Quick answer
Your business loan repayment is the total repayable on your quote divided by the number of repayments. A $100,000 loan with $122,400 repayable over 3 years is $3,400 a month or about $785 a week; stretch it to 5 years at $144,000 repayable and it drops to $2,400 a month but costs $21,600 more overall. Always work from the dollar figures in the offer.
Key points
- Repayment = total repayable ÷ number of repayments. No rate needed.
- A longer term lowers each repayment but raises what you pay in total.
- Weekly payments are not a quarter of a monthly one: there are 52 weeks but only 12 months.
- Establishment and account fees belong in the total repayable, and sometimes reduce the cash you receive.
Checklist
- Find the total repayable in the contract summary.
- Divide by the number of repayments.
- Add every fee that is not already in that total.
- Test the repayment against your quietest month, not your average.
The quickest way to find your repayment is to ignore the headline and go to the contract summary. Take the total repayable, divide it by the number of repayments, and you have the figure that will leave your account. Everything below shows how that plays out at $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000, and how to plug a real offer into our calculators.
All dollar figures here are round-number examples to show the method. They are not quotes, and your offer will differ.
How do you work out business loan repayments?
Two numbers matter: the total repayable and the number of repayments. Many online calculators ask for a rate and rebuild the answer. That is useful for a rough idea, but your lender has already done that maths, and the result is printed in your offer.
- Find the total repayable (principal, interest and any fees built in).
- Count the repayments: 36 for three years of monthly payments, 156 for three years of weekly ones.
- Divide. That is the repayment.
If the offer shows only a rate and a term, ask the lender for the total repayable in dollars. A lender that cannot give you that number in writing is giving you an answer worth pausing on.
What are repayments on $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000?
Here are worked examples using made-up totals. The repayable amounts are illustrations, chosen to be easy to follow.
| Loan | Term | Example total repayable | Monthly | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 2 years | $57,500 | $2,396 | $553 |
| $100,000 | 3 years | $122,400 | $3,400 | $785 |
| $100,000 | 5 years | $144,000 | $2,400 | $554 |
| $250,000 | 5 years | $345,000 | $5,750 | $1,327 |
Notice what the $100,000 rows tell you. Moving from three years to five cuts the monthly repayment by $1,000, which feels like relief. It also adds $21,600 to the total. That is the trade: easier months now, a bigger bill overall.
Our guide to choosing a loan term covers how to pick the point where the repayment is comfortable without paying for years you did not need.
Weekly or monthly: why is the maths different?
A year has 52 weeks and 12 months, so a month is about 4.33 weeks, not four. Divide a monthly repayment by four and you overstate the weekly figure by roughly 8%.
The reliable conversion is:
- weekly to monthly equivalent: weekly × 52 ÷ 12
- monthly to weekly equivalent: monthly × 12 ÷ 52
In the table above, $785 a week for 52 weeks is $40,820 a year, the same as $3,400 × 12. Same cost, different rhythm. If a weekly option looks suspiciously smaller than the monthly one, check whether the two have the same total repayable. Weekly can also pull cash out before your customers pay you, which is a cash-flow question rather than a cost one. We walk through that in daily vs weekly vs monthly repayments.
Fortnightly sits in between: 26 payments a year, so multiply by 26 and divide by 12 for the monthly equivalent.
How do fees change what you repay?
Fees are where two offers with the same total repayable stop being equal. Look for:
- Establishment fee. Sometimes added to the loan, sometimes taken from the funds you receive.
- Account-keeping fee. A small recurring charge that adds up over the term.
- Early repayment or break costs. These do not change your repayment, but they change what leaving early costs.
- Dishonour fees. Only if a debit fails, which is why timing matters.
Worked example, again illustrative: a $100,000 loan over 3 years with $122,400 repayable, plus a $2,000 establishment fee deducted up front and a $15 monthly account fee.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cash you receive | $98,000 |
| Account fees, 36 × $15 | $540 |
| Total you pay | $122,940 |
| Cost of borrowing the cash you received | $24,940 |
The monthly repayment looks like $3,400 (plus $15), but you borrowed $100,000 and received $98,000. The honest comparison is cash received against everything paid. Our true cost of a loan calculator does that sum for you from the dollar figures in your quote, and the total cost guide explains each line.
Why is a generic business loan repayments calculator not enough?
A calculator built on one assumed rate gives a neat answer to a question your lender is not answering. Three things regularly break it:
- Fixed-total pricing. Some products set the total repayable at the start, so the figure does not fall in the same way a reducing-balance loan does when you pay early.
- Different schedules. Daily or weekly debits, or a balloon at the end, change both cash flow and the shape of the maths.
- Fees. Most basic calculators leave them out.
Business loans generally sit outside the consumer credit rules, so there is no standard comparison figure printed on every offer. That puts the job of comparing on you, and it is why the dollar figures in the contract are the ones to trust. Business.gov.au’s finance and funding pages are a sensible neutral starting point for the options themselves.
Can your business actually carry the repayment?
A repayment you can calculate is not automatically one you can afford. Test it against your quietest month, not your average. If a $3,400 monthly repayment fits in a month with $9,000 of free cash but not in a month with $2,500, the average is hiding the problem.
A simple check:
- take your lowest monthly net cash flow from the last 12 months;
- add all existing loan and lease repayments;
- see whether the new repayment still leaves a buffer.
The repayment coverage calculator runs that test for you. If you want a second pair of eyes on a number, that is a fair moment to ask for a conversation, and our enquiry form is built for it.
What changes if you pay a loan off early or restructure?
On a reducing-balance loan, paying down principal early cuts the interest still to come. On a fixed-total product, the saving can be small or nil because the total was set on day one, and some contracts add an early repayment fee or break cost. Before you plan to clear a loan early, ask for a payout figure in writing and compare it with the repayments you would still have to make. The early payout savings calculator does that comparison, and the guide to early repayment and payout figures explains what to ask for.
Refinancing is the other lever. If the repayment is too heavy, a longer term lowers it, at the price shown in the table above. If it is comfortably light, a shorter term saves money. Either way, you are choosing between a monthly number and a total number, so write both down before you decide.
Three common mistakes when estimating repayments
- Using the average month. Repayments land in every month, including the slow one. Test against the lowest.
- Comparing a weekly figure with a monthly one. Convert them first, as above, or a cheaper-looking weekly option may not be cheaper at all.
- Ignoring the cash you actually receive. If fees come out of the advance, a $100,000 loan may put $98,000 in your account while you repay on $100,000.
Each one is cheap to avoid on paper and expensive to discover after signing.
What should you do with an offer in your hands?
Do the maths on paper before you sign:
- Write down cash received, total repayable and the repayment.
- Add every fee not inside the total.
- Convert weekly or daily payments to a monthly equivalent so offers line up.
- Run the quietest-month test.
- Ask what happens to the figures if you repay early.
Moneysmart’s loans and credit pages are written for individuals, but the habit of checking total cost is the same for a business.
Want a repayment figure based on your situation?
If you have a number in mind and want to know whether it is realistic, we can look at it with you. Enquiring takes about 60 seconds, and your credit file is not touched just for asking. Your details are not passed around to a pile of lenders; a real person reads your situation and calls you. It helps to fill the form in accurately, because the amount, term and what the money is for decide which option fits first time.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a $50,000 business loan per month?
It depends on the total repayable. As an example only, if $57,500 is repayable over 24 months, the repayment is about $2,396 a month or $553 a week. Divide the total on your own quote by the number of repayments.
How much is a $250,000 business loan per month?
As an example only, $345,000 repayable over 60 months is $5,750 a month. A different term or fee structure changes it, so use the figures in your offer.
Is a weekly repayment just the monthly one divided by four?
No. A year has 52 weekly payments and 12 monthly ones, so a monthly repayment divided by four overstates the weekly amount. Multiply the weekly repayment by 52 and divide by 12 to compare it with a monthly figure.
Is it cheaper to take a 3-year or 5-year term?
Usually three years costs less in total because you carry the debt for a shorter time. The five-year term has the smaller repayment. The right pick is the shortest term your quietest month can carry comfortably.
Do establishment fees change my repayment?
They can in two ways. If the fee is added to the loan, your repayment rises. If it is deducted from the amount you receive, your repayment stays the same but you get less cash for it.
Why does the lender's figure differ from a generic online calculator?
Generic calculators assume one rate, no fees and a standard schedule. Your contract may use a fixed total, a different payment frequency, fees or a balloon, so the contract figures win.
Are the examples on this page a quote?
No. They are round-number examples to show the method. Real offers depend on your business, your security and the lender.
Sources and further reading
We are an information site, so we do not rank lenders, publish interest rates or accept payment to feature a product. Every page is written and checked by our editorial team against official sources. Read our editorial policy and how we are funded.
