How do you upgrade and save money if you’re in a contract?
“Sorry, we are in a contract”.
These are the words I would say 5 times a day when sales reps knock on my door. On my busy days, it was more of a “shove off, I’m busy” line, but I honestly believed that being in a contract meant I was fixed to it for the agreed term. How wrong I was.
When you think about it, how is it that your current Photocopier supplier 9 times out of 10, will come in with usually 1-2 years remaining on your contract and offer you a “great deal” to “upgrade you” with no penalty? Let’s have a look.
To clear the misconception that being in a contract means you can’t go anywhere else, Photocopier contracts are broken down in two parts;
- Lease agreement / Rental Agreements
- Service agreement
If you ever decide to upgrade your machine before the end term of your Lease Contract/Rental Contract, the remaining term of that agreement x the lease/Rental amount is almost always added to the cost of the new equipment. Unless agreed otherwise. It does not matter if you resign with your existing supplier or a new one, they will both be required to pay this “payout” before the existing agreement can be canceled. Refinancing it with the new technology saves you from having to pay any fees out of your pocket and you can take advantage of potential savings straight away.
The second part is the Service Agreement. These agreements can vary depending on your supplier. Most service agreements are just that, an “agreement”, you are not contracted to a fixed term, the agreement simply agrees that they will guarantee service on your machine at “x” cost for the “agreed” term.
While most Service Contracts are really “agreements”, there are suppliers who will contract you to a minimum amount of pages per month. If this is the case, you will also need to pay the contracted pages per month x the months remaining. If you have one of these agreements they can be confusing. If you let us know, we might be able to offer you some advice to save you money while you finish that agreement.
So, how do I save money if I refinance the existing contract into the new one?
The answer is simple. The cost of equipment over the past 5 years has decreased, interest rates are at an all-time low and then there is the service rates. Service rates 5 years ago were 1.2c mono and 12c colour. We now see that the cost per page has dropped to around the 6-7c mark.
If you do the sums on your own current volume x the market cost per page rate, 9 times out of 10 you can save money on that alone!
Example:
Your Current Monthly Average Volume:
Black & White = 5,000 pages per month @ 1c = $50
Colour = 5,000 pages per month @ 10c = $500
Total Service Costs = $550
Your Current Average Volume At Market Rates:
Black & White = 5,000 pages per month @ .6c = $30
Colour = 5,000 pages per month @ 6c = $300
Total Service Costs = $330
TOTAL SAVING ON SERVICE ALONE = $220
*(These volumes are used as an example, insert your own volumes to calculate your own potential savings).
So if you have completed at least half of your contracted term and want to upgrade and see if you can save money, contact us and we can help you find out if it’s worth your time.
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