Leasing school equipment: a checklist

In a world where technology is constantly changing, it can be costly for schools to keep up with the latest trends. However, it is possible for schools to enhance their teaching through lease rental or subscription services, which can help to meet their needs in an affordable and efficient way.

Leasing school equipment has a number of benefits: there is no need to pay for the full cost of the technology up front; you may have access to equipment that is of a higher standard; and fixed rental costs make it easier to forecast cashflow too.

If you are considering a leasing arrangement for your school in order to fund classroom technology or equipment, there are a number of factors that you need to keep in mind to avoid any difficulties occurring.

Leasing school equipment checklist

When considering a school equipment leasing provider, here are the main things that you should keep in mind:

• Is the proposed lease agreement an operating lease or a finance lease? State-funded schools are only able to take on operating leases unless approval for a finance lease is obtained from the Secretary of State in advance. This is because an operating lease is a rental agreement, whereas a finance lease is a credit agreement.
• Who is the finance company? When you are considering a new lease provider, you should check who the finance company will be, and do a little research on their reputation. Can they provide references from happy customers and/or are do they have overwhelmingly positive reviews on Google or Feefo? You need to be able to trust that the company will act with transparency and comply with all regulations.
• What is the minimum lease period? When you take out a lease agreement, there will be a minimum period of time where rental payments will need to be made, which will also be fixed. Before signing a lease agreement, you should take the time to consider how long similar equipment has been kept for in the past, and it may also help to speak to other schools who are leasing similar equipment too. This will help to ensure that the minimum lease period is appropriate for your school.
• What maintenance is provided? It is really important to double check what maintenance or supply services are excluded from or included within the lease. If it is included, you should check the service level that you can expect, especially in regards to any regular maintenance visits and what you should do in the event of a fault occurring.
• What happens at the end of the lease? Will you need to return the equipment to the leasing company, or will you be able to continue leasing the equipment at a rate that is market fair?

At Utility Rentals we are committed to providing the education sector with equipment that is not only the best, but the most up to date too. As a leading lease funding and asset finance providers (with solutions that are completely compliant with education sector legislation), we are the experts when it comes to helping schools, academies, colleges and universities to make their budgets go further. Our focus is on providing the most affordable rates, so that you can ensure that your classroom is maintained at all times.

To find out more about how we can work with your school to provide our market leading equipment rental solutions, please contact our team.

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