Thinking about leasing a copier for your Sonoma County business? For budgetary reasons, many businesses decide leasing is their best option. If you’re ready to lease one of our Konica Minolta bizhub copiers, it’s important to understand if the terms of your lease are all they should be. Here’s what you should understand before signing any copier lease agreement.
Navigating a Copier Lease
As tempting as it may be, don’t jump into the first (and usually cheaper) sounding offer you hear. In fact, before you even ask about leasing, take the time to assess just what copier your business needs. Otherwise you may end up paying for features you don’t need. For example, determine how many copies you average per month. If it’s 25,000, don’t lease a machine that’s capable of producing 10 times as many. Here are five good questions you should ask about your copier lease.
- Is this lease a fair market value or dollar buy-out one? Fair market value is the most common. At the end of the lease you buy the machine for its fair market value. Dollar buy-outs seem attractive at first—you buy the copier for $1 when the lease expires. But you pay more in interest and fees over the life of the lease.
- Who owns the hard drive once the lease expires? All Konica Minolta bizhub copiers have a hard drive. Find out whether you can have it removed and given to you, destroyed, or wiped clean.
- Do the lease terms include property tax? With a few exceptions, all business property is assessable and taxable in Sonoma County. Will you be billed by the county, or will the company you’re leasing from include it in your terms?
- Will the service agreement roll into the lease? If yes, you’ll only get one bill from the leasing company. Otherwise, you’ll need to pay a separate maintenance agreement fee.
- Is it possible to change the copier lease agreement terms? Two common changes you might want to make are reducing the minimum number of monthly copies in the service agreement and ending the lease before it expires. If the flexibility to make changes is important to you, talk to the leasing company about what you can do, and what it might cost you.
Copier Lease Best Practices
Understanding your copier lease terms is vital to getting a fair lease agreement. You’ll be better prepared to compare terms and rates and you’ll avoid unpleasant surprises when the lease ends.
Common Sense Business Solutions is committed to providing the highest level of support along with fair and affordable lease terms for all our Sonoma County neighbors. We strive to create a user experience that is second to none for our loyal customers. And their testimonials tell us we’re doing something right!
The bottom line when it comes to copier leases? Your supplier should be willing to carefully explain all the terms so you’re fully aware of what you’re signing. At CSBS, we have your back and we make sure you’re never stuck with lease terms that are not in your best interest. Transparency and integrity are our guiding principles. We’re always happy to advise you on our lease terms.
Learn More
Still have more questions about leasing a copier for your business? We have the answers! For nearly 30 years, CSBS has leased and sold state-of-the-art copiers from industry leader Konica Minolta to businesses throughout Sonoma County. Contact us today to learn more.
