle
• Small delivery businesses running two or three vans with contractors or staff
• Specialist couriers — medical, legal documents, refrigerated goods, bulky furniture
• Tradies and retailers who deliver their own products

What they have in common is that the vehicle produces the income. The better you can show that income is steady and ongoing, the easier the funding conversation becomes.

How is courier income assessed?

Lenders like courier income when it’s regular. Weekly or fortnightly remittances from the same network, landing in a business account, tell a clear story. They’ll typically want to see:

Evidence	What it shows
Business bank statements	Regular income and how much is left after costs
Contract or platform agreement	That the work is ongoing, and its terms
How long you’ve been driving	Stability and experience
Your ABN and GST status	That the business is set up properly
Existing vehicle and debts	What you already owe and what you’re replacing

Drivers with a trading record can usually look at unsecured amounts from $5k to $500k, depending on what their remittances add up to. Own a home or a commercial property? Secured loans from $20k to $5m can suit a bigger fleet purchase.

Which size of van makes sense?

Size is a business decision first and a funding decision second. A larger van may let you take bulkier jobs, but it costs more to buy, fuel, insure and park. It’s worth checking a few thresholds before you choose:

• Over 4.5 tonnes GVM — the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator defines a heavy vehicle as one with a gross vehicle mass or aggregate trailer mass of more than 4.5 tonnes. Different licences, rules and costs apply.
• Fuel tax credits — the ATO lets businesses claim fuel tax credits for heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes GVM, but not for fuel used in light vehicles on public roads.
• The car limit — for depreciation, the car limit applies to passenger vehicles designed to carry fewer than nine passengers and less than one tonne. Most purpose-built delivery vans are designed to carry a tonne or more, so the limit usually doesn’t bite. Check your van’s specs with your accountant.

Our guide to buying a work van and the tax that comes with it goes deeper on GST credits, the $20,000 instant asset write-off and the car limit.

Weighing up an upgrade? See if you qualify — one quick form, credit file untouched.

New van or second-hand?

A newer van usually costs more but spends less time in the workshop. For a courier, downtime is expensive, so reliability is worth real money. A second-hand van can make sense if you get it inspected properly and do a PPSR search before you pay, so you’re not buying someone else’s debt. We cover the PPSR on our second-hand food truck page — the same checks apply to any vehicle.

Illustrative example: an owner-driver has been running parcels on a network contract for two years in an ageing van that’s now in the workshop every month. They want a newer van at $55k and have $10k to put in. Their statements show steady weekly remittances. That kind of profile is often assessed on turnover, with the repayment sized against a normal week and a quiet one. (Illustrative only.)

Adding a second van and a driver

Growing from one van to two is where courier businesses often need help. The second van needs to earn from day one, and you’ll be paying a driver or contractor before the income from that run settles in. You may also pick up new reporting obligations. The ATO says a business that provides courier services and pays contractors to deliver them must lodge a taxable payments annual report if courier income is 10% or more of its gross business income, with the report due by 28 August. Our page on adding a second vehicle has more on sizing the jump.

Plan for time off the road

Before you sign anything, work out what a week without the van would cost you. Include lost income, hire of a replacement vehicle, and any penalties under your contract. Having a buffer, the right insurance and a plan for urgent repairs protects the repayments as well as the contract.

Keep your wheels turning

You know your routes, your drop times and exactly how many parcels fit behind the seats. We know how to put that story in front of the right lender. Our enquiry takes about as long as one drop-off, it won’t leave a mark on your credit file, and your details won’t be handed around to a mob of lenders. A real person reads it and rings you back.

Give us accurate numbers for your income and what you owe now, and we’ll match you with the right option first go.

Start my courier van enquiry →