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LEASE or LOAN? BUSINESS MANAGEMENT As the economy continues to improve, more businesses are making capital investments to fuel their growth. When business owners and managers consider acquiring equipment, they often think of their payment option as a "lease versus buy" decision. In any economic environment, when preserving owner or shareholder capital is an important goal, financing equipment through a lease or loan will enable your business to preserve its cash. CHOOSING YOUR FINANCING OPTION Whether you finance equipment through a lease or loan, each has its advantages. In evaluating your options, it is important to look at each alternative to determine which will best balance usage, cash flow and your financial objectives. To help determine the most appropriate option, consider the following 10 questions: 1. How long will the equipment be required? Generally speaking, if the length of time the equipment is expected to be used is short term (which usually means 36 months or less), leasing is likely the preferable option. Equipment expected to be used for longer than three years could be a candidate for either a lease or a loan. 2. What is the monthly budget for the equipment? As with any ongoing business expense, consider the monthly cost for a piece of equipment and how it fits into your budget. In general, leasing will provide lower monthly payments. 3. Will the equipment become obsolete while it is still needs to be used? Protection against obsolescence is one of the many benefits of equipment leasing, since the risk of obsolescence is assumed by the lessor. Certain lease financing programs allow for technology upgrades and/or replacements within the term of the lease contract. 4. Is the equipment going to be used for a specific contract, or can it be used for other projects? Often, the business objective of equipment is for it to be revenue producing. If a piece of equipment has limited use within a specific contract and won't be used for other projects, it's not ideal for it to be idle while you continue to make payments on it. It makes sense to stop the equipment expense when the income from it ceases, which you can do with a lease. 5. How much cash would be required up front for a lease and for a loan? Leasing can often provide 100-percent financing of the cost of the equipment, as well as the costs for transportation, delivery, installation setup, testing and training, and other deferred costs (e.g. sales tax). Loans usually require a down payment and don't include the other cost benefits. Ask how much of a down payment is needed, and assess the availability and desirability of allocating company capital for that down payment. 6. Can the company use the depreciation, or would the company get a greater benefit from expensing the lease payments? The tax treatment of the financing arrangement is an important consideration in choosing between a lease and a loan. A loan provides you with the depreciation tax benefit; with a lease, the lessor owns the equipment and realizes the tax benefit, which is usually reflected in a lower monthly rent payment for your business, as well as the ability to expense the payment. In many instances, if your business cannot use the tax benefit, it makes more sense to lease than to purchase through a loan because you can trade the depreciation to the lessor in exchange for better cash flow. 7. How will a working capital facility be impacted? Many businesses have an aggregate line of credit through a bank that they can use for inventory purchases, improvements and other capital expenditures. Depending on the lending covenants, it is often possible, as well as preferable, to preserve your bank working capital by leasing equipment through an equipment finance provider. What you need to know to decide ■ BY WILLIAM G. SUTTON IMAGE ABOVE ©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/FRANNY-ANNE 36 October 2015 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com