Selling idle gear: the cash already in your yard

Most established businesses collect things: the second ute nobody drives since the contract ended, the old oven in storage, the spare trailer, the racking from the previous warehouse, the stock line that never took off. Each one quietly costs money — insurance, registration, storage, the space it takes up — while the cash it represents does nothing. Selling idle assets is the funding piece with no lender, no repayments and no security, and it’s often bigger than owners expect.

How do you find what’s idle?

Walk the business with a notebook, or pull your fixed asset register from your accounts. For each item ask:

1. Has it been used to earn money in the last 12 months?
2. Will it realistically be used in the next 12?
3. What does it cost to keep — insurance, registration, servicing, storage?
4. What would it sell for today?

Anything that fails the first two questions and costs money to hold is a candidate. Include intangible extras too: a vehicle registration you’re still paying, a storage unit, an unused software licence that can be cancelled.

Where do idle assets usually hide?

Category	Common examples	How easy to sell
Vehicles	Second ute, old van, trailers	Easy — strong market
Mobile plant	Forklifts, mini diggers, scissor lifts	Good
Workshop gear	Older machines replaced by newer ones	Moderate
Hospitality equipment	Spare ovens, fridges, coffee machines	Moderate
Office and IT	Furniture, monitors, older laptops	Low value, but clears space
Stock	Slow lines, discontinued ranges	Varies — clearance or return to supplier
Space	A storage unit, unused part of a lease	Saves ongoing cost

What tax applies when you sell?

This is the part to check before you count the cash.

GST. If your business is GST-registered and the asset was used in your taxable activity, the sale is generally subject to GST. Inland Revenue’s GST guide (IR375, March 2026) includes an example where the full sale amount of a business asset is subject to GST and has to be included in the return. So a ute sold for $23,000 including GST leaves $20,000 for the business, with $3,000 going to Inland Revenue in the next return.

Depreciation recovery. If you’ve claimed depreciation on the asset, Inland Revenue’s guidance says selling it for more than its adjusted tax value creates a taxable profit, which must be reported in the year of sale. Sell for less, and you can generally claim the loss. You also can’t claim depreciation in the year you dispose of an asset.

Our guide on selling business assets: GST and tax works through examples. Talk to your accountant before a large sale.

Is there finance still registered on it?

Check before you list anything. If the asset was bought with finance, a lender may still have a registered security interest. The Personal Property Securities Register lets buyers check whether money is owing on pre-owned goods such as vehicles and equipment, and a serious buyer will search it. Get any security discharged as part of the sale.

Illustrative example: a Waikato contractor clears the yard

Illustrative only; describes no real business.

A Waikato drainage contractor wants $90,000 towards a new excavator. A yard audit finds:

• an older ute and a tandem trailer no longer needed after a contract ended — about $28,000 including GST;
• a superseded small excavator — about $45,000 including GST;
• a storage container of surplus pipe returned to the supplier for credit — $6,000.

After GST and a modest depreciation recovery on the excavator, the business keeps a little over $60,000 net. Equipment finance covers the rest of the new machine. If you’re in a similar spot and want the remaining gap checked, a real person can look at it.

When should you refinance instead of selling?

Sell when you genuinely won’t need the asset. If it’s still earning money, or you’ll need it again within a year or two, asset refinance can release cash while you keep using it. Selling and later rebuying usually costs more — especially for vehicles and plant, where prices for good second-hand units can rise.

How do you get the best price?

• Clean and service it. Presentation matters, especially for vehicles.
• Choose the channel. Online marketplaces for common items, auctions for plant and vehicles, dealers for trade-ins, industry contacts for specialised gear.
• Time it. Sell utes and trailers before busy seasons; sell hospitality gear when new venues are opening.
• Bundle small items so they’re worth a buyer’s trip.

For a full list of internal cash levers — debtors, stock, subscriptions as well as assets — see freeing up cash before borrowing. And for where asset sales sit in the overall plan, see ordering your funding sources and the equipment remix.

Should you sell surplus stock too?

Stock that isn’t moving is an idle asset with a shelf life. The options, roughly in order of cash recovered:

1. Return it to the supplier for credit, if your terms allow.
2. Sell it through a clearance channel — online, at a market, or to a trade buyer.
3. Bundle it with faster-moving lines.
4. Sell it at cost to make room and free cash for stock that sells.

Remember that GST applies to stock sales in the normal way, and a write-down of obsolete stock may affect your income tax — your accountant can advise on valuing closing stock. The point isn’t to maximise the sale price of every item; it’s to turn dead stock into working cash for the goal you’re funding.

Need to fund what the sale doesn’t cover?

Selling idle gear rarely covers a whole goal, but it can shrink the gap a long way. When you know what’s left, tell us the goal and the remaining gap. There’s no credit check to start, we don’t push your enquiry out to a list of lenders, and a real person will call to talk it through. Accurate figures on the form help us suggest the right piece first time.