Long-form NZ business-finance guides.
Fifteen long-form guides covering rates, fees, eligibility, application steps, structures, and the regulatory edge cases that catch sole traders. Anchored by the flagship NZ Business Loan Playbook.
Indicative only. Why we say this
The NZ Business Loan Playbook
Flagship 8,000-word reference. The complete cross-tier guide to borrowing, written with editorial voice and signed by the editor.
Read onNZ business loan rates 2026
Indicative rate bands by product, factors that drive your rate, secured vs unsecured deep dive, three-lender comparison.
Read onBusiness loan fees NZ
Establishment fees, monthly service fees, PPSR registration, early-repayment charges. Fees on top of the headline rate.
Read onHow much can my business borrow
Affordability framework. Trading history, monthly turnover, security position, deposit, loan purpose.
Read onHow to apply for a business loan NZ
NZ-specific application process. Documents lenders ask for, common decline reasons, what changes the offer.
Read onBusiness loan eligibility NZ
Trading history, turnover, NZBN, credit file, security. The standard NZ minimum thresholds and how they vary.
Read onWhat lenders look at
Behind the credit decision: bank statement analysis, debt-service ratios, industry risk, director profile.
Read onPersonal guarantee explained
Director-PG implications. When PGs are required, what they cover, alternatives where possible.
Read onSecured vs unsecured
When each fits, the rate differential, and the practical trade-offs.
Read onTerm loan vs line of credit
Choosing the structure for the cash-flow profile.
Read onRefinancing a business loan
When the maths works. Break fees, rate differential, term shortening as the bigger lever.
Read onBad-credit business loans NZ
Subprime tier options. Higher pricing, shorter terms, refinance pathway after 12 months.
Read onSelf-employed and sole-trader loans
IR3-based applications, accountant letter, GST registration, and the CCCFA edge case.
Read onCCCFA and business loans
When the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act bites on a business application.
Read onGlossary
Plain-English definitions for chattel mortgage, hire purchase, PPSR, finance lease, GFV, balloon, NZBN.
Read onWhat these cover
The questions that come before choosing a product.
The loan-type and industry pages on this site answer which product fits a situation. The guides here answer the questions that sit underneath that: what a rate is actually made of, what the fees add, what a lender is assessing, and what happens when something goes wrong.
Rates and fees are the most-read topic and the most misunderstood. A headline rate is only part of the cost, and on shorter terms the establishment fee commonly moves the effective cost by several percentage points. The rates and fees guides set out how to compare two offers on total cost rather than on the number in the advertisement.
Eligibility and application guides cover what New Zealand lenders assess and in what order, which is more predictable than it appears from outside. Bank statements carry more weight than most borrowers expect and accounts carry less, particularly among alternative lenders that read transaction data directly.
The structural guides deal with the parts of a loan agreement with long consequences: personal guarantees, secured against unsecured borrowing, and where the CCCFA does and does not apply to business lending. These are the sections most often skimmed at signing and most often relevant later.
Everything here is educational rather than personalised advice. It describes how the New Zealand market generally works so a reader can arrive at a lender conversation informed, and it is not a recommendation about any particular business position.
FAQ
Using these guides
How current is the information in these guides?
Each guide carries a last-reviewed date in its hero, and rate bands, fee ranges and regulatory references are checked against primary sources at review. Indicative rate bands move with the wider market and with the Official Cash Rate, so figures are framed as bands rather than as quotes throughout, and a lender is the only source of an actual rate.
Where does the information come from?
Primary sources only: IRD for tax and GST treatment, the Reserve Bank for lending statistics and the OCR, MBIE for business policy, the Commerce Commission for CCCFA and fair-dealing matters, NZTA for road user charges and vehicle compliance, Stats NZ for industry data, and lender published material for product descriptions. Each guide lists the sources it draws on at the bottom of the page.
Is this financial advice?
No. Everything on this site is class information, meaning general educational content about how business lending works in New Zealand. Businessloans.org.nz is not a lender, a broker or a registered financial adviser and does not give personalised financial advice. Decisions about a specific business position belong with an accountant, a solicitor or a licensed financial adviser.
Which guide should I read first?
For a business that has not borrowed before, the rates guide and the eligibility guide together cover most of what makes a first application go smoothly. For a business comparing specific offers, the fees guide and the secured versus unsecured comparison are the more useful pair. Where a personal guarantee is involved, that guide is worth reading before signing rather than after.
Do these guides cover lending outside New Zealand?
No. Everything here is written for the New Zealand market specifically, including the tax treatment, the regulatory framework, the PPSR, tax pooling and the lender landscape. Several of these have no direct equivalent in other markets, and overseas guidance on business lending commonly does not transfer.
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