When starting a new business, besides finding space for your business, your next largest expense is likely to be the equipment you need to make your business run. Sometimes buying this equipment outright makes sense, but equipment leasing can by a good alternative when you need to save money on upfront costs, where the cost of maintenance would be high or where obsolescence comes quickly. In those cases, leasing, where your maintenance is covered and you can lease new equipment every few years, like for computer systems, can be a benefit to your bottom line. Finding the best equipment leasing company will take a little homework on your part. Here are a couple of issues to discuss with your leasing company before you sign on the dotted line.

Maintenance Speed

Yes, leasing means that maintenance and repairs are covered, but it’s important to find out what sort of guarantees the lessor will make about the speed at which those repairs will be done. If an important piece of equipment breaks down, will it affect your business for a few hours, or for weeks? Get guarantees written into the contract where possible.

Equipment Familiarity

Generally, you’ll lease from companies that specialize in the equipment you need. When you lease copiers from a copier company and that’s all they do, you know that they know their business. If you need a more specialized piece of equipment though, make sure the leasing company is familiar with the machinery. Not only will this increase the likelihood that they have gotten you the best equipment possible but that they’ll be able to replace it when the time comes and repair it quickly in the meantime.

Payment Options

It’s always worth it to see if you can negotiate prices, and once you’ve settled on a price see what type of repayment options you can negotiate. Of course, fixed monthly payments are the default, but there are other options including differently timed payments if you have a seasonal business or payment plans that increase over time for businesses that are just starting out and need some breathing room until they are established. Also, check if you have the option to buy out the lease when it expires. If you’re entering a lease because you can’t afford the full cost right now, a buyout will allow you to eventually own the equipment you need.

There are many companies out there and you don’t have to work with only one leasing company. Shop around for all your leasing needs to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible.