University Business - February 2011 - (Page 44)

The Lease Piece to efficiently redistribute equipment than a college after a lease is up. At disposal time, the leasing company takes back the equipment and can recycle or refurbish and remarket, says Mace. Companies such as HP, says Cuno, may provide disk-wiping services to help ensure that confidential data has been taken off of machines. 15. End-of-lease options are worth exploring. If the institution is purchasing equipment after the lease, Mace advises being aware of the notice period for renewals or tech-refresh options. “In some cases, if you don’t notify the leasing company specifically, you may be locked into a long renewal period.” In other words, your campus may be stuck with equipment that’s way past its prime. Yet sometimes the latest and greatest isn’t necessary. Wiedenhofer has seen many institutions with “a trickledown system where they’ll take assets from a moderate-use lab and route them to administrative uses.” 16. Default worries need not be top of mind. If an institution finds itself in dire straits, unable to make agreed upon leasing payments, leasors may well be willing to sit down and figure out an extended lease term with lower payments or some other solution. “No one wants to embarrass anyone. Most of those circumstances would be short-lived and the suppliers want business continuity with that institution for years to come,” says Jones. brands, Wiedenhofer says. A technology vendor may be able to walk institutional leaders through the various leasing options. CDW-G product account managers, for instance, work with customers to find an appropriate leasing company and has leasing consultants on staff who can walk customers through the process. Vendors may also try to use sweet leasing terms to seal a big deal—such as interest-free financing or additional products or services, Link says. 18. Customer service counts. When choosing a leasing company, consider indications of service levels. With First American, which is the preferred leasing vendor of CCCS, a liaison acts as the institution’s advocate if issues come up with, say, billing or lease fulfillment, Jones explains. He notes that it’s a good sign of service if the company offers online tools and assistance. 19. A single finance company can simplify matters, but shopping around is key. At Link’s previous institutions, he found that standardizing leasing terms and conditions with a single financial institution was beneficial. “We periodically checked the market for the going rates and found it to be much more convenient, consistent, and financially advantageous,” he says. Kelsch has found that with a financing partner that keeps the rates “fair and equitable,” it makes sense to stick with that partner for multiple programs. Still, “you have to look [at other options] on a case-by-case basis,” he adds. “It’s always good to keep them hungry and Leased network infrastructure at Merced College helps keep technology fresh. three main sources of leases. Lease suppliers may be banks, vendor-affiliated firms, and independent financing companies. Banks may offer competitive rates but won’t desire refresh structures, Wiedenhofer says. “They don’t want your 1,000 desktop computers back.” Yet, Jones adds, banks may go above and beyond to ensure they get a local institution’s business. Vendor-independent companies work with a number of suppliers, allowing flexibility on equipment 44 | February 2011 The Choice 17. There are keep the competition on their heels.” When evaluating options, says Cuno, be sure your analysis is an apples to apples comparison. 20. Handling your own financing is a possibility. Some states, and even single universities, have borrowed large sums of money and then arranged for and controlled their own internal leases from within that pool, Link reports. 21. An institution’s CFO is best equipped to make final lease decisions. Hallis makes the point this way: “Do you take your car to an authorized mechanic or your brotherin-law? The finance people are the finance people for a reason.” Sure, a broader team can help evaluate the options, but in the end, it’s the CFO who’s trained to do the number crunching. 22. Campuses that have never leased need not jump in head first. When speaking with member institutions that have never leased, Jones tries to engage them by noting several key reasons to consider leasing instead of a capital purchase. He’ll suggest campus leaders choose one or two areas, such as a computer lab, and CDW-G, www.cdwg.com just try out leasing to see how Cisco Capital, www.cisco.ru/about/?lang=Eng it goes. “It doesn’t have to be Coalition for College Cost Savings, www.thecoalition.us an either/or. I think the right E&I Cooperative Purchasing, www.eandi.org mix is leasing and buying.” Financial Accounting Standards Board, www.fasb.org As Cuno notes, it’s the instiFirst American Equipment Finance, www.faef.com tution’s call. “But we think there are a lot of advantages HP Financial Services, www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-financial-services for consumers, particularly Macquarie Equipment Finance, www.macquarie.com/mef in these cash strapped times.” Polycom Financial Services, www.polycom.com/company/how_to_buy/leasing.html Once customers try leasing, he adds, “they see that there’s SunGard Higher Education, www.sungardhe.com more to it than first meets UniversityLease, www.universitylease.com the eye.” Resources universitybusiness.com http://www.cdwg.com http://www.cisco.ru/about/?lang=Eng http://www.thecoalition.us http://www.eandi.org http://www.fasb.org http://www.faef.com http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-financial-services http://www.macquarie.com/mef http://www.polycom.com/company/how_to_buy/leasing.html http://www.sungardhe.com http://www.universitylease.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - February 2011

University Business - February 2011
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Internet Technology
Say it With Signage
A Bursar’s Best Friend
The Lease Piece
Don’t Stop Thinking About the Future
Say it With Signage
Independent Outlook
What’s New
End Note

University Business - February 2011