Equipment: To buy, or lease?

According to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), approximately 80% of U.S. companies lease some or all of their equipment, and there are thousands of equipment-leasing firms nationwide catering to that demand.
So why lease instead of buy your equipment? With a lease, you pay a certain monthly fee for the rights to use the equipment. At the end of the lease, you can return the equipment or choose to buy it outright for a pre-determined amount. Leasing is a great way for businesses to start, grow or expand to get the equipment they need for their businesses, whether it is a dishwasher for a restaurant, dump truck for a construction firm, machine tool or a point-of-sale system for a new retail outlet. We'll get more into why leasing is so popular below, but first you should know about your options when your lease ends.