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Header and harvester finance, paid when the grain is.
A header earns in a few weeks a year and costs as much as a house. We finance new and used headers, fronts and comb trailers for growers across WA and Australia, with repayments timed to harvest and the next changeover planned from day 1.
- Founded by two former bankers
- Commercial and business finance specialists
- Perth based
- MFAA member
Header finance is equipment finance secured against the header itself, usually a chattel mortgage with the term matched to your changeover cycle and the repayments timed to harvest. New, used, clearing sale and interstate headers are all financeable, along with the front, comb trailer and chaser bin. Rockwall Finance arranges it for grain and mixed farming operations across WA and nationally.
A header is the most expensive machine on most cropping operations, and it is one lenders are comfortable with: a known asset class with a deep used market that holds its value. The finance itself is rarely the hard part. The structure is where the money is made or lost: a repayment schedule that follows the season, a balloon that the trade value will actually clear, and a plan for the next changeover before this one settles.
Quick facts: header finance
| What it funds | Headers and combine harvesters, draper and stripper fronts, comb trailers, chaser bins |
| Purchase types | New, used, dealer, clearing sale, private sale and interstate auction |
| Repayments | Monthly, half yearly or annual, timed to harvest |
| Structures | Chattel mortgage, finance lease, commercial hire purchase |
| Where | Across WA and nationally, by phone, video and email |
| Cost to you | $0 on most deals. Lenders pay the broker. |
Repayments that follow the harvest
A monthly schedule asks for 12 payments a year from a machine that earns in 1 season. Header finance can instead be written on annual repayments timed for the months after harvest, or half yearly repayments with the second payment timed to wool, livestock sales or a pool payment. The schedule is agreed at application, so it needs to be requested up front and supported with your cropping history. Our agricultural equipment finance page works through a $650,000 header on monthly, half yearly and annual schedules side by side.
A worked example: the changeover cycle
Take a grower changing over to a $700,000 header with $200,000 of trade in on the old machine. That leaves $500,000 to finance over 4 years, with a $200,000 balloon set below the header's expected trade value at the next changeover.
- During the term: $300,000 of principal is repaid, which is 4 annual payments of $75,000 before interest, each timed after harvest.
- At changeover: the header is traded, the trade value clears the $200,000 balloon, and whatever is left over becomes the deposit on the next machine.
- The next header: starts from a planned position instead of a scramble, often drawn from a facility approved ahead of the season.
The figures are principal only and a pattern, not a quote. Interest depends on the lender, the machine and the deal. The test that matters is the balloon against a realistic trade value: a balloon comfortably under it is a structure, and one sitting above it is a problem waiting at the end of the term. You can model the monthly version of any header deal with our equipment finance calculator.
Used, clearing sale and interstate headers
Much of the header market is second and third owner machines, and lenders know it. Dealer sold used headers are straightforward. Clearing sales, private sales between neighbours and interstate auction buys are financeable with preparation: ownership and encumbrance checks, the machine's details and hours, and the approval in hand before sale day so you can bid with the certainty of a cash buyer. The practical constraint is the header's age at the end of the loan, so an older machine is financed over a shorter term.
Manufacturer finance, honestly
On a new header, the manufacturer's finance offer can carry a subsidised rate that is hard to beat, and where it fits your operation we will tell you to take it. Read the conditions first: the deposit, the monthly repayment frequency, the term and what happens after any interest free period. Where the offer does not fit your season, or the header is used, private sale or interstate, we place the deal with a lender whose structure suits how your operation is paid.
The whole operation, not just the header
A header changeover lands alongside chemical and fertiliser bills, contract commitments and carry over from last year. We look at the purchase inside the operation's full position, which can mean pairing the header with working capital, restructuring existing machinery debt at the same time, or setting up a master asset finance facility so the next header, tractor or seeder is a drawdown rather than a new application. Tractors, seeders and the rest of the fleet are covered on our farm machinery finance page.
Header lined up for this harvest? Tell us the machine, the seller, the price and your trade in. We will come back with the structure, the repayment profile and what is realistic before sale day.
Why businesses put us in the deal
Bankers first, brokers second. Rockwall was founded by two former commercial bankers, and years of working with bank credit teams taught us how they assess a deal. We structure yours the way the person approving it will read it.
Access to more than 40 lenders. Through our Finsure accreditation we can take your deal to the major banks and to the non-bank and specialist lenders behind them, and we know which credit teams currently have appetite for deals like yours.
Licensed and accountable. We are MFAA members and Credit Representatives (579184, 579182 and 580433) of Finsure Finance & Insurance Pty Ltd.
Your header and harvester finance specialist
Rowan Edwards, co-founder. Rowan is a former commercial banker and Credit Representative 579182, and he runs Rockwall's header and harvester finance work personally. He structures header deals around the harvest the machine earns in and the changeover that follows, so the next machine starts from a planned position. More on the team.
Frequently asked questions
How does header finance work?
Header finance is equipment finance secured against the header itself, most often written as a chattel mortgage where your business owns the machine from day 1 and the lender registers a security interest over it. The lender looks at the header, its age and hours, the operation's cropping history and cash flow, and the repayment profile being asked for. The term is set against the machine's working life and your changeover cycle, and the repayments can be monthly, half yearly or annual, timed to when the grain money arrives.
Can header repayments be annual or seasonal?
Yes. Several lenders will write header finance with annual or half yearly repayments timed after harvest, provided the operation's income pattern supports it. The schedule is agreed at application, so it needs to be requested up front and backed with your cropping history. Fewer, later payments carry slightly more interest because the balance stays higher for longer, which is usually a fair trade for repayments that land when the income does.
Can I finance a used header, or one bought interstate or at a clearing sale?
Usually, yes. Used headers are a normal part of the market and hold their value well, which lenders understand. Dealer sold used headers are the simplest. Private sales, clearing sales and interstate auction buys are financeable with preparation: ownership and encumbrance checks, the machine's details and hours, and the approval in place before sale day. The machine's age at the end of the loan shapes the term, so an older header is financed over a shorter one.
Can the front and comb trailer be financed with the header?
Yes, and they usually should be. A draper or stripper front, the comb trailer and even a chaser bin can be financed in the same deal as the header, which keeps the repayments on one schedule and settles everything before harvest. Where the front is bought separately or later, it can be added under the same facility rather than starting a fresh application.
Should I take the manufacturer's finance offer on a new header?
Sometimes, yes. Manufacturer finance on new machines can carry subsidised rates that are hard to beat, and where the offer fits your operation we will say so. Check the conditions that come with it: the deposit, the monthly repayment frequency, the term and any interest free period. Where the offer does not fit, or the header is used, private sale or interstate, a broker can place the deal with a lender whose structure suits your season.
How should I plan the next header changeover?
At the same time as this one. Setting the term and any balloon against the header's realistic trade value at your next changeover means the trade in clears the balloon with equity left over, so the next header starts with a deposit already built in. A master asset finance facility can then hold an approved limit ready for the changeover, so a good machine can be bought quickly when it comes up.
Get started
Want to talk it through?
Send us a short enquiry. We'll tell you whether it's fundable, how we'd structure it, and which lender we'd take it to. No obligation, and no meeting required to get an answer.
Prefer to talk? Call Rowan on 0483 292 005 or Ari on 0434 929 370.