Finance Roll

There are two challenges in a business that relate directly to technology and computers whether they are desktops, laptops, tablets or specialized hardware or software applications and that is making sure your technology is current enough to meet your business demands and that you have supplied all the necessary staff with the equipment they need to effectively do their jobs.

The first challenge is there simply because the landscape in the technology and computer world changes so swiftly that today's state of the art computer is tomorrows slow, buggy and insufficient computer. You don't want to hamper your workforce by forcing them to waste time dealing with crashes, incompatibilities and other headaches associated with older equipment but at the same time the constant cycle of purchasing and replacing can add up to a small fortune and the cash many not always be handy to pour into more technology purchases.

The second challenge is that in today's business environment more and more of your workers are going to need to be connected and have access to data, information and communications that can only be reached via a hardware and software package that you will have to supply. Not that long ago only a small core of specific employees needed to be on a computer but now there are very few positions that don't need access to their own workstation computer at some point.

Virtually everyone from the CEO down to the stock boy and college intern needs their own computer and while the cost of hardware has come down some the growth in demand for access has more than offset that drop in pricing.

There are several ways to deal with these dual challenges and the simplest is to simply keep forking over large chunks of cash every few years to upgrade everyone in addition to the regular purchasing of new equipment to outfit new hires and an expanding workforce.

There are also alternatives however and one to definitely consider is computer equipment leasing. There are many advantages to leasing but one of the primary ones is being able to retain the vast majority of your cash in your own account and only make small monthly payments for your technology purchases and hardware and software upgrades. The leasing company will arrange the financing for you directly or with the computer vendor and then you can quickly take delivery while only making usually a first month's payment to get started.

The rates are similar to bank rates but the process of getting a lease is usually much less complicated and you can often do it without a personal guarantee and without impacting your existing credit lines. You also may realize some tax benefits from the lease that you wouldn't get with a straight purchase and you can still arrange to either own the equipment at the end or roll into a new lease with new acquisitions as your term end nears.

Overall using computer equipment leasing is more likely to offer you more flexibility, lower payments and preserve your cash for other more pressing needs or better investment opportunities than simply becoming the owner of a bunch of rapidly depreciating technology. If you haven't already you should take a minute to check it out and see what it can do for you.