Wells Fargo Equipment Finance Quarterly Newsletter

Leasing instead of owning – why lease and what to look for in a leasing company?

Technology is constantly evolving to increase efficiencies and effectiveness that is the new reality of business technology. The manufacturer that delivered that new laptop to your sales team has just replaced it with a sleeker more powerful version. Last year’s smartphone may not compare to the new functions of the new version. Same goes for the servers in your data center and the desktop PCs in your accounting department.

We have seen that to optimize technology lifecycle, more finance and IT professionals have adopted a new mindset: Leasing rather than owning core business technology. It’s less about borrowing funds and more about the optimal way to manage your organizations technology spend.

Today’s technology leasing programs emphasize a comprehensive, enterprise view of technology that supports more frequent refreshes and greater external support for asset tracking and recycling.

By leasing your business technology, you can:

• Allocate more capital to your business instead of depreciating assets
• Mitigate the costly repairs and employee downtime often associated with older, less reliable equipment
• Shift the burden of obsolescence to your lender
• Reduce the risk, workload, and expense of asset disposal
• Minimize the security risks inherent with outdated systems

As your company evaluates options for financing, please consider these important services:

Tracking solutions

Keeping tabs on thousands of individual assets, deployed across users and departments, and locations, takes time and precision. Leading lenders may reduce your workload and improve your accuracy with convenient electronic tolls and centralized serial numbers, lease schedules, and asset disposition. Stakeholders in procurement, IT, and operations will appreciate easy access to information.

Flexible returns

No matter how diligent your organization, a small portion of your leased assets will inevitably end up missing or damaged. You’ll have peace of mind and a stronger relationship when you work with a provider that clearly dictates return policies upfront. Ask about flexibility with timing, such as the ability to return or buy equipment off-schedule.

Complete life cycle services

Leasing enables you to replace aging hardware more frequently. However, faster turnarounds can turn the sunset and disposal process into a full-time job. Safeguarding company data and minimizing environmental impacts add to the workload. Fortunately, leading providers can share best practices and offer support services to streamline this labor-intensive process. Your financing structure should also support your overall lifecycle strategy. Look for flexible terms that enable you- and not your lease- to determine when you migrate to newer models.

Cross Canada and U.S. Cross border services

Are you a Canadian company with a division in the U.S.? Are you a U.S. based company with operations in Canada? Look for a provider that can provide you the same services in both countries, from tracking solutions to coordinated start-to-finish support. Furthermore, in Canada if you have receivables in U.S. dollars you can also choose the denomination for your lease: Canadian or U.S. dollars.

Businesses in Canada today—from telecom to law firms, to manufacturing and the education sector—rely on technology more than ever before. Working with Wells Fargo Equipment Finance—rather than leasing through separate, manufacturer-owned finance companies—may deliver additional advantages. With us, a single master lease agreement may support a variety of equipment, from hardware to software to enterprise systems, regardless of manufacturer or platform. This turnkey option helps a business reduce the hassle of managing numerous relationships.

Furthermore, working with us may eliminate some of the financial penalties at lease end and put you in control of the vendors and technology that will help your business thrive.

Wells Fargo Equipment Finance has been financing technology for more than 25 years. At Wells Fargo we work to understand your specific needs and we can design a technology leasing program to match your goals.