Quick answer
On a new commercial lease, the money due at or around signing often includes a security deposit or bank guarantee, rent in advance, legal and lease preparation costs, and deposits for fit-out trades and equipment. Retail leases also have disclosure timelines, such as seven days in NSW and 14 days in Victoria before signing. List every payment with its date, then plan any funding well before signing day.
Key points
- Signing day usually brings several payments at once, not just the first month's rent
- Retail lease disclosure timelines give you days of notice; use them to plan the cash
- Fit-out deposits often fall due before the business is trading from the new site
- Plan funding in the disclosure window, not on signing day
Why does signing day catch businesses out?
Because it’s a celebration that comes with an invoice. You’ve found the right site, negotiated the terms and pictured the fit-out. Then, as the lease is finalised, several payments arrive at once: the security, rent in advance, legal costs, and deposits for the builder, shopfitter, signwriter and equipment suppliers who all want to lock in dates.
None of these is a surprise in isolation. Together, they can be a surprise, particularly if you’re still paying rent at the old site, or if the new site won’t generate revenue for weeks while the fit-out happens.
What’s usually payable at or around signing?
Every lease is different, so read yours. But these are the common items:
| Payment | Typical form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit | Cash or bank guarantee | Often a number of months’ rent; held for the lease term |
| Rent in advance | Cash | Often the first month, sometimes more |
| Outgoings in advance | Cash | Depends on the lease |
| Lease preparation or legal costs | Cash | Check who pays what under the lease and your state’s rules |
| Your own legal and advice fees | Cash | Worth every cent on a long lease |
| Fit-out deposits | Cash | Builders and shopfitters often want a deposit to book dates |
| Equipment deposits | Cash | Kitchens, cool rooms, shelving, signage |
| Utility connections and bonds | Cash | Power, water, internet |
Add them up with dates beside each. That’s your signing-day cash plan.
What are the disclosure timelines, and why do they help?
Retail leases come with disclosure rules that give you notice of the key terms and costs before you sign. In NSW, the Small Business Commissioner says the landlord must provide the disclosure statement at least seven days before the lease is entered into, and the tenant then has seven days to give their own disclosure statement or ask for more time. In Victoria, the Small Business Commission says a landlord must give a disclosure statement at least 14 days before a new lease is signed.
Other states have their own rules, and not every commercial lease is a retail lease. But where disclosure applies, it gives you something valuable: a window of a week or two between knowing the numbers and signing. Use it to plan the cash, not just to read the lease.
How do you plan the cash in the disclosure window?
A simple sequence:
- List every payment from the table above, with amounts from the disclosure statement, the draft lease and your trades’ quotes.
- Mark the dates. Which are due on signing? Which on the handover of keys? Which as the fit-out progresses?
- Map your income. If you’re moving from an existing site, when does trading pause? When does it start at the new site?
- Find the lowest point. That’s the amount you might need to fund.
- Decide how to fund it. Cash reserves, a bank guarantee instead of a cash deposit, supplier payment terms, or a business loan.
- Arrange funding before signing day. Not on it.
If the lowest point is this week and you haven’t arranged anything yet, start the enquiry now. There’s still time to make it an ordinary loan instead of a same-day race.
What should you fund, and what should you pay in cash?
There’s no single right answer, but some patterns work well:
- Keep cash for the security and rent in advance if you can, because landlords want them on the day and they’re predictable.
- Consider a bank guarantee instead of a cash security deposit, so the cash stays in the business. Ask your bank and the landlord.
- Use funding for the fit-out, which is the biggest and most variable cost.
- Finance specific equipment separately where that suits. business.gov.au compares leasing and buying vehicles and equipment.
Talk to your accountant about the tax treatment of the fit-out and equipment, and about how much cash buffer to keep for the weeks before the new site is trading.
What if signing day becomes a same-day problem anyway?
Sometimes timing slips: the landlord’s lawyer sends final documents late, a trade demands a larger deposit, or the old site’s bond refund is delayed. If you’re suddenly short on signing day:
- Ask the landlord for a short extension on the payment, with a firm date.
- Ask trades whether a smaller deposit will hold the booking.
- Check what can move to handover day rather than signing day.
- If funding is needed today, enquire before mid-morning Sydney time. Same-day funding is possible for smaller unsecured amounts, and with property, $20k to $250k.
Our page on deposits due today covers the same-day version.
An illustrative lease
A Fremantle gelato business is moving to a larger shopfront. The retail lease disclosure arrives 14 days before the planned signing. The owner lists: security of three months’ rent, one month’s rent in advance, her own legal costs, a shopfitter’s deposit, a deposit on two display freezers, and signage. Trading at the old shop continues until the fit-out is done, but its rent overlaps for six weeks.
She finds the lowest point is about $58k, three weeks after signing. Eleven days before signing, she enquires for $60k, sending the lease, quotes and statements. It’s funded unsecured a week before signing. Signing day is a celebration, not a scramble.
What questions should you ask the landlord before signing?
A few direct questions, asked during the disclosure window, avoid most signing-day surprises:
- “What exactly is payable on signing, and what on handover of keys?” Get the list in writing.
- “Will you accept a bank guarantee instead of a cash security deposit?”
- “Is there a rent-free or reduced-rent period while we fit out?” Many landlords offer one, but only if asked.
- “Who pays the lease preparation costs?” The answer depends on the lease and the state.
- “What are the make-good obligations at the end of the lease?” They affect how you plan the fit-out now.
- “When will I get the keys to start the fit-out?” Every week of delay is a week of rent at two sites.
A rent-free fit-out period, in particular, can transform the cash plan. It pushes the first rent payment back until you’re trading, which may be the difference between needing funding and not.
How do you budget for the fit-out itself?
Fit-outs are where cash plans most often break, because quotes rarely capture everything. When you build the budget:
- Get written quotes for each trade and supplier, with payment stages and deposit amounts.
- Add a contingency. Unexpected work behind walls and under floors is common in older buildings.
- Include the things that aren’t building work: signage, point-of-sale systems, initial stock, uniforms, opening marketing.
- Map payment stages to dates. Builders often want a deposit, progress payments and a final payment on completion.
- Allow for the gap before trading. Your old site’s revenue may stop before the new one’s starts.
The lowest point in your cash plan is usually just before opening, when most of the fit-out is paid and no revenue has arrived yet. That’s the number to plan funding around, and the reason to arrange it during the disclosure window rather than on the day the builder’s final invoice lands.
A final signing-day checklist
On the day itself, have these ready: the signed lease or final version to sign, proof of any bank guarantee, transfer details for the security and rent in advance confirmed by phone with the agent, your insurance certificate if the lease requires one, and the dates your trades will start. Tick them off before you leave for the signing.
If the fit-out gap is modest and your statements are strong, unsecured same-day funding explains how amounts are sized; for larger fit-outs, see property-secured same day.
Signing a lease soon?
The best time to sort the cash is now, during the disclosure window. Asking takes about a minute and doesn’t involve a credit check, and we won’t send your details to a queue of lenders.
A real person will call to look at your list of payments and dates and talk through what’s realistic. Please be accurate about amounts, dates and whether you’re still trading from the old site, so the plan matches the real cash flow.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a commercial lease security deposit?
It depends on the lease and the landlord. It's often expressed as a number of months' rent, paid as cash or a bank guarantee. Check the draft lease and the disclosure statement.
What is a lease disclosure statement?
For retail leases, the landlord gives the tenant a document setting out key terms and costs before the lease is signed. In NSW it's at least seven days before; in Victoria, at least 14 days before a new lease is signed.
Can I use a business loan for a fit-out?
Yes, a fit-out is a business purpose. Some owners use a loan for the fit-out and keep cash for the bond and rent in advance. Equipment for the fit-out can sometimes be financed separately.
Should I fund the security deposit with a loan?
It's possible, but think about it carefully: the deposit sits with the landlord for the lease term. A bank guarantee may be an alternative. Talk to your accountant about the best mix.
What if the landlord wants everything on the day I sign?
Ask for a clear list of every amount and deadline well before signing. If funding is needed, arrange it during the disclosure window, so signing day isn't a same-day scramble.