We recently decided to open a new shop - actually a coffee shop.  Now, I have had experience running a coffee shop, so I really wasn’t worried about figuring the operations of the business out.  What I was unsure about was the best way to equip our business - whether I should buy or lease the equipment.

I went to talk to a loan officer at the bank about equipment financing and whether or not it was a good idea.  He showed me the loans that they offered and the rates seemed reasonable.  He stressed that ownership was the better way, because leasing would just be like I was renting the equipment, and then the company would not have any assets.  After our meeting I thanked him for his time and told him I would think about it.

Later on that day, I went to a commercial leasing company to talk to one of their representatives about leasing.  Since I didn’t know a whole lot about it, I asked them to explain why equipment leasing would be good for my business.  I found out that there were tax advantages to leasing as well as all the maintenance was covered by the leasing company - that way I would know exactly what my expenses were each month.  They also stressed that a lease in no way would impair my ability to function as a business - it would not affect the amount of credit available to the company, so my line of credit would be there should I need it.

Thinking about my options when I returned to the office, it sure seemed that a lease would be a better way to equip the business.  The tax advantages intrigued me a lot - I think I will talk to my accountant and get their impartial perspective on my situation - and make my decision from there.