written by Jackie Schmid, GreatAmerica Financial
It is not about withholding from spending money on your business needs, but rather stopping to think about how you will pay for the technology. Are you using cash or are you tapping into your lines of credit through your bank? Those means may serve better for things that have a direct impact on your top and bottom lines such as for advertising, staff, inventory or unforeseen challenges and opportunities. There are other ways to acquire technology, and those ways prove better for you and your business.
A Better Way
It is common knowledge that the evolution of technology is happening at an accelerated rate. Trying to keep up with the technology changes has become much more difficult and extremely expensive. Not that long ago a phone would sit on a desk for years, if not decades, having very little need to change or update feature. The phone system of today contains software applications, mobile functionality, unified communications, and other exciting and ever-changing features. For this reason, consider a financing vehicle that allows you to budget for initial purchase, enhancements, and upgrades while offering peace of mind that depreciating assets do not control your business capital. Create consistency in your budget using lease agreements (see: Example of $10,000 Project image below).
The provided example shows the difference between a capital purchase and a payment schedule for a $10,000 project. As demonstrated in red, with a cash or credit line sale there is no predictable refresh cycle and large upfront costs. In green is an estimation of what a 36-month plan would look like for the same equipment. In this example, the standard payment is around $330/month. Two payments would be required up front and applied to the first and last payment. We anticipate that should you need it, every three years, you can get a new comparable phone system for around the same payment of $330/month. This is something you can budget year after year, without the fear of your phone system failing from age.
Do Your Homework
No matter how you choose to pay for your upcoming equipment installation, having all available information on your options could make the difference between a good and a great decision. Here is a brief overview of all the benefits of leasing yourequipment over using new or existing lines of credit through a bank loan:
If you do choose not to lease with Tie National, LLC using GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation’s leasing, keep in mind that not all leasing companies are equal. At GreatAmerica, you can count on ethical practices and a good customer experience. That is not be something you will get everywhere. Tony Golobic, CEO at GreatAmerica, is so dedicated to being an ethical leasing company; that included in our Truth in Leasing statement is a personal letter from him in which Tony guarantees the following expectations:
- You will have an opportunity to benefit from insurance we maintain on your leased equipment by paying a monthly charge or you may provide your own insurance.
- Your monthly invoice will be processed at least 25 days in advance of the due date.
- You will be charged a one-time documentation fee.
- You will not be charged interim rent.
- You will not be charged a fee for processing property taxes.
- At the end of the lease term, our Customers For Life® program ensures you will never pay more than 15% of our initial cost of the leased equipment to exercise a Fair Market Value purchase option (except with respect to some short term healthcare equipment leases).
- You will be notified that your lease is coming to an end on the last invoice of the initial term.
- If you use the equipment following the end of the initial lease term without exercising your purchase option (if applicable), you will not be automatically committed to a 12-month contract renewal. Instead, your contract will renew month-to-month.
- Lastly, you will always receive prompt, courteous, professional, and fair treatment from us.
About GreatAmerica
Established in 1992, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation is a $1.5 billion national commercial equipment finance company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, IA. GreatAmerica provides financing and niche market-focused services in all fifty states and severalU.S. Territories. We offer innovative non-financial services to help our customers evolve their businesses. GreatAmerica is dedicated to helping manufacturers, vendors, dealers, and solution providers be more successful and keep their customers for a lifetime. Learn more at Great AmericaSave
Michael Durante spent his teenage years into his early 20s climbing the ladder in a branch of a successful banking firm, starting as a teller and ending as a Sr. Branch Manager within 6 years. In 2003, he left the banking world to join his father and create TIE National, a telecom company 60 years in the making. Together, they grew the company from a two-man operation solely working on telephones to a multi-million dollar international business with employees in over a dozen states, covering everything from phone systems to cloud products and computer systems. You can find Michael on LinkedIn.