Computer Lease

Some people prefer to lease a computer rather than purchase one outright. This is an option for either the individual or a business. There are several different things to consider when leasing a computer, not the least of which is cost. You’ll want to ask yourself how cost effective it is to lease rather than buy. You’ll want to read your contract thoroughly and possibly even negotiate a few points.

You’ll want to get all the terms in writing. Who is responsible for servicing the equipment? What if it is stolen? Will printers and other peripherals be provided? Once you decide which products and services are important to you, you will be in a better position to negotiate a good deal.

Computer leasing is really more feasible for at least a small business and certainly a large one. It’s the individual that chooses to lease a computer that may not be making the best business deal. Yet, sometimes the monthly payment is more attractive than the entire price up front. Consider whether you would be better off to wait for a sale, use a low interest credit card, or explore alternatives other than a computer lease for your personal computer.

The most important aspect of this kind of business deal just can’t be stressed enough and that is to read the fine print. Regardless of what is verbally agreed to, make sure you also have it in writing and be sure to read the contract in its entirety as it may contain things you hadn’t even thought of. Look at maintenance, wear and tear, and duration, as well as overall cost. Compare the lease cost to the purchase price ofr a computer split over the same duration.

You’ll probably have to shop around before you find the company and the deal that is right for you. If at all possible, you’ll want to keep as many services as you can with the same company. That will make things easier for you and quite possibly cheaper.

Realize that if you don’t fulfill your contract there will probably be an Early Termination Fee (ETF) and these can be expensive. If you expect to need to terminate early, leasing may not be for you. Check to see if that fee is reduced the closer it gets to the fulfillment of your contract. If it’s not, then it’s time to negotiate.

Negotiation will be a key factor in the kind of deal you make. Don’t make the mistake of not looking at the long haul. What sounds great today may not work for you in 6 months. In other words, make sure this is something you really want to do before you sign anything.

One of the reasons people who lease computers do so is because they want to have someone else take care of the systems. If a maintenance and service agreement is reached then someone from the computer company will most likely come around however often it has been agreed upon whether it is monthly or quarterly and perform routine maintenance on the computer systems and make sure everything is running smoothly. Price compare this with computer maintenance services in your area. You may find that it’s cheaper to purchase computers and arrange separate maintenance services.

In addition, you want to make sure that someone from the leasing company will come and service the computers whenever there is a problem. If you are paying for the service, then make sure your contract states that someone will come and perform service whenever it is needed. Typically, the contract will state that you have so many, for example, 3 service calls in a year included in the price of your lease and then if you need service in excess of those service calls, you would pay a per visit fee.

Maintenance could include anything from routine computer maintenance to checking printers for ink or toner needs. Additionally, and of utmost importance, routine maintenance should involve checking to see that the anti-virus software is kept up to date and that the system is being scanned regularly for viruses. In the same way, the system should have Spyware removal software and it should be run regularly and kept up to date.

Regular maintenance and service is what is going to keep your computers running smoothly. It’s important that you or someone you delegate keep up with this and know when it is time for a technician to come and also know what to do between the technician’s visits.

Leasing a computer is typically more expensive than buying one outright. There are situations when it makes sense such as a business that wants someone to service the computers and perform upgrades and such. Your bottom line will likely reflect the difference but if you can’t afford to buy the systems you need outright then you’re going to be paying interest on a business loan or a credit card.

With this in mind, leasing your computer systems may make more sense, especially if you negotiate a deal that includes service and maintenance. You may have to shop around quite a bit to find the best deal for you but once you find it you’ll be glad you did.

The cost of leasing one or many computer systems can vary widely especially if you are looking for a total package including maintenance, service, tech support and other amenities. Still, it may be much more convenient and cost effective to bundle these services with one company instead of paying several different companies to each perform a separate function.

Wherever there is a dollar sign or an implied dollar sign in the contract you sign make sure you understand exactly what that charge is for. What happens if you drop one computer and smash it beyond repair? Is that covered by some sort of warranty or are you responsible for paying for it? If so, how much will you have to pay?

Even when there’s not a dollar sign present, think of potential scenarios such as the one above and ask the question, “What if?” Once you get your answer, make sure it is stated in your contract.

It might be wise to lease your computer systems from a company that can provide all the services that you will need. That’s one reason it is so important to negotiate a good price while you’re making the deal. You’ll have a lot better chance of negotiating a fair price with a company that you are giving a lot of business to rather than using several companies to provide different services.

As far as upgrades are concerned, if you are doing business with a computer leasing company that is multi-faceted they should be able to take care of all of your hardware and software needs. See if you can negotiate upgrade options into your lease contract. You want to negotiate a fair price for the technician to come out and install any operating system upgrades that come out as well as major software packages such as word processing programs and spreadsheet applications.

Before you even get to the upgrade stage, be aware of what version of Windows you will have in your computers. In fact, be more than aware; specify which version of windows you want. You want to start out this lease with the best available equipment. If you begin this process with equipment or technology that is already 2 or 3 years old, you’ll need an upgrade before the installations are complete.

The same goes for any installed software. Specify that you want the latest versions of anything and everything for the computer and stipulate that when a newer version comes out, that you want an upgrade.

If you have a tech support agreement with your computer leasing company, you and your employees should be able to call them with either hardware or supported software issues. Supported software might include any software that came with the computers originally but perhaps not include any software that has not been installed by the computer leasing company.

If you have more than just a few employees you may want to designate someone to field tech support issues so there will be one person calling the tech support department. In this way, you can ensure that there really is an issue before a call is made. You may have so many included tech support calls allowed in your contract and be billed handsomely for any calls that exceed that number.

You’ll want to make sure you understand the hours and days that technical support is available and if there is an emergency number in case your systems go down completely.

You’ll want to understand and agree upon which tech support issues constitute a service call and which issues can be resolved over the phone. You’re going to be upset later if you expect the tech support person to run over every time you call and he wants to talk you through it on the phone. Get in writing the way in which this will work.

Either you or someone you designate should know or learn basic troubleshooting steps to avoid unnecessary tech support calls. Tech support issues with computers and the Internet are usually either fixed very quickly or they are a very serious problem. Simply resetting the computer and network card by shutting down the computer and unplugging the network card will fix 99% of the problems you will encounter. By knowing basic troubleshooting steps you can save a lot of time and potentially a lot of money too.

Installation is pretty common for the computer leasing company so that should be standard practice. However, if you want them to install your network that may be something you have to negotiate as well as any peripherals such as printers.

Then again, if you are leasing from a multi-faceted company that does anything you can do with a computer, you can have them install any software that you ordered at the time you made the deal. In fact, they may do this before they even bring the systems to you.

Don’t expect them to install or support any software that you pick up yourself. In fact, check your contract carefully to see if you are even allowed to add any software on your own. This can be a significant drawback to computer leasing. Since the systems are leased, the company may not want any software installed on the computer systems that they don’t install themselves.

It’s a good idea to ask that backup software be installed on your main computer system. If you don’t know how to use it have the technician or someone at the company show you. This is important even when you own your computer but is even more important when you are leasing.

Not backing up your files could cost you tremendously if something happens to your files or to the computer. Even though it rarely happens and surge protectors help to avoid problems, one day lightening could strike and you could lose all of your valuable information. Backing up your files is definitely not something you want to procrastinate. Files may be backed up via network, server access if they are live, or a variety of back up drive options.

You may or may not need to deal with any training issues regarding your computer leasing company, especially if they haven’t loaded any software for you. If they have loaded such programs as word processors, spreadsheets, databases or the like you may work out a training program with them. You may elect to have select employees from your company attend the training so that they in turn can train the bulk of your employees or you may want the computer leasing company to do all the training.

Perhaps you are the one that needs the training. This would be a lot more feasible than paying the computer company to train your entire company or even a select few. Training is something that wouldn’t hurt if you found it outside of your computer leasing company simply because it just doesn’t affect your hardware or software.

You want the computer leasing company to take care of the computers and any other equipment but if you add too many services to the contract you’re going to find leasing your computer systems an outrageous expense.

If it’s software that you need training on and it is not an integral part of your business, you would be better off taking an independent class, either in the classroom or online or even self-paced lessons from a book.

You do want to make sure you know how to operate all of the equipment the computer leasing company brings. Learn this before the person installing the equipment leaves. Printers, fax machines, copy machines; whatever you have ordered make sure you know how to operate them and that they are in good working order.

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to know your contract when you lease your computer systems. Take your time when it comes time to sign the contract.

If you’ve negotiated price and services and made your decision about which computer leasing company to patronize, you should have a solid contract and a good deal. However, as daunting as it may seem take the time to read it. Many contracts have standard clauses in them that people in the know are used to and either don’t want to highlight or assume we know. This is especially critical if you are doing a bulk computer lease for multiple systems.

If we sign a contract without reading it we really have no one to blame except ourselves when something unexpected happens.

For example, is there an Early Termination Fee (ETF) if you cancel the contract before it’s fulfilled? How much is it?

What about a Purchase Option? Once you fulfill the contract, in most cases, the leasing company will offer you the computer systems at a fraction of the original price. Computers are outdated quite easily, and you may not wish to exercise this option. On the other hand, you should also have the option to upgrade your systems, which in effect, may be starting all over but it will keep you in state of the art equipment.

Even though you may not know what you will want to do in 24 or 36 months, at least ask the questions and check the contract so you will know your options. The fine print in some contracts is so fine you need a magnifying glass to read it. If this is the case with your contract, get out your magnifying glass and read it thoroughly. It could be the most telling part of the entire contract.

If possible, try to complete your computer lease with the same company if they are able to offer the software, peripherals and the Internet connection you will need. You’ll want them to perform maintenance and service on all your peripherals as they do the computer systems so it’s a good idea to have them all with the same company. Remember, this is after you’ve shopped around and negotiated a deal that you can be proud of.

Another advantage of letting your computer leasing company handle all the add-ons you may require is that by so doing, you can be assured that all components will be compatible with one another and any software you purchase will meet the requirements for installation on your systems.

There are many advantages as well to your computer leasing company being your Internet service provider (ISP). Often, when one calls technical support after not being able to connect to the Internet, if the customer is calling the ISP, the computer is blamed. The same thing happens when one calls the computer company’s technical support. Without even knowing the problem, they blame the ISP.

If your ISP and your computer company are one and the same, you have a better chance of getting to the bottom of the problem when you call technical support. It’s not that the other companies don’t want to help you. What happens is, when everything appears to be all right with that company’s equipment, they logically figure the problem is somewhere else.

Thus, if the ISP is not having a problem and general troubleshooting doesn’t fix your problem, they very often assume the problem is with your computer. The same thing happens with the computer company. At least this way, the technical advisor knows how your ISP works and how your computer works, giving you an advantage for success.