Every year, thousands of business owners and financial managers are faced with the task of obtaining attractive financing for equipment their firms want to acquire. Snaring the best leasing arrangement requires only a bit of planning and a smidgeon of finesse. You can save time, land a better lease deal and make the leasing experience less of a conundrum by considering several important factors.

Ten Equipment Leasing Tips - Save a Bundle on Your Next Lease

According to the Equipment Leasing Association (?ELA?), U.S. businesses lease every thing from laptop computers to commercial airplanes, racking up more than $ 200 billion in equipment leased each year. Although four out of five U.S. companies use leasing to acquire equipment, many don?t know the ins and outs of leasing well enough to negotiate a good deal. By focusing on a few key aspects of the lease transaction, you can save a bundle on your next lease and eliminate potential aggravation.

Venture Leasing - A Smarter Way To Build Enterprise Value

In 2003, venture capitalists and investors dispensed over $18 billion to promising young U.S. companies, according to VentureOne and Ernst & Young Quarterly Venture Capital Report. Less documented and reported is venture leasing?s activity and volume. This form of equipment financing contributes greatly to the growth of U.S. start-ups. Yearly, specialty leasing companies pour hundreds of millions of dollars into start-ups, permitting savvy entrepreneurs to achieve the biggest 'bang for their buck' in financing growth. What is venture leasing and how do sophisticated entrepreneurs maximize enterprise value with this type of financing? Why is venture leasing a cheaper and smarter way to finance needed equipment when compared to venture capital? For answers, one must look closely at this relatively new and expanding form of equipment financing specifically designed for rapidly growing venture capital-backed start-ups.

Warning - This Lease Might Explode Any Minute

Mike Caringi, owner of a small New Jersey business that sells pumps, found himself facing a gut-wrenching dilemma last summer. Should he continue paying $ 1,500 each month for essential telecommunications services he no longer receives and for leased equipment he claims was never installed? Or, should he stop making payments and face a potential lawsuit from the firm that financed the equipment under a ?hell or high water? lease? Mr. Caringi?s company is one of several thousand small companies around the country reeling from the bankruptcy of Norvergence, a reseller of telecommunications and Internet services. At the core of the quagmire facing Mr. Caringi and others is that Norvergence succeeded in getting customers to sign separate lease and service contracts that provided its services.

Dodging Leasings Grim Reaper: Navigating a Payment Default

In her third Harry Potter novel, ?The Prisoner of Azkaban?, J.K. Rowling introduces a silent mysterious clan of spiny, cloaked creatures capable of siphoning off happiness and all good thoughts from anyone in their presence. Extended exposure to these scabby grim reapers, called Dementors, resulted in madness or death for even the most joyful individuals. In the world of equipment leasing, the closest things to Dementors are lessors who lose confidence in defaulting lessees. If your firm faces imminent payment default, there are several actions you can take to improve your chances of navigating this unfortunate situation.

Venture Leasing: Startup Financing On the Rise

According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, investment by institutional venture capitalists in startups grew from less than $3.0 billion at the beginning of the 1990?s to over $106 billion in 2000. Although venture capital volume has retreated significantly since the economic ?bubble? years of the late 1990?s, the present volume of around $ 19 billion per year still represents a substantial rate of growth. Venture capitalists will fund more than 2,500 high growth startups in the U.S. this year.

How Venture Leasing Added Millions To A Startups Equity Value

Craig Berman beamed noticeably after completing his board presentation. Berman, CEO of a startup that develops nanotechnology applications for the defense industry, had just closed a $ 20 million equity round. Berman finalized the round at an equity valuation that made the whole board blush. Only six months earlier, Berman's team faced a daunting technical delay that set the company back three months. With only four months of cash remaining from a previous equity round, the delay would cause Berman's company to burn cash faster and to fall short of an important benchmark.

Equipment Leasing Blunders That Can Cost Your Firm a Mint

Rod McHenry, the financial vice president of a document imaging company, thought he had great cause for celebrating. He had signed an unbelievable $370,000 lease proposal covering computer servers, workstations, software and other networking equipment. McHenry believed he had snared an incredible lease rate, capping off weeks of negotiating an acceptable equipment price with the equipment vendor. The proposal guaranteed a lease closing and offered a return of the 2% ?commitment fee? paid by McHenry?s company if the leasing company failed to give credit approval within two weeks. Little did McHenry know that signing this proposal would lead his company into the ?Twilight Zone? of equipment leasing. Ultimately, his firm would fork out more than $15,000 in legal fees seeking lessor performance, only to learn that the lessor was already insolvent and mired in several similar lawsuits.

How To Choose An Equipment Leasing Company

Leasing has become a preferred form of equipment financing, accounting for more than 30% of business equipment acquisitions. Each year, thousands of U.S. companies face the challenge of finding attractive financing to acquire business equipment. Many of these companies approach the lease sourcing process seeking the lowest lease rate. While securing a low rate is a worthwhile goal in choosing a leasing arrangement, it alone is usually not a reliable standard for obtaining the best lease transaction or leasing experience.

Ten Ways Start-ups Use Venture Leases And Loans To Generate Millions

The rise of venture leasing and lending has created an opportunity for sophisticated entrepreneurs to gain a competitive advantage. Savvy entrepreneurs are using venture leases and loans to generate millions of dollars for shareholders by leveraging existing venture capital. They have discovered ways to use this flexible financing as a tool to build enterprise value between equity rounds and to leapfrog less sophisticated competitors.

With a Lease, The Devil Is In The Details

In the last article we looked at a few of the things you should consider before leasing that first office or storefront for your business. To recap, you should not only consider the old standard "location, location, location," but also consider things like sufficient parking, the number of employees who will be working onsite, and future growth projections. I stressed that it was important not to get caught up in the moment. You should take your time to find the space best suited for your business for the long haul, not just for today.

So You Want to be a Landlord?

The residual income from owning rental properties may bring more money into your life than the fast flip in the long term. If nothing else, the stress is reduced because a well-chosen investment will pay for itself until you the market is ready for you to sell. In order to make this idea work, you must plan carefully. Choose your property, choose your management approach, and choose your tenants carefully to make the most of your investment.

Getting Your Venture Lease Approved

Each year venture capitalists fund more than 2,500 start-up companies in the U.S. Many of these companies try to conserve their equity capital by approaching venture-leasing firms to secure equipment financing. By obtaining lease financing, these savvy firms are able to use their equity capital for high-impact activities like recruiting key personnel, product development, and expanding their marketing efforts.

Leases And Tenants - The Spooky Tenant

You, Mr. Landlord are pleased to find qualified tenants for your rental house. The man and woman sign a one-year lease on Tuesday.

Lease Contracts - The Meaning of Joint and Several

When you see the phrase "joint and several" in a legal document or contract it means that that the parties on one side of the agreement are responsible individually and collectively for the terms of the agreement.

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