Business Leasing - the Process
The Application Process
Who can apply for a business lease?
If you're one of the below, you can apply for a business lease.
- Sole trader – see our full guide to applying for finance as a sole trader here.
- Limited company
- A partnership
- A VAT registered business
- A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
- A PLC
- A charity
- A local authority
- Central government
- An embassy
If you're unsure whether you can lease as a business or not then please don't hesitate to get in touch, our team will be happy to advise you on the best leasing route for you.
Applying for finance as a business
Applying for finance as a business isn't quite the same as the personal lease process, since different requirements need to be met and different details are needed.
We’ve outlined the process below, so you can see exactly what we’ll need to get your finance approved. Please be aware that if your business is younger than 24 months or is a start up with little financial information then the funder may request more details. We're committed to making the application process as smooth as possible and will always let you know as soon as we know of any additional funder requests.
The application process
When you apply for finance we'll ask you to complete a proposal form which will request all the information we need from you. This will be broken down into 4 sections for you.
We'll need the contact name, email address and phone number for the person at the business that we will be dealing with.
- The full company name
- The registered company address
- The business type
- The registered company number (if applicable)
- The VAT number (if applicable)
- Nature of the business
- The number of directors (if applicable)
For each director or partner we'll need the below information:
- Title
- Full name
- Email address
- Date of birth
- Marital status
- Number of dependents
- Address history for the last 3 years
- Property status (owned or rented)
As well as your finance application the funder may consider:
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- How long the business has been trading for.
- The annual turnover of the business.
- If you file accounts and meet the deadlines for this.
- Public records including court judgements, bankruptcies and insolvency.
- Details of any previous credit searches.
- They could also consider the director’s personal finances, but this will usually be a soft search.
- Bank name
- Branch address
- Account number
- Sort code
- Length of time with bank
Benefits of business leasing
If you decide leasing is the right choice for your business there are a lot of potential benefits. As the business won't own the vehicle you needn't worry about the value depreciating over time or selling it when you want to update it.
You can customise each lease for each driver, selecting the vehicle and tailoring the mileage allowance and lease length. Leasing offers you a vehicle to use at a fixed monthly cost, making it easier to budget and manage the business’ cashflow. This is especially true if you decide to add maintenance to the agreement, minimising unexpected servicing and maintenance bills.
As a business you may be able to claim up to 100 % of the VAT back on a lease vehicle, provided it isn't used by the driver for personal use as well. All of our leases are new vehicles so come with manufacturer’s warranty, and if your lease is for less than 3 years you won’t need to worry about the MOT either. Another aspect we take care of is taxing the lease vehicle.
Other things to consider
You'll want to consider adding a maintenance package to your lease. This will spread the cost of servicing and maintenance across regular monthly payments and give you a one stop number for all maintenance queries. Take a look at our maintained lease guide to get more information on maintenance packages.
A lot of businesses choose to have signage added to the side of their vehicles to help advertise the company. You can still do this with a lease vehicle but the signage must be removed at the end of the lease and can't cause any damage.
With a lease vehicle you'll need to hand it back to the funder at the end of the contract in a good condition, in line with your funder’s fair wear and tear guidelines. Most funders base their guidelines on the BVRLA’s and you can take a look at these here.
If you decide to go for a business lease then the driver will have to pay company car tax if they use the vehicle for personal use. For more information take a look at our guide to company car tax.
If you need a lot of vehicles for your company then you might also want to consider fleet management. Using a fleet management service can take all the stress out of owning or leasing a fleet for the business, as well as save you time.
Once the application is approved
After your application has been approved we'll send you the order pack to sign and confirm you want to place the order with us, then order the vehicle and get started on the finance contracts for you.
If you have any more questions about the leasing process or just want to talk to someone about your leasing options then please get in touch on 03302210000.