Start With Utilisation
Before comparing finance options, work out the cost per available hour and the number of cases per week required to cover it. If the equipment cannot reach that on realistic case numbers, the funding question is irrelevant.
Supplier proposals normally include a case volume assumption. Test it against your own clinical data rather than accepting it, and model a lower figure alongside it.
The Funding Routes
- Outright purchase
- Cheapest in total cost, hardest on cash. The asset is owned and capital allowances are available, subject to the rules current at the time of purchase.
- Hire purchase
- You are treated as buying the asset with the cost spread. The asset appears on your balance sheet and capital allowances are generally available on the capital element, with interest relieved separately.
- Finance lease
- Use of the asset for substantially all its life without owning it. Accounting and tax treatment differ from hire purchase, and the deduction generally follows the rental profile.
- Operating lease
- Closer to rental, often with maintenance included and an upgrade path. Frequently the most expensive over the full term and the easiest on cash and obsolescence risk.
What to Compare
Compare total cost over the full term including any balloon payment, fees and required maintenance contracts, not the monthly figure. Suppliers quote monthly because it looks small.
Then compare the after-tax cost, because the routes are relieved differently and the timing of relief varies. And consider what happens at the end: ownership, a further payment, or handing the equipment back.
Timing and the Year End
Where a purchase is planned near a year end, the timing can change when relief is available. Whether accelerating or deferring is better depends on your profit position in each year, so it is worth a short conversation before the order is placed rather than after.
Written by Veterinary Accountants UK editorial team. Published 3 August 2026.
Last reviewed 3 August 2026. [REVIEWER DETAILS REQUIRED BEFORE PUBLICATION]
Sources
- Claim capital allowances, GOV.UK