£3,000 of air-quality equipment is a capex headache that needs sign-off. £89 a month is a tick-box on the operating budget. This calculator puts all four routes side by side over 1, 3 and 5 years — with the indicative tax treatment your finance director will ask about.
Pick a typical configuration or enter your own equipment value. Everything recalculates live.
Tax rate is used only to show indicative relief — operating-lease and hire-purchase payments are normally allowable against profits. Always confirm with your own accountant; this is guidance, not advice.
Cumulative cash out the door at the end of year 1, 3 and 5 — before tax relief. The cheapest route over your real holding period is highlighted.
Lease and hire-purchase payments stop once the term is paid off, so the figure flattens. Rental keeps costing for every month you hold the unit — which is exactly why it's the cheapest route short-term and the most expensive long-term. Buy-outright is the one-off capex carried forward; the asset is yours and has residual value not netted off here.
Four ways to put a unit on the floor — each with a different balance-sheet and tax footprint.
Full capex up front. The cheapest total outlay and you own the asset, but it ties up cash and usually needs procurement sign-off above a capex threshold. Often qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance — 100% first-year tax relief on qualifying plant.
Fixed monthly rental, off the balance sheet, fully allowable against profits. You hand the kit back at the end (or upgrade). Lowest monthly commitment and no capex — the route most schools, surgeries and care homes take.
Spread the cost but own the asset at the end of the term. Slightly higher than an operating lease overall because you keep the equipment. Interest is allowable and you can still claim capital allowances on the asset.
30–90 day hire for outbreak response, building-handover IAQ certification, or event use. Most expensive per month, but no commitment and same-week dispatch. Pure opex — expense it and move on.
Lease and hire-purchase figures use indicative rate factors typical of UK equipment finance at the time of writing — your actual quote depends on the finance partner's decision, your trading history and the term. The calculator is a planning aid, not a credit offer. Send us the configuration and we'll return a firm, currency-priced quote within 24 hours.
Send the configuration and we'll confirm the lease rate, price it in your currency, and ship a 30-day trial unit so you can verify the kit before the first payment is due.