Is your company looking to lease a multifunction copier? Besides the proposal from your copier vendor, there are a lot of things that need to be considered. Most copier dealers operate as a contractor for major manufacturers in the imaging industry. These copier printer dealers have their own rules on how leases and other services are structured. This is common because vendors support their clients locally and work with leasing companies that are not tied directly with the manufacturer of the office equipment they sell or otherwise known as 3rd party leasing companies. Understand your local dealer’s rules and their costs linked with a lease before you enter into any long-term contract to protect your company from hidden expenses. Here are 6 common FAQs of copier leasing.
Can service plans be given if you want to buy a copier?
The answer is yes. You can get the same service plan if you lease or if you buy a copier. It is like leasing or purchasing a car. The idea is that a lease makes it so you can use the car. Buying the car means that you are more committed to the long term partnership with the car. There are copier leasing services that do the same supplies and service plan if you buy or lease.
What is the difference between the $1 Out and FMV copier lease?
The $1 Out copier lease means that you make all of your payments for the copier and in the end, you pay $1 and own it. This could also be called lease to own. The FMV or the Fair Market Value lease is a lease where you can own it at the end, but it is based on fair market value. Instead of $1, it may be $2500. FMV leases are cheaper per month, but you are also responsible to return the copier at the end of the copier lease term. The $1 is more expensive, but you get to keep the copier at the end of the lease.
Should I lease a copier?
It is up to you if you should lease or purchase a copier. The deciding factor is cash flow. If you are cash and the budget is okay, buying the copier will probably make more sense. There are accounting reasons for you to look at leasing vs. purchase too. Your company’s operational expenses, tax stuff, and all of the good things that your accountant is paid for.
What is the lease payment for cheap copiers?
Most copier leasing services would not suggest a lease when a copier is cheap. By the time that you pay the paperwork fees and document fees and have to make sure that the copier on your business policy, it could be well over 20% interest rates. The generally suggested amount to start thinking about a copier lease is $3000.
Can copiers be upgraded whenever you want if it is leased?
Yes, you can, but there is a catch. If you lease a copier for 5 years and at 4.5 years you want to upgrade the copier, the copier leasing company rolls the last 6 payments into the new copier. This does not work as well if you are in year 1 year and 3 months. Then at the point, you have 3 and 9 months making the rollover not feasible.
Are supplies and services included?
It depends. When doing a copier lease, your service provider can add some cost in to cover the maintenance and a certain number of prints to keep the monthly costs the same. Each client is different so what can be given to you could include base, or you can pay for what you use. The advantage of the plan is a lower cost per page. The advantage to no plan for your copier is if you take a month off, you are not paying for unused copies.
