Cost-of-waiting calculator

How the cost-of-waiting calculator works

Most owners compare a visible cost — what a loan costs — with an invisible one they never write down. This calculator writes it down. It adds up four things over the waiting period you choose:

1. Lost profit. What the purchase, hire or opportunity would earn each month, multiplied by the months you'd wait. Use profit after the extra costs, not revenue.
2. Making do. What it costs each month to work around the gap: repairs and call-outs on old gear, equipment hire, overtime, outsourcing, late fees, or ATO interest charges if you're delaying a tax payment.
3. Price increase. The price of what you'd buy, multiplied by the percentage you expect it to rise by the time you buy. Leave it at zero if you have no notice of an increase.
4. One-off losses. Anything that disappears if you wait: a bulk-buy discount, a contract, a lease, a production slot.

It then compares that total with the total dollar cost of finance you enter — every fee and all the interest over the time you'd have the facility, added up. That's the only fair comparison: dollars against dollars, over the same period.

Reading your result

The verdict tells you which path costs more and by how much. The break-even month is the point at which waiting has cost as much as borrowing would. If break-even is month one or two, delay is expensive and gets more expensive quickly. If it's beyond your waiting period, waiting is likely the cheaper option — as long as your assumptions hold.

The chart shows the cost of waiting building up month by month against the flat line of the finance cost. The steeper the waiting line, the more each month of delay is costing you.

Stress-test the answer

A result is only as good as its inputs. Before relying on it, try these changes and watch whether the verdict flips:

• Halve the lost profit. If waiting still costs more, the case for acting now is robust.
• Double the waiting period. Saving up often takes longer than planned.
• Set the price increase to zero. Does the decision depend on a price rise that may not happen?
• Raise the finance cost. Try a cautious figure until you have a real quote.

If the answer survives all four, you can be fairly confident. If it flips on the lost-profit test, gather evidence first — a trial, a signed order or a log of declined jobs. Our guide on when waiting is smarter explains why that's often the best move, and four worked examples show the method in action.

What the calculator leaves out on purpose

It doesn't ask for an interest rate. Business loans are priced on individual circumstances — security, purpose, term, trading and credit history — so a generic rate would mislead. It also leaves tax out: deductions such as the $20,000 instant asset write-off change when you save tax, not whether a purchase makes sense. And it doesn't weigh risk. A large, uncertain payoff isn't better than a modest, proven one; that judgement stays with you.

When the numbers say now

If waiting clearly costs more, the next step is a real finance figure for your situation. Property-secured business loans run from $20,000 to $5,000,000, and unsecured or cash-flow options for trading businesses typically from $5,000 to $500,000, sized on turnover and bank statements. Business purposes only. Start a 60-second enquiry and a lending specialist will call to replace your estimate with real numbers. Please answer accurately — the closer your figures are to reality, the more useful that call will be.