When thinking about business equipment, people often picture heavy-duty items like commercial-grade restaurant ovens or manufacturing machines. But what about waiting room TVs or break room dining tables? Many types of everyday office objects are also considered equipment, and that means they can be financed with equipment financing or working capital loans.
Business equipment financing allows you to purchase or lease the equipment you need for daily operations. This includes desktop computers, cubicles, copy machines, and more. Although you might not consider buying an extra printer a huge expense, there are key benefits of financing that can help you depending on your situation and needs.
Advantages of Financing for Companies That Buy Office Equipment
One of the biggest advantages of office equipment financing is that it allows companies to maximize their budgets. For instance, say you want to purchase digital kiosks for your lobby. The owed balance would be spread out over many months, much like an auto loan or mortgage. And you wouldn’t have to wait to wow your customers. You could get the kiosks up and running right away.
Another main benefit of equipment financing is being able to lease products that have a short lifespan. Consider technology equipment such as laptops. They can become outdated quickly, so leasing them lets you easily return or upgrade previous models. With the right financing solutions, you won’t have storage closets full of old technology.
Though you’ll have to pay financing costs on your financed equipment, you will lock in your payment amount to ensure that you know exactly how much you’ll be paying per period. As an added bonus, you might be able to enjoy some tax incentives if your equipment qualifies under Section 179.
Choosing the Right Office Equipment to Finance
Interested in leveraging financing but not sure what all you need? Here’s how you can identify what office equipment you need to replace or purchase more of:
- Look for equipment gaps.
Take inventory of the equipment in your office, then analyze the data to identify any equipment gaps. An example of a gap could be three floors sharing one printer. In this case, you may want to think about purchasing another printer, especially if the existing one sees a lot of traffic.
Talk to your team members, too. Ask them to create office equipment “wish lists.” These might include hardware, software, furnishings, or machines that will help them do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.
- Identify older equipment.
There’s nothing wrong with some types of older equipment that are still in good working condition, but sometimes an upgrade is in order. Even if you’re not ready for a complete facelift, an asset remodel could make sense. Document the age of all your office equipment, especially technology products.
As mentioned before, a lot of technology equipment ages out after a few years. It slows down, becomes clunky, and overheats. It may still technically work, but at what cost? The user experience matters, particularly in a tight labor market. If your employees have to jump through hoops to get their work done, they may become less engaged.
- Decide what equipment you need.
Now that you have a laundry list of missing and old office equipment, you can prioritize which products are the most essential. A good way to do this is by setting up a grading system so you can tell at a glance what’s most vital to achieving your company’s goals. After you’ve whittled down your choices, you can explore office equipment vendors.
Find out what’s available and what each piece of equipment will cost. Just remember that you’ll be paying less upfront if you use equipment financing. Once you’ve spoken with vendors, you’ll have no trouble pinpointing your top office equipment must-haves. From there, all you have to do is talk with an equipment financing lender.
PEAC Solutions: A Global Leader in Office Equipment Financing
At PEAC Solutions, we help organizations like yours finance their office equipment purchases. Our relationships with entities like the Business Technology Association and other key partners allow us to deeply understand how to bring you the office equipment financing solutions you need.
Interested in applying for equipment financing or a working capital loan? Click here to get started.
PEAC Solutions is a DBA of Marlin Leasing Corporation.