When you’re looking to introduce a coffee machine at work – whether it’s a self-service unit to keep staff fully fuelled or a top-of-the-range espresso machine in a catering operation to entice more customers – should you buy your machine or lease it?
It’s not as much of a dilemma as you first think. Let’s look at the advantages of renting a coffee machine versus buying a new or second-hand machine.
The advantages of buying a new coffee machine
- You can choose the latest model on the market, from a huge range of options.
- Your product will be covered by a manufacturer’s warranty.
- You get the feeling of ownership, of permanence.
- There’s no monthly fee, apart from your ingredients and cleaning materials.
And the disadvantages:
- It’s the most expensive initial outlay – usually thousands of pounds if you want a robust coffee maker with staying power. You’re either reducing available capital for other parts of the business, eating into valuable overdraft, or borrowing and paying over the odds in interest.
- Once the warranty period is over, you’ll be left liable to repair fees or full replacement if the machine goes wrong.
- If, after using the coffee machine for a while, your needs change, you can’t easily return and replace it. Your business needs to accommodate the machine you choose, rather than the machine being flexible to suit your business.
What about buying a second-hand machine?
Your capital outlay is lower, but warranties will typically be less generous, and parts and labour for repairs may prove more expensive the older the machine is.
The advantages of leasing a coffee machine over buying
- There’s minimal capital outlay – only one month’s rental. That means your capital reserves remain in the account, ready to be used for more productive spending or for access in a cash-flow emergency.
- One easy, predictable monthly leasing fee. It’s easy to predict and budget for, and if you’re selling coffee, you’ll quickly see a return on investment, unlike when you spend thousands up front.
- If the machine isn’t quite right for your business – you expand, or want something more powerful or with more options – you can easily switch to another machine that better suits your needs.
- All machines are chosen specifically for their quality and reliability – so you can be confident you’re using a machine that’s designed to keep on producing superior drinks for years to come.
- You’ll have quick access to technical support and servicing from a company that knows and cares about your business.
We can’t speak for other coffee machine leasing companies, but at Nationwide Coffee we run frequent special offers for new customers renting commercial coffee machines, including ingredients to make thousands of drinks, crockery and takeaway cups, Fairtrade sugar, tea and biscuits, and more besides.
But those aren’t the only benefits to renting a coffee machine. Your finances benefit from greater tax efficiency. Not only is the VAT element only payable on rental payments instead of one large lump sum (and if you’re VAT-registered you can reclaim all VAT), but you’ll find that 100% tax relief is usually allowable on the whole rental.
And at the end of the lease, you can take full ownership – if you want – for a small one-off payment, or take on a whole new machine with a fresh lease.
To find out more about flexible leases for coffee machines for your business, you can discuss your options - with no obligation, of course – please do get in touch.