Factors to Consider before Signing a Copier Lease Agreement
Signing a copier lease agreement (or using managed print services) can make a lot of sense for your business. Even with all the drive towards a paperless society, in many cases, you are still required to generate hardcopies. Running out of supplies at the wrong time can have a negative impact on your office’s productivity.
Many companies choose to outsource this service, opting to transfer the organizational risks to a third party or vendor. In doing so, they reduce the chance of a malfunctioning, unmaintained, or simply empty printing unit creating a point of failure.
5 Things to Keep in Mind before Signing a Copier Lease Agreement
Printing, scanning and copying services are still overhead. In rare cases, you can recuperate the costs associated with printing documents, drawings, or records from your customers. More commonly, your staff will know that wasteful printing and copying has a direct impact on your bottom line.
Additionally, keeping track of the costs associated with the support of the service is laborious. How much do you print per quarter? How many times a year do you experience peak consumption? Maintaining logs and reconciling expenses against actual productivity cycles is almost a full-time job.
Therefore, signing up a vendor who is dedicated to streamlining this process makes good business sense. There are still many factors to consider before signing a copier lease agreement with a service provider. We look at some of the crucial sticking points below.
1. To Purchase or Return? That Is the Question
You have to option to purchase the unit at the end of the leasing term. Although you now own it, you’ll still need to maintain the unit. Older MFP devices develop mechanical problems frequently if they are not regularly serviced, causing downtimes that creep up on you.
If you don’t purchase the unit, you’ll be responsible to return it to the vendor. The associated cost of doing so is for your account. You can save a lot of stress at the end of the lease if you keep this in mind.
2. Auto-Renewals Are Part of the Copier Lease Agreement
Most service providers will include an automatic renewal in the lease agreement. If you don’t keep track when the term ends (which can run from anywhere between 3 to 5 years), there’s a risk of being caught out.
Missing the deadline to cancel the agreement could mean you end up renewing the lease for up to a year. As the terms are so long, forgetting to cancel happens more often than not.
3. Service and Maintenance Agreements Can Chain You In
If the service provider includes the servicing and maintenance requirements in the lease, they can keep you from changing to another company. As the lease agreement is a legally binding contract, you become stuck with poor quality service or support. Creating a situation that could have you spending a lot of time researching how to get out of a copier agreement.
Splitting the copier lease and maintenance agreements into separate contracts, you’re free to change service providers while retaining the original equipment. This kind of de-bundling gives you room to move if you are not getting the service levels you expect.
4. Managed Print Solutions – Cost per Print Options
In some cases, you may opt for a Cost per Print solution. You should calculate the price point that best serves your needs in this case. Averages can only show you a part of the total picture. If you aren’t printing a lot every day right now, are you sure that won’t change in the future?
Cost per Print can be the best option for a business, but one unforeseen bulk print run will drastically increase your printing overhead for that month. Take care when deciding if this is the right option for you.
5. Questions Are Good – Assumptions Are Bad
Always ask your prospective vendors as many questions as possible. Never assume that things are included or bundled with the deal. Fine print and hidden costs can accrue quickly, leaving you stuck in a business relationship that serves only one side.
Taking note of what exactly you’ll be paying for, what the end of the term will bring, and what level of support you’ll be getting requires a thorough amount of investigation.
Being Certain about Copier Lease Agreements
If you are still not sure what the best option is for you, get in touch with Office Technologies to assist you with making the right decision. With years of experience delivering the latest office support technologies to our customers, we’ll guide you to the best business option for your organization.
Utilizing the latest manufacturing technologies, we’ll provide you with a complete and comprehensive solution. You’ll need a partner that integrates with your current business processes and drive down the costs while keeping your staff productive.
Send us a message online or call us at (610) 326-4700.
