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Lease or Buy – Which Way for Office Equipment Procurement? (Page 1 of 2)
On the subject of how best to acquire office equipment and supplies, for the small to medium sized business enterprise the first step must always be to contact a financial adviser to discuss how best to make the acquisition. In this summary, however, I offer some pointers to outline possible routes to a cost-effctive acquisition. Outright purchase or leasing are broadly speaking, the usual choices, with hire-purchase schemes making a third route to explore.
Purchasing an asset is nearly always the most convenient method of acquisition. However, in some cases, especially for some high-end multifunctional office equipment purchases, purchasing may be seen as impossible because of lack of funds in the current finacial year, or in any case a high cost which discourages those all-important upgrades toward a more efficient, productive business.
However, many companies have found that Leasing becomes a favourable option, if necessary by funding from an agreed budget deficit against under spending in future years. Several options now exist where leasing can provide the best overall value for money.
To expand on this, some different ways of obtaining higher-cost equipment are outlined below. This is a brief summary only, designed to assist with conversations with suppliers or with internal finance departments.
Office Equipment Leasing vs. Hiring or Rental
The Equipment Leasing Association defines a lease as “A contract between lessor and lessee for hire of a specific asset selected from a manufacturer or vendor of such assets by lessee”. In this scenario, ownership stays with the lessor. The lessee has possession and use of the goods over a period on payment of the specified rentals.
This system is different from hiring (including rental and contract hire). Hiring requires the user to select from specialised stock already held by the hiring organisation which usually charges a fixed tariff. Leasing enables the user to select the goods from a manufacturer or other supplier of the required goods.
A lease is negotiated usually on terms specific to the deal, with the lessor. The lessor acquires the goods chosen by the lessee. Uniquely, this can allow the lessee to use the goods by making payments out of revenue. Office equipment (including photocopiers and fax machines) and furniture, cars and commercial vehicles, computers, machine tools, laboratory equipment and contractors’ plant are allcandidates for leasing.
Some Advantages of Leasing:
– All costs are fixed in advance, so budgeting is exact – Goods cannot be wihdrawn once the contract is signed (as long as agreed conditions are complied with. – Removes the need to tie up capital. – Allowances, depreciation and other calculations are not required – Leasing is simply about the rental cost. – Leasing releases capital which may not be available elsewhere. – Leasing is inflation-proof as payments are made out of future funds, in fixed money terms. Hence real costs fall against any inflation. – Possibility of immediate use of cost-saving equipment.
Graduate Student Loan Rates (Page 1 of 3)
Few students can afford to pay for college without some form of financing, and graduate and professional students borrow even more than undergraduates, with the additional debt for a graduate degree ranging from $27,000 to $114,000. Fortunately, graduate student loan rates are low. Federal law sets the maximum interest rates and fees that lenders may charge for federally-guaranteed loans. Nothing prevents a lender from charging lower fees, and many lenders offer a variety of discounts to attract borrowers.
Grants, scholarships, work-study, and other forms of gift aid just do not cover the full cost of a college education. Many students find that they must supplement their savings with government and private loans. The Federal education loan programs offer lower graduate student loan interest rates and more flexible repayment plans than most consumer loans, making them an attractive way to finance your education.
How can you figure out how much your graduate student loans will cost when the interest rate is often variable? You’ll be pretty safe if you figure on a rate of around 8%. That’s more than the current rate for federal student loans right now, but rates may go up, and most loans are capped at 8.25% to 9%. (If you’re a parent using a home-equity loan, your rates were fixed when you borrowed the money. If yours is a home equity line of credit, however, your rates are variable, so use an 8% interest rate to be conservative.)
At 8%, each $1,000 you borrow will cost you about $12 a month to repay, assuming a 10-year loan. If you’re a graduate student and you borrow the maximum allowed under current federal student loan programs $23,000 in subsidized and unsubsidized borrowing for undergraduates who are still their parents’ dependents your monthly payments will be around $276.
The rate for PLUS Loans disbursed on or after July 1st, 2006 is fixed at 8.5%, while the rate for Stafford Loans disbursed on or after July 1st, 2006 is fixed at 6.8%.
Shop for graduate student loan rates in order help manage your future debt burden. Your school’s financial aid administrator can help you consider all of the important factors when comparing loan programs. The guidelines for Federal Stafford and PLUS loans are established by the federal government; however, there are some lenders that make adjustments to the terms in order to provide savings to borrowers. For example, many lenders discount fees on Federal Stafford Loans (that normally would be deducted from the amount disbursed to the borrower). And some lenders offer borrower benefits or payment incentives on Stafford and PLUS loans. Be sure to compare lenders before borrowing your federal student loans.
When choosing a private graduate student loan, there are many things to consider. You should investigate the features of several private loans and prioritize which factors are the most important for you, including the overall cost of the loan, credit criteria and approval rate, monthly payment, grace period, deferment, and forbearance, reputation of the lender, customer service, and other services.