Alternate payment plans for leasing commercial equipment

While fixed monthly payments are the norm when leasing commercial equipment, they are not your only option. Depending on your company's financial situation, your equipment lease can include one of several payment plans that may be more appealing.

If your company's cash flow ebbs and flows with the seasons, you might want to consider a skip lease. A lease with this repayment structure allows you to skip payments during slow months without being penalized. They are ideal for leasing commercial equipment in recreational and agricultural businesses that rely heavily on certain times of the year for significant portions of their revenue.

Step-up leases provide a solution for companies with limited cash that are depending upon leasing specific commercial equipment to increase revenue. This type of lease recognizes that the company will be able to handle increased lease payments over time, and keeps payments low at first then ramps them up according to a pre-determined schedule.

An alternative to a step-up lease is a 60- or 90-day deferred commercial equipment lease. Just as its name implies, this lease allows you to defer your first payment for 2 or 3 months. Usually you will not have to present a down payment with this option.