Leasing camera equipment differs slightly from a rental agreement, sometimes making a lease the better business option. Most camera rentals offer the use of equipment over a fixed time for a price. At the end of the rental agreement, the user returns the gear. A lease is typically a long-term contract with the option of buying the equipment at the end. Calculating a lease on camera equipment requires full understanding of the contract terms.
Instructions
1. Review the lease terms and monthly payments. The basic cost of a lease will be the amount of the monthly payment multiplied by the number of months in the contract. For example, a camera lens might lease for $25 per month for a 24-month term, which would cost $600.
2. Add any fees or surcharges listed in the contract. Examples include an origination fee, which is basically a payment to the person or company that prepares the contract, and buy-out terms, which outline the cost of purchasing the leased equipment at the end of the contract.
3. Compare the fair market value of buying the camera equipment outright, versus the full cost of the lease, which will almost always be greater.
4. Estimate the benefit of leasing the equipment without the up-front capital cost of buying the equipment. For example, a camera used in a photography studio generates revenue for the photographer. That revenue generates cash flow that may be greater and more immediately useful to the photography business if acquired in a lease, than if the full cash price was paid up front to buy the equipment instead of using that money for other business expenses, such as leasing studio space.
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