Finance office furniture: Purchase, leasing and rental in comparison
Do you want to expand your company, do you need to modernise your office or have you just founded a company? No matter which of these plans you are currently facing, the purchase of office equipment is usually an investment with great consequences. Buying is no longer the only way to procure office furniture and technology. A growing number of leasing and rental offers provide an attractive alternative to buying. So let's take a look at what (financial) advantages the different financing options offer.
Around office equipment financing
The classic approach - buying office equipment
Buying all the office equipment is still the most commonly chosen option, as for many it is the only known form of procuring their office equipment.
Advantages when buying office furniture
If you decide to buy office equipment, you become the owner of the purchased products, in contrast to leasing or rental models. Consequently, you can decide what to do with the products at any time. If the office furniture is no longer needed, it can be resold afterwards, provided it is in good condition.
Even though the prices for leasing and rental models are continuously falling, a comparison of the acquisition costs with the monthly leasing and rental rates shows that buying office furniture tends to be cheaper. However, this usually only applies from a useful life of 5 or more years.
Disadvantages when buying office furniture
In contrast, the high one-off investment costs place a much greater burden on liquidity in the company. Especially for companies with low liquidity, this can become a competitive disadvantage in an increasingly competitive business environment.
As the owner of the products, you are fully responsible for them. Repairs, maintenance or the recycling of equipment that is no longer needed must be carried out or organised by the owner. This leads to additional financial and time expenditure.
Advantages
- Buyer becomes owner of the purchased products
- Buying for a long time is cheaper
Disadvantages
- High initial investment
- Responsibility for repairs, maintenance or recycling
Office furniture leasing
Leasing is already established as an alternative to buying a car. In the meantime, however, leasing offers can be found more and more frequently in other areas as well. For example, in addition to office equipment such as office furniture and technology, production machines can also be leased from individual providers.
Advantages of leasing office furniture
- One of the main reasons for leasing is to avoid high capital expenditure. This allows liquidity to be preserved in the company. The free financial resources can instead be invested in strategically important projects and the growth of the company.
- When the current leasing contract ends and a new one is concluded, one usually receives new products and thus stays up to date. This is particularly important in the area of technology, such as laptops or smartphones.
Disadvantages with leasing
- Leasing contracts usually run for several years. There is a contractual commitment for the entire duration, and termination is usually not possible. Exiting the leasing contract, for example if you no longer need individual items of office furniture, is usually complicated and associated with high additional costs.
- The lessor remains the owner of the leased products. Nevertheless, the lessee, i.e. your company, is usually responsible for the care and maintenance of the leased office furniture. Additional costs must therefore be taken into account. Furthermore, all leased items must be returned to the lessor at the end of the term. Resale and thus liquidation is not possible.
Advantages
- Avoidance of high initial investments
- Latest technology at the end of the term and conclusion of a new contract
Disadvantages
- Long terms without flexible exit options
- Responsibility for repairs, maintenance or recycling
- No resale possible as lessor remains owner
Office furniture rental - The flexible approach
Why a shift from CapEx to OpEx is worthwhile for your company!
Advantages of renting office furniture
- The low financing risk is also one of the main arguments for renting. Instead of high acquisition costs, only low monthly rental instalments have to be paid.
- Renting office furniture offers a high degree of flexibility. Products that are additionally required can be rented quickly, and furnishings that are no longer needed can be returned at short notice. This avoids a high capital commitment.
- The lessor remains the owner of the products. As the landlord, Lendis takes care of the perfect condition of the rented office furniture during the entire rental period. Tenants do not have to worry about anything else.
Disadvantages of rent
- Especially for short-term projects with a time horizon of 12 to 60 months, renting is only marginally more expensive than buying. However, if the office furniture is to be used for a longer period of time, the purchase costs are still more favourable.
- Depending on the contract, rental furniture is also returned to the landlord at the end of the rental period, which precludes resale.
Advantages
- Low instead of high initial investment per month
- Landlord takes care of repairs, maintenance and recycling
- High flexibility to rent additional products or exchange equipment for the latest technology
Disadvantages
- Higher costs for very long rental periods
- No resale possible as landlord remains the owner
Purchase vs. leasing vs. renting - depreciation and tax treatment in comparison
Tax treatment on purchase - depreciation a question of value
Office furniture belongs to the so-called low-value assets*. How purchased office furniture is (can be) depreciated depends in principle on the purchase value of the item:
- One-off depreciation in the same year: Goods with an acquisition value of less than € 800 (excluding VAT) can be written off in full in the same year.
- Over 5 years: All other independently usable assets that are less than € 1000 can be depreciated as a collective item
- According to the AfA table: For assets with an acquisition cost of more than € 1000, depreciation is according to the AfA table. For office furniture, the depreciation period is 13 years.
- Attention: If you depreciate goods as a collective item, you cannot immediately depreciate goods below € 800 in the same year. This is only allowed in the next calendar year
Goods that belong to the fixed assets of the enterprise and are independently usable, depreciable and movable. For example, an office chair can be a GWG, but not a printer.
Tax treatment of rent and leasing - Fully deductible as a business expense
Provided that one does not become the economic owner of the products, it applies to both renting and leasing that the monthly instalments are counted as business expenses. The following applies to operating expenses: These can be claimed in full in the period incurred to reduce profits.
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