Thousands of Canadian business owners and financial managers turn to equipment leasing in Canada for asset financing.

We can safely say that this method of Canadian business finance can be a simple or as complex as you wanted to make it. Our goal is to ensure you consider don’t consider an equipment lease simply for the fact that you don’t understand both the mechanics and advantages.

Not all benefits might accrue to your firm when considering a lease, but you sure want to be able to maximize the tangible and intangible benefits.

It’s important to consider the entire lease process as a bit of a ‘ journey ‘, and when you are armed from start to finish through the whole process. And we can’t over emphasize that just by knowing which parties you should be dealing with will give you a more favorable transaction success.

Let’s go through a short 6 point check list of what you need to know to address lease financing success.

Point # 1- Be in a position to properly identify the type of asset and its cost when sleeting your lessor. Identifying the manufacturer, model number etc is critical to business finance companies that may or may not specialize in certain types of assets.

Point #2 – It’s always best to have a formal quote or pro forma invoice for the lessor. Remember the the ultimate invoice, because you’re considering leasing should show that the invoice to is the lease company, and the ship to is in fact your firm. Another key point is that lease firms don’t negotiate your final pricing and terms with the manufacturer, you do!

Point # 3- Payment to vendors is a critical issue, Always ensure those payment terms are understood by both your vendor and the lessor. That includes the currency component, and whether any sort of pre – payment prior to shipment is required. Good business finance companies and leasing firms are happy to correspond with your vendor and indicate you have been approved.

Point # 4 – Ensure you have a proper approval timeline in place. In some cases lease and busines finance companies have expiry dates on approvals. Complex assets might require additional time for ultimate delivery to your term.

Point # 5- Equipment leasing companies are asset financiers; it’s as simple as that. Don’t ruin your relationship with such a firm by not clearly identifying where the asset is, both at inception of lease and during the term!

Point # 6 – Here is where the rubber hits the road on benefits of equipment finance. Simply speaking, make sure you understand the type of lease you require. In Canada that boils down to a capital ‘ lease to own ‘, or an operating ‘ lease to use ‘.

You can spend a hundred hours understanding some of the complexity around tax, accounting, end of term, and financial consequences of each of those lease types. This then becomes a great time to consider the assistance of a trusted advisor such as your accountant, lawyer, a peer/mentor, etc.

Speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor to ensure you are on track, right from the ‘ get go ‘ for equipment leasing success.