Equipment Leasing

How to Minimize Hassle and Find the Best Equipment for Your Business

More than ever before, businesses are moving online to buy and sell equipment.

Equipment sale aggregator websites offer a truly staggering inventory of new and pre-owned equipment—and that is great news for small business. But buying online is not always smooth sailing. Anyone who has tried it knows finding what you need can be a real challenge. Too often searches deliver a stack of irrelevant listings, poor condition equipment, overpriced assets—or no matches at all.

The good news is that searching for quality used equipment does not have to be a frustrating experience. In this article, we offer five tips designed to help you search smarter, cut the clutter and achieve a successful online equipment purchase.

The Basics Your Lender Will Want to See and How You Can Optimize for the Best Rates

Equipment leasing is a powerful business growth tool and is a lot more flexible than a traditional bank loan. Leases are easier to qualify for, offer more stress-free terms and can usually be obtained without a down payment.

Though the up-front costs to you may be minimal, they do represent a major investment for the lender. Your lender will be playing it safe, especially in this day and age, and looking for indicators that your business is a good credit risk.

Lease brokers have specific measures they look for in a lease application. Some of these are things you can optimize, like a strong business plan and a solid credit score. Some are factors out of your control, like the number of years you’ve been in business and your credit history.

Knowing beforehand what the lender wants to see is key to a successful application.

Buy Smarter by Calculating Equipment Operating Costs

We all like a good deal and, as business owners, we all need to watch the bottom line. It’s tempting to look at the equipment’s price first and its specs/maintenance records/user rating second – if at all. But this can be a costly mistake.

The real cost of a piece of equipment can only be calculated once you include the actual operating costs. The dent in your cashflow when you purchase is only the first of many costs associated with owning heavy equipment. Labour, maintenance, efficiency and downtime are all business costs too. If you get a “deal” on a cheap machine, but it is less efficient to run, breaks down more often and requires more expensive parts, is it really saving your business money?

Low prices do not always mean a better deal.

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