Financing · Leasing
A lease is a contract about the ending.
The two common equipment leases finish differently: a $1 buyout hands you the title for one dollar; an FMV lease ends in a choice — return, renew, or buy at market value. Pick the ending before you sign.
Overview
How equipment leasing works
In a lease, the lessor owns the equipment during the term and you pay to use it. What separates one lease from another is the last day. A $1 buyout lease amortizes like a loan and ends in ownership — the buyout is one dollar. An FMV (fair market value) lease carries lower payments and ends in a decision: send the equipment back, keep leasing, or buy it at its then-current market value.
That difference drives the economics. The $1 buyout suits machines you already know you will keep — it is financing in lease paperwork. The FMV lease suits equipment that ages out before it wears out: imaging systems, IT hardware, machines on a refresh cycle. Lower payments now, in exchange for equity you are not building.
Lease pricing usually folds into a payment rather than a stated rate, and it varies with credit profile, equipment age, and term. So compare leases by total cost: every payment, plus the buyout, plus any return costs. The worked example below prices a payment stream; the leasing-vs-financing guide covers the decision in depth.
Process
Step by step
Choose the ending
Decide whether the equipment should be yours at term end. Keep it: $1 buyout. Refresh it: FMV. Everything else follows from this call.
Submit the request
Share the equipment quote, the amount, and the term you want. The structure you chose shapes the proposal.
Read the lease terms
Payment, end-of-term options, notice windows, and return conditions all live in the document. The notice window matters most — miss it on some FMV leases and the lease renews automatically.
Sign and take delivery
The lessor pays the vendor and holds title through the term. You run the equipment and make the payments.
Execute the ending
At term end: pay the dollar and take title, or return, renew, or buy at market value — whichever option you set on day one.
Good fit
When it makes sense
- The equipment ages out before it wears out — imaging systems, IT hardware, anything on a refresh cycle.
- Lower monthly payments matter more right now than building equity in the machine.
- You want a clean exit at term end instead of a resale project.
- You already know you will keep the machine — a $1 buyout delivers loan-like ownership in lease paperwork.
- You would rather keep cash and bank lines free for operations.
Eyes open
Worth weighing
- Run the full math on an FMV lease: payments plus the eventual purchase can total more than a loan on the same machine.
- Return conditions are real obligations — wear standards, freight back to the lessor, notice windows. Missed notice on some leases triggers automatic renewal.
- An FMV lease builds no equity. Walk away at term end and the payments bought use, not ownership.
- Early exit is expensive. Leases price the whole term, and most are non-cancellable.
- Accounting and tax treatment differ by lease type. Confirm the treatment with your accountant before choosing a structure.
Questions
Asked and answered
Run the numbers. Then decide.
The calculators and the eligibility check show results on the page — no email required, no contact details collected. When the structure makes sense, the application asks for the equipment, the amount, and your timeline. Terms arrive in writing before anything is owed.