Free tool

Machine payback calculator

Enter what a machine costs, what you charge for it, and how often it's out earning. The calculator shows when it pays back, the point at which you should sell it, and what you'll clear — or lose — on the sale. Every figure is a plain number in your own currency. Nothing is sent anywhere; change a slider and the whole picture updates live.

Payback
29 mo
First month your cumulative cash turns positive
Sell at
9.8 yr
You'll hit 8,000 engine hours — the planned exit
Gain / loss at sale
+29,026
Resale beats your written-down book value — a gain on sale
Monthly cash flow
+667/mo
Revenue minus loan, running costs and tax each month while on finance. If this is negative, your day rate isn't covering the machine.
Net position the day you sell
+137,847
All cash collected, plus the sale price, minus any loan still outstanding — what the machine leaves you with end to end.
Your machine
Write-down speed25% declining balance (DK saldo)
Fastest write-down. The biggest early tax shield pulls payback in — but that's deferred tax, not profit. Set the tax rate to 0 in advanced and payback doesn't move at all.
Cumulative cashResale valueBook valueSafe write-down
025,00050,00075,000100,000Buy2y4y6y8y10ySell · 9.8yPayback
Break-even utilisation
Break-even 50%
You 65%
Below the break-even point (red) the machine loses money every year; above it (green) it earns. Your planned utilisation is marked — you want it comfortably inside the green.
Dollar utilisation
40%
Annual revenue ÷ purchase price. The shaded band (65–100%) is the industry-healthy range.
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How the calculator works

The model behind this tool is explained in full in our guide, how to start an equipment rental business. The short version:

Q

How is payback calculated?

A
Payback is the first month your cumulative cash turns positive. Each month the calculator adds revenue (day rate × working days × utilisation, divided by 12) and subtracts the loan payment, running costs and tax. Cumulative cash starts at minus your deposit, so payback is the month that running total first crosses zero.
Q

What does 'gain or loss at sale' mean?

A
It's the machine's resale (market) value at your planned exit minus its written-down book value at that point. If resale beats book value you book a gain; if book value is still above resale you'd take a paper loss on sale. It's the single number that tells you whether you're selling at the right time.
Q

Does faster depreciation make a machine pay back sooner?

A
Not in real terms. Depreciation changes book value and tax only — it's never a cash cost. Set the tax rate to 0 and the payback month is identical whatever write-down speed you pick: proof that depreciation can't move the underlying cash machine. With tax on, a faster write-down does pull payback in, but only by bringing the tax shield forward — that's deferred tax, not extra profit. And the lower book value means a bigger taxable gain at sale, which a real balancing charge would claw back (this calculator simplifies that away).
Q

Where do the default numbers come from?

A
The opening scenario and benchmark ranges are editorial estimates drawn from industry KPI guides (utilisation 65–75%, roughly 700–1,000 engine hours a year, UK/EU asset finance typically 6.5–11%). They're a sensible starting point, not a quote — overwrite every field with your own figures.
Ready to see it with your own fleet?

Want to see how MovoGo solves this in practice?

15 minutes with Jesper. No sales pitch. We open the system with your own machine fleet and your workflow.

Jesper Lindberg
Jesper, Founder & CSO at MovoGo
15 minutes. No sales pitch. Just you, Jesper and straight answers.
Book a demo with Jesper
Book a demo with Jesper
15 min. No sales pitch.
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