Should You Purchase or Lease Your Office Technology?

Managed Print

When you're exploring cost-effective solutions for your office solutions, it might be confusing whether its best to lease or buy equipment. For example, should you buy or lease a copier? If so, what are the terms in copier lease agreements, and how do you identify the best copier leasing companies?

There are great arguments in favor of both purchasing and leasing options. Here are the pros and cons of leasing vs buying, and what to look for in quality copier equipment leasing companies.

Pros of Purchasing Printers and Copiers

Many businesses opt to buy office equipment instead of leasing. Some of the upsides to purchasing a copier machine or multifunction printer include no interest payments and the flexibility to switch managed printing services.

No Interest Payments

Purchasing a device can be a great decision if you have sizable cash reserves. A purchase involves a one-time payment for the price of the equipment. This eliminates the need to make interest payments over the course of a payback period, resulting in a better Return on Investment (ROI).

Flexibility to Switch Technology Partners

Purchasing gives you the flexibility to change your maintenance contract to another vendor. At any point if you become dissatisfied with the level of service you are receiving from your current vendor, then you can make a change at will.

When you go through a copier leasing service you can still switch providers. However, the ease of switching is contingent on whether it is a value lease (includes print allowance in payment) or a straight-up lease (which bills equipment and service separately).

Cons of Purchasing Office Technology

Despite the positives of buying equipment, there are some downsides to buying equipment.

Large Business Expense

Purchasing equipment can require a large upfront investment that many organizations cannot readily afford. When it comes to tax implications, you can take only a small fraction of the purchase value as a depreciable expense each month. This reduces your tax liability, but not nearly as much as it does with an ongoing lease. For your specific situation, we recommend consulting with your trusted tax professional.

Outdated Equipment

Your organization tends to hang on to equipment for too long, sometimes even up to 7-10 years too long. Within this amount of time, the equipment becomes outdated, unreliable, and in need of repairs.

If there is a delay in purchasing or repairing equipment, your organization can be caught off guard with an unplanned large expense. This uneven cash flow is not ideal for business growth, so it might be better to lease if you're unwilling to roll the dice.

Not to mention that after 5 years it can become exceedingly difficult to find replacement parts should they break. You will likely also pay more for maintenance on older equipment.

Upsides of Leasing

There are many reasons why printer or copier rental/leasing might be your best option. low upfront costs and having updated technology are among a few.

Low Upfront Cost

Leasing can allow your organization to acquire a multifunction device with little or no upfront cost. From a cash standpoint, leasing allows you to spread out the cost of the equipment over a set period of time. This allows you to plan all payments on a monthly basis, removing the uncertainty of unexpected repairs or replacements that were not budgeted for.

Finding a part that goes with an older piece of equipment can be a timely and expensive process. By updating your equipment on a regular basis, through a lease, this issue can be eliminated.

Newer Technology

Leasing enables you to ensure equipment is regularly updated. It’s best practice to update your equipment every 3-4 years.

This helps keep your business at the forefront of newer and better technology, including better security, longer life for supplies, and less visits for repairs, which keeps you consistently up and running. It is the best avenue for those who want to stay current in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.

Downsides of Leasing

Leasing is not for everyone. Factors to consider include lease terms, lack of ownership, and interest payments.

You Don’t Own the Equipment

When you lease, you don’t own the equipment and therefore have no equity in it. At the end of its usable life, you are unable to sell the equipment and receive any of your investment back. Lack of ownership may exempt you from certain tax benefits simply because the value of the asset is not on your financial books.

High Interest Payments

When leasing, you will have to pay a higher cost over time than you would have paid with an upfront purchase. This is due to the interest that is incurred in each payment which will cause the overall cost of the equipment to be more expensive for the business.

These interest payments can vary. For instance, it is important to keep in mind that interest payments on a lease will be higher if it is a dollar buyout lease vs Fair Market Value. These details will be outlined in lease agreements that vary depending on different copy machine leasing companies.

How to Find Copier Machine Leasing Companies

If you need more information before deciding between leasing and buying office equipment, check out our blogs:

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