Why buy when you can rent?

Investing a lot of money up front in kit that can only go down in value is reminiscent of buying a new car, and the finance industry has the same solution for both: leasing. With computers, this isn’t really aimed at consumers. Apple UK’s business financing, for example, is only offered to companies and on purchases over £10,000 (see bit.ly/ applefinanceoptions).

There’s more flexibility with suppliers like HardSoft, an Essex-based Mac leasing specialist that offers two main types of plan (check out ‘Why pay monthly’ at hardsoftcomputers.co.uk): Pure Rental or Flexi Lease. With the latter, you sign up for three years, with a fixed monthly payment that includes extended warranty and accidental damage cover. After two years, you get the option to continue (the hardware is yours at the end of the three years), keep the machine while taking out a new three-year plan for another, or pay £75 to return it and cancel the last year. If you don’t need this flexibility, you can rent the Mac for 36 monthly payments about 20% lower, then hand it back. The only setup cost is a Direct Debit admin fee of £50.

Lease or rental

For example, Flexi-Lease on the base 16-inch MacBook Pro (£2,399 to buy) works out at £19.95 a week plus VAT, while Pure-Rental costs £15.96 a week plus VAT. You’ll need to qualify as a business customer, usually based on your corporate Experian credit score, which may well be an issue for microbusinesses and freelancers – but HardSoft do have options to help startups qualify. Search ‘Mac leasing’ online for alternatives. Leasing costs more than buying, and there’s no obvious tax benefit (the payments are deductible, but you could write off the capital cost in the first year anyway). For cash flow, though, and as an alternative to borrowing with interest, it could make sense.