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Types of Leases

An operating lease covers a term shorter than the expected life of the equipment. This type of lease is particularly useful for technological equipment, which can often become outdated in a short period of time. For example, if you were to purchase a computer system, you would be confronted with the challenge of finding a suitable — and profitable — way to resell the system when you are ready to upgrade. But through leasing, that responsibility falls on us and the expertise of our staff. With an operating lease you gain the flexibility to lease the most up-to-date and efficient equipment.

While a majority of our leases fall into either operating or capital leases, there are leasing applications — such as TRAC leases or synthetic leases — that are also available if they benefit your company. For example, a TRAC lease is treated like a true lease for tax purposes, where the lender takes the depreciation and passes on the benefits to the lessee in the form of lower payments. On the other hand, a synthetic lease is structured in a way so that it is not recorded as a balance sheet liability but instead is considered to be an expense on the income and expense statement.

A capital lease covers a longer period of time that more closely matches the expected life of the equipment. The advantages to finance leases are that rentals are often lower due to the length of the term and there is less residual value risk involved.