The cheaper way of keeping your tech up to date

If you run a business then it can be very expensive to keep your equipment on the right side of the cutting edge. Still though, you don't want to use an old PC to compete with the latest product from Apple. Lease the equipment rather than buy it outright though and you can get all of the benefits of new kit without the massive costs.

Just like a company car, you can lease hardware and even software from a licensed vendor.

With software, you won't have to pay the full cost of a commercial license and you won't have the difficulty of seeing a brand new product make your expensive purchase redundant in just over a year. It's an excellent way of getting hold of proprietary software that can be essential for many businesses - whether its a Computer Aided Design suite, an SQL database server, network security software, an accountancy package or CRM software.

One of the biggest benefits of leasing software in this way is that it can help you solve short-term cash flow problems with a long-term solution. If you're struggling to get the funds to replace or improve the essential tools of your business, you can lease these for a small monthly fee - and use them to make more money over time.

The same benefits apply to computer hardware, which if anything can be even more expensive, particularly for new businesses or ones undergoing rapid expansion. Setting up new employees with new hardware can be very costly but it generally needs to be done immediately or the wasted salary will be even more expensive - and unlike the hardware costs, it won't ever be recouped.

A less obvious benefit of leasing your equipment and programmes is that it offers tax benefits in much the same way as purchasing a product outright - but that you don't have to pay the full cost immediately and wait patiently to claim the money off your taxable income. A skilled accountant should be able to record the costs of your leasing contracts as tax-deductible and if you've had a good year, you could make all of your money back, effectively.

Finally lease contracts can often come with a support clause - where in the case of partial or total failure, they will be replaced entirely at no extra cost. There could even be a regular maintenance arrangement where they are serviced regularly, something you certainly wouldn't get with an outright purchase.