Basics of Leasing Medical Equipment

by: Tom Williams

heir equipment. Medical professionals often prefer leasing equipment, as the equipment can be expensive to buy, has a long life, and won't return a profit for years.

Flexibility is one of the key benefits of leases. A lease can be crafted for almost any situation. For example, if your company is seasonal, some leasing companies will be able to structure the terms of the lease to suit your financial pattern. Because of the built-in adaptability of leasing, there are almost as many kinds of leases as there are customers. But the process itself is simple, and the following five steps will apply to most equipment leasing transactions.

1. Determine what equipment you would like to lease

Before you look for a leasing company or start a lease application, you should know what equipment you would like to lease. You can pretty much lease any type of equipment that is essential to your business. Leasing is for businesses, not individuals, so it is important that the purpose of the equipment is for business use only and not for personal use. Because medical equipment stays in the office and is used for medical work, this is usually not an issue.

2. Find a leasing company you want to work with

A good place to begin would be the manufacturers of the equipment you wish to lease. Many equipment sellers have existing relationships with leasing companies. You are not bound to these relationships. Most leasing companies can lease equipment from any equipment seller that can be proved to be a legitimate equipment seller. Be prepared with a list of the different types of equipment you want to lease, and how many units of each type. Don't hesitate to explain your intended use for the equipment, and how you expect leasing the equipment to help your practice be more profitable. This will give your equipment seller a clear picture of why you need a lease which is helpful.

3. Determine how long you want to lease the equipment, and if you want to purchase it at the end of the lease.

Many leasing companies will offer specialized terms to fit your business needs but the industry standard is a 2-year, 3-year or 4-year lease, and the longer the term, the smaller the monthly payment. The term will be dictated by not only your budget but the type of equipment. For example, equipment that will be out of date in three years would not have a 4-year option. The idea is to begin thinking about equipment like you think about employees. Pay them when they are working to make your company money. If you have questions about which option to select you can ask your leasing company for a recommendation.

Be sure to consider specifically how you want to end your lease. There are three standard end-of-lease purchase options, where you can buy the equipment for:

- The Fair Market Value of the equipment
- 10% of the price of the equipment
- One dollar

Keep in mind that the end-of-lease option you choose will have bearing on your monthly payment. For example, if you pay only a dollar for the equipment at the end of the lease you are going to have a higher monthly payment then if you pay %10 of the equipment cost at the end of the lease. This is because the leasing company will have to make all of its profit darning the course of the lease. Each leasing company will have its own stipulations, clauses and quirks so be sure to be clear on the details of your end of lease purchase options.

4. Apply

Lease applications in general require information about your business and the owners of the company. Be prepared to provide:

- How long you've been in business
- Business bank account # and contact information (Provide banks that hold the highest balances and for the longest time. Leasing companies will want to be assured you will be able to comfortably make your monthly payments.)
- Social Security number and home address of all owners with over 15% ownership in the practice
- Three trade references from companies that you purchase from regularly whose bills you pay on time
- Point of contact for your business

Most applications are done online or by fax, and should take 5 minutes or less to complete. You will be asked to authorize the leasing company to review the credit of the owners of the company. If the transaction is valued at more than $100,000, financial statements and tax returns from the owners may be required, and approvals may take longer than the typical 48 hours.

5. Finalize your application and begin leasing

There are three types of replies you will get from a leasing company after you have submitted a lease application:
- Approved: Your next step will be to select the term and end-of-lease option. In many cases, doctors are considered low risk credit-wise, so approvals are more common.
- Declined: Next steps will be to try another leasing company or consider a different financing method. Keep in mind that each application will probably involve a credit check, which shows up on the owners' credit reports.
- More Information Required: If a leasing company asks for more information, they are more than likely interested in you as a customer, but just need more information to be comfortable loaning you money.

Once you have been approved, and have selected the term and end-of-lease option for your lease, you will receive the lease documents for your review and signature. Making sure you understand all the established terms of your contract, keep in mind that all contracts are negotiable. Don't hesitate to ask your sales rep if you have any areas that seem unclear or where you have concerns. It sounds obvious but don't sign a contract you are uncomfortable with.

Be prepared to submit first and last month's payment along with the signed documents. Once your payment has been received and processed, the leasing company will purchase your equipment and commence the lease. Once your equipment is installed, the leasing company will ensure that everything is working to your satisfaction usually by calling you to do what is call a “verbal” where they check that all the equipment they purchased on your behalf has arrived and works as expected. After that you have to pay your lease on a monthly basis and mark your calendar for the end of term so you make sure your leasing company doesn't just keep charging you. That is it. It is quite simple actually and most businesses that lease once recognize how good it is for scaling their business and lease more equipment.