Sunday, January 18, 2009

Benefits of Equipment Leasing

By Guy Phillips

The prince of simplicity Paul Thoreau in Walden once wrote, A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone. And so it is true with equipment leasing: The more equipment you can lease"ergo, not own and let alone"will keep your richer in the long run. Whether its a backhoe, a semi-truck, a fax machine, a personal computer or super mainframe, leasing your business or work resources will benefit you in the short- and long-term.

First and foremost, the most important benefits to leasing rather than owning your equipment is cash; lets face it, the more cash you can put to advertising, the better. The more money you dont waste in owning your equipment can be directly put back into the business, so you can reach more people. When money is fully paid for equipment"printing equipment, for example"that money is given to another business and is lost entirely to you"the money can never be put back into your own business. Rather than make a (perhaps) bad investment, put the money into true investments that will pay off in the long haul; your own company, surely, could use more working capital or more money for advertising and trips.

When you go to the bank to obtain financing for your business, they are going to tell you what they have to offer you. When push comes to shove, you wont have any leverage to secure a smaller borrowing percentage for what you borrow. Not true for leasing equipment. The company youre leasing the equipment from wants your business"thats how they make money (banks have plenty of money to throw around these days). When you lease, you have more flexible terms and when negotiations get rolling, youll have some say in both the amount of payments youll make, how long youll make the payments and what leasing the equipment entails. More often than not, youll get the equipment with good or bad credit, and the deals will be flexible. Try doing that at the local bank.

When you lease rather than buy equipment, youll have more flexibility with your money, your business, and, most importantly, your patronage. If you are in the business where performance matters, then youll want the flexibility to upgrade more easily. Youll want to give your clients the best youve got to offer, whether its landscaping more beautifully or printing more colorfully, the equipage you use makes your business stand out on top. Youll have all the latest gadgetry and devices to offer your customers the very best. The repeat business is free advertising, ensuring that you always have a cash flow coming in. Flexibility is the key to keeping your business ahead.

A maxim says that the things you own will eventually start to own you. That is, when you lease equipment, you save money in the long haul by never having to worry about your stuff breaking down. If it does, its often fixed or replaced for free. When you pay for the usage and not the ownership of your equipment, you are essentially a maintenance-free business. Plus, youre only paying for what you use over time. If you use a computer for a year, for example, you can easily upgrade (needed, mind you) within a year. Obtaining finance at the bank these days should turn you off to the idea of owning anything in the first place. Your leasing arrangement can often be a sealed deal in less than a business day, and the time constraints are flexible enough to keep you running strong.

Another benefit to leasing equipment for you and your business is the money youll save, again, in the long term. A bank loan cannot habitually be deducted from your taxes, whereas the expenses of using equipment for the operations can be used as a tax deduction. Moreover, you can often trade in older equipment for newer equipment; if you bought it, however, theres no taking it back once you decide its no longer useful. When you lease, you may be able to implement a substitution clause, allowing you to trade in equipment you no longer feel benefits you. On top of this, if you ever cancel the lease, you may have to pay a small cancellation fee. If you break a bank lone, the problems begin to stack up against you quickly. Leasing makes the most useful sense and benefits you more in the long-term operations of your business. - 16928

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