Business finance for dental practices

The cash-flow shape of a dental practice

A dental practice carries unusually high fixed costs against income that arrives on a delay. NHS practices are paid against an annual UDA contract in monthly instalments, with clawback if activity targets are missed late in the year. Private and plan income (Denplan, practice membership) is steadier but still lags the cost of delivering treatment. Meanwhile the chair never stops costing money: associate percentages, hygienist time, nurse wages, lab fees, materials and the surgery lease all fall due whether or not a patient turned up.

The result is a practice that can be profitable on paper yet tight on cash in any given month — especially after a quiet August, a principal's absence, or a run of failed appointments. That timing gap, not a lack of underlying profit, is what short-term finance is built to cover.

What dental practices typically use funding for

Common uses we see across UK dental businesses:

• Equipment and surgery upgrades — a new dental chair, CBCT or intra-oral scanner, or fitting out an additional surgery to add capacity.
• Decontamination and CQC compliance — autoclaves, surgery refurbishment and remedial work needed to pass inspection.
• Lab and materials — funding implant, ortho or cosmetic case work where you pay the lab before the patient completes payment.
• Recruitment and locum cover — bridging an associate gap or covering a principal's leave without losing the book.
• Marketing for private growth — funding a push into implants, aligners or facial aesthetics where return arrives over the following months.

The common thread: spend now, return later. Short-term working capital smooths that sequence.

What to weigh before you borrow

Match the term to the purpose. A one-off lab-heavy quarter or a CQC remediation is a genuine short-term need; a £40,000 scanner you will use for a decade is usually better matched to asset finance over a longer period. Borrowing short to fund long-life kit can leave repayments biting before the asset has paid you back.

Be honest about UDA clawback risk if you are NHS-heavy — don't lean on finance to mask a contract you are unlikely to deliver. Look at the total cost of the facility, not just the headline, and check repayments survive a slow month with a couple of associates away. Borrow against a specific plan with a measurable return, and you keep finance working for the practice rather than the other way round.

How short-term company finance fits

Credicorp business loans are lent to your limited company, not to you personally. As an exempt business lender we provide short-term working capital to UK companies — there is no personal guarantee, so your home and personal assets are not pledged against the facility. For a practice whose income is lumpy by design, that matters: the borrowing sits with the business that generates the revenue.

Where the need is a recurring timing gap rather than a single project, a revolving facility such as Credicorp Flex lets you draw and repay as cash moves through the practice, paying only for what you use. Incorporated practices and dental groups can apply online and get a decision quickly.