A Guide to Machinery Leasing in USA

When you are planning to broaden your business then you will surely think of bringing new technology into the business. But, new technology is expensive and it is not everyone’s cup of tea to buy it, therefore there are other option to go for. Leasing is one of them. Leasing provides you the convenient option of paying the return amount in small fragments on monthly basis for few years, instead of paying it in bulk at once. As the lease ends, you can return the item or buy it at a price those factors in appreciation and the amount you paid through the lease.

Few benefits of machinery leasing are:

•  You don’t have to do down payment with every lessor, some don’t require it.
• If you need the same equipment for longer period of time, then, leasing is better option.
• Leasing of equipment are eligible for tax credits. On the basis of your lease, you maybe able to reduce your payment amount as business expense. You can take help of Section 178 Qualified Financing.
•   You won’t need to pay for maintenance of the item.

Before you start the process, answer the following question:

•  What is your monthly budget?
• You may don’t have to pay huge amount for leasing but there is a fixed amount that you have to pay every month and budgets are mostly tight and slightest change in it can bring your budget on edge. So, it’s better to step into this relation with proper preparation.
•  How long will the equipment be used?
•  If you need the machinery for short term use then leasing is the best option to go for. But, if you need the equipment for three or more years then loan or credit maybe more beneficial.
•   How quickly will the equipment become obsolete?
•  You should consider obsolescence before choosing leasing as some industries witness technology becoming outdated while in some industries it doesn’t. 

 The equipment that qualify for leasing is unlimited but there are few conditions to notice:

·         Hard assets- The item that you lease becomes ‘hard assets’. In other words, Hard assets is anything that can be listed under personal property and not attached to real state, permanently. And the soft assets don’t qualify for lease. Soft assets are warranties and training programs.

·         Purchase Price: Leasing lets the business to obtain machinery and equipment that has high dollar value. This ranges from smaller items like kiosks and telephones to costly single items like Heart monitors.

Purchasing vs Leasing

There are times when purchasing is more beneficial than leasing. So, consider the following points:

• ·         The amount to be financed
• ·         Purchase price
• ·         Equipment usage
• ·         Ownership and maintenance costs
• ·         Tax and inflation rates
• ·         Annual depreciation
• ·         Monthly lease costs

If your equipment needs the regular updating then leasing is better option like Electronic devices and computers. Lease provides you the freedom to obtain latest technology and you have fixed monthly payments that you can budget for.

Leasing provides various range of options for your business in terms of items accessible to them.  With leasing, it becomes possible to include the expensive technology that was not coming in your budget before.

But, in leasing you need to pay the interests and it can be more expensive in case you were going to buy the item outright. At times, lenders enforce some specific terms. It may result in additional cost of lease if the period of lease extends the time period that was already decided. 

In such a case, you might end up with monthly payment with storage cost attached to unused equipment.

When choosing the machinery to lease in USA, make sure to comply with the rules and ensure that you only pick the best ones which can be used for a longer period of time.