Leasing a Copier vs Buying a Copier

Leasing a copier instead of buying one is a great option for small business owners. It helps you avoid a large up-front cost and spreads the cost of the machine out over time on your balance sheet. If you choose to lease a copier, however, be sure that you can make the payments over the lifetime of your contract, which could be anywhere from one to five years. Typical payments are between $100 and $250 per month, and the longer your lease, the lower your payments. Keep in mind that breaking a copier lease is as difficult as breaking any type of contract.One huge benefit of leasing a copier is that a service contract is part of a lease. If anything goes wrong with your leased copier, it’s easy to get someone to come service your machine at no extra cost to your business, as maintenance is included in the leasing arrangement.

If your business is new, think about how many copies you make a month. If the people in your office make fewer than 2000, it probably makes more sense to purchase a small desktop copy machine rather than a large, business-level type of machine that just isn’t needed. The desktop machine might be a little smaller than a larger machine, but if you aren’t making that many copies, it shouldn’t affect your workflow. Consider purchasing an all-in-one machine that can print, copy, and send and receive faxes.

Another option is to purchase a used business-level copier. If you purchase a newer used machine, it could still be under warranty, which will help you if the machine breaks and buy you time until you are ready to get a newer big machine for your office.