Restaurant Furniture Blog

Acquiring restaurant furniture is one of the biggest drains on any restaurant’s finances, whether new or established. One of the options is to either buy your furniture on finance, using either a bank overdraft or similar line of credit or through a third party finance provider; or to lease the furniture through a professional lease management company.

Each method of financing your furniture has its pros and cons. Generally speaking, leasing has a few more pros and a few less cons than credit finance - the biggest being that leasing doesn’t generally affect your ability to obtain traditional credit when you need it. There are many other benefits to leasing, including:

Added Credit Availability
As mentioned, leasing generally won’t affect bank credit lines so you retain your ability to obtain bank finance for other needs.

Conserves Working Capital
Leasing finances 100% of the entire package, including additional costs such as installation. This leaves your capital free for the important day-to-day costs.

Improves Cash Flow
Leasing is a pay-as-you-go system so rather than one large up-front payment you make regular monthly payments of a set agreed upon amount. You know what your monthly costs will be so you can plan ahead.

Tax Deductible
In many cases, lease payments can be treated as a fully tax deductible expense.

Quick and Easy
The process of leasing is fast and simple and generally costs less in the long run.

When looking at lease options, consider what you feel is a reasonable life expectancy of furniture in both wear and tear aspects, and aesthetics. If you feel your restaurant is going to need a face-lift every 4-5 years then consider a 48 or 60 month lease.

Once the lease has expired you will be in a sound position to replace your restaurant furniture with a new package. Establishing a good rapport with your lease manager will ensure that your next lease package is processed quickly and smoothly, enabling a seamless exchange of new for old furniture. Your restaurant’s furniture is an important asset - the smartest way of financing it is by leasing restaurant furniture from a professional leasing business.