Why you should lease your IT equipment

If you’re planning to start a dental office, or if your dental practice is starting to grow, you will need to decide whether to purchase new IT equipment or lease them from a managed IT services provider (MSP). If buying or adding new equipment and software will adversely affect your clinic’s cash flow, you should consider leasing instead. More and more dental healthcare providers are starting to lease their computers, and here are some reasons why you should, too.

1. It's cost-effective – The amount of money saved from leasing computer and IT equipment makes the practice appealing to small dental offices. Look at it this way: leasing is considered an operational expense (OpEx) rather than a capital expense (CapEx). This makes your monthly leasing fee more of a business expense than a debt or liability, making it easier to effectively manage your clinic’s cash flow and monthly expenses. Other cash benefits you'll experience when leasing include:

• The upfront costs are lower.
• There are very minimal maintenance costs.
• Financing for leasing is easier to avail compared to purchasing your equipment.
• Leasing comes with tax benefits — talk to your accountant.
• Monthly budgets are easier to predict and manage.

2. Your equipment will always be up to date – Leases have short-term contracts that usually last a couple of years. This means that your clinic will never be stuck using old and outdated computer hardware, which is a problem you'll eventually have to face if you purchase your equipment instead of leasing them.

   The good thing about leasing is that when your contract with your MSP ends, you can easily upgrade to the latest hardware available. You can take full advantage of this by aligning your equipment life cycle with your leasing period to ensure you're getting the most out of your investment.

   Aside from updating your hardware, leasing your IT equipment gives you access to the latest updates for the equipment that you're currently using. Your MSP will help you choose the ideal IT hardware that's most suited to the specific needs of your dental practice. At the end of your lease, you can either purchase the equipment you leased, return it, or continue to use it depending on the agreement you have with your MSP.

3. You can focus on your business – Leasing your equipment will allow you to focus on patient care rather than think about your IT hardware all the time. Since the hardware you leased remains the property of your MSP, they are responsible for providing full support for the duration of the contract.

   This is perfect for dental clinics with no dedicated IT team because everything will be covered by your provider. From maintenance, repairs, and updates, your provider will make sure any issue with your equipment is quickly resolved. With your MSP monitoring and maintaining your IT network system, your own staff is free to focus on the needs of your patients.

4. It helps with productivity – If you've worked on old and outdated computers before, you know how frustrating it can be. Slow computers can have a negative impact on your employees' productivity, output, and morale. By leasing your computers and keeping them up to date with faster and more powerful technology, your employees will be happier and more productive.

When it all comes down to whether you should buy or lease, there are no right or wrong answers — it all depends on the specific and current needs of your dental practice. If you're looking to lease up-to-date equipment for your clinic, just give us a call. We can provide you with the latest computers without the added cost of purchasing them.