2 Must-Know Safeguards When You Purchase Equipment at Lease End
Posted on June 10, 2010
Filed Under Business, Computers and IT, Financing, Leasing, Negotiation, Printing and Graphic Arts | 2 Comments
If you purchase your used equipment from the leasing company at the end of the lease, did you know you could be held liable for environmental issues on leased assets? This is not something you want as a surprise!
1. If you sell used computers, add the computer serial number to the invoice. This helps the business avoid any possible environmental issues if that computer ends up in a landfill. The leasing company probably recorded the computer serial number on the UCC filing. Through online searches, the EPA can easily track the unit back to your company. Your company is liable for improper computer disposal, unless you prove someone purchased it.
2. When you purchase equipment from a leasing company, require an equipment lien release. At lease commencement, the leasing firm files UCCs with the state and county in which the equipment is located. This record is proof of their security interest in or ownership of the leased assets. Leasing companies do not have good end of lease follow up. Require them to do the right thing so you don’t run into problems.
At one of my recent workshops, an attendee confirmed his “best practice” when he sells used computers to employees. Richard (Dick) Nigon is the CFO of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP (RKMC) in Minneapolis. He told me that for each computer sold, his firm checks the used market price and offers the unit at a greatly reduced price. The firm also issues a bill of sale.
I enjoyed trading stories with Mr. Nigon and Ms. Chong Lee, Director of Facilities at Merchant and Gould PC, after the workshop. I presented Equipment Leasing: The Fine Print Financial Implications at the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) 2010 Annual Conference.
Do you have a “best practice” with your equipment leases? Share it with others when you respond to this blog.
Rock Star Saves Firm $14,436!
Posted on June 7, 2010
Filed Under Business, Computers and IT, Leasing, Negotiation, Printing and Graphic Arts | 2 Comments
How do I know that my workshops are making a difference in people’s lives? That what I teach helps companies save money and time?
Because I hear from participants who share their success stories. This week’s Rock Star student is Melanie, the director of administration at a New York City law firm. Melanie attended my workshop at the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) 2010 Annual Conference in Boston.
The session, titled Equipment Leasing: The Fine Print Financial Implications, provided attendees with the straight story on equipment leasing.
Melanie called me to share her great news. She used her new lease secrets and tips to save her law firm more than $14,436 on a single copier lease!
She reduced expenses by asking the copier vendor questions. Why was he offering a 63-month lease term? Why is the payment $1,280 if this copier is not equipped with the bells and whistles of the firm’s other digital copiers?
Melanie told me that while in my workshop she thought, “I can’t wait to get back to the office and read that copier lease. I bet there are problems in it.”
What did our Rock Star Negotiator uncover?
1. A six-month automatic renewal. She negotiated that down to a month-to-month renewal provision. Her work gives the firm more end-of-lease flexibility and avoids an expensive extended term.
2. Melanie figured the payment was too high for such a simple copier and negotiated the payment down to $879 a month. Savings: $401 per month!
3. She also negotiated full maintenance into the $879 payment. Maintenance was extra on some of the firm’s copiers.
4. The supplier had recommended three copiers ranging in speed from 60-90 pages per minute. Melanie knew that the electrical capacity for the proposed copier area would not support the 90-page machine. She also knew that a 60-page unit would easily handle the planned project volume. She avoided the cost of added electrical wiring too.
This is one smart law firm administrator! The firm’s ROI by sending Melanie to the ALA Conference was immediate. A 700% ROI in only two weeks! Wish I could get that kind of return in the stock market.
When you invest in good people and their professional growth, it pays big dividends.
What about you? Do you have stories of how you negotiated a better equipment lease? Comment on this blog and share your experiences.
The Crime of Omission
Posted on May 28, 2010
Filed Under Business, Computers and IT, Financing, Integrity, Leasing, Negotiation, Printing and Graphic Arts | Leave a Comment
One Leasing Broker’s Approach to Financing
After track practice I picked up my 12-year-old niece Katie Rose. As she is often the bearer of great wisdom, I love to listen to her.
To acquaint you with Katie, she is a very smart young lady who attends a Catholic school. Competition and discipline are serious matters at Holy Spirit Grade School.
When she was six, she knew exactly the correct punishment for her teenage cousins. What was the infraction? One of the cousins had planned a wild drinking party while Aunt Mary was on duty when their parents were out of town.
My darling niece’s punishment suggestion was exactly what I followed. Her cousins, she said, should have their cell phones taken away for a week. In addition, they could not have friends over for a “play date” (although at 17, they don’t call them play dates any longer!). And of course, Aunt Mary would remove all TV watching privileges for a week.
Katie’s mommy and daddy taught her about actions and consequences. For Katie, punishment involved removing things she valued.
Let’s take Katie’s knowledge about how people deal with bad behavior and apply it to our work. And I don’t mean you begin by removing telephone privileges at the office.
What I thought about was how we dish out consequences for suppliers who conduct themselves in an inappropriate manner.
A few days ago I was on the phone with a leasing broker who used a racial slur. That was the first indication that I was dealing with someone who was prejudiced. Strike #1.
Then he bragged about how good he was at what he did. Not unusual for a salesperson with a healthy ego. Strike #2 in my book.
The real problem, though, was that he represented the lease to a bank leasing company and withheld information about the financial details that would result in a credit decline. He needed the approval for the deal to go through; to make the “big bucks.”
Did he lie? No. His crime was omission. And if the leasing company ever finds out about his deception, he might get the punishment he deserves.
I ran this by an owner of a leasing company whom I have known for years, Kevin Clune of Clune Leasing, and he said if a leasing broker did this to him, he would “cut him off at the knees and never deal with him again.”
This is the kind of broker who gives the leasing industry a bad reputation. Clients lose. Leasing companies lose. Vendors lose. Strike #3. He’s out.
If you’re trying to decide whether to buy or lease equipment, read the article “Buy or Lease” written by Kevin Clune, owner of Clune Leasing, featured in the Commercial Journal. Read it online at www.Clune.net or download the PDF from IndependentLeaseReview.com.
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