A good equipment procurement starts with a clear need.
Before requesting quotes, settle what work the equipment must do, how long you need it and how you will compare buying and leasing. That way you can assess use and the end of the agreement, not just the price.
From the need to comparable quotes.
- 1
Describe the work and period of use
Write down the required result, the workload and the planned period of use.
- 2
Set the basis for comparison
Ask for comparable payments, services and end-of-term conditions for the same equipment set.
- 3
Clarify the roles
Clarify the roles of supplier, service provider and financier before evaluating the quotes.
A one-off purchase or a recurring budget line?
The choice of form does not start with price, but with whether the same cost comes back into your budget in a few years. Go through these questions before drafting the terms.
First ask whether the need recurs
Are you buying this equipment once and probably never again, or will the same need come back in two to four years? In the first case you are buying an object, in the second you are buying a capability, and you do not describe the two the same way in the specification. The question is not whether you can afford to pay, but which form fits your budget cycle.
One-off purchase: equipment with no cycle
If you plan to use the equipment for a long time, compare the payments for buying and leasing over the whole planned period of use. You buy it once, replace it only when it breaks, and that line does not recur in your budget. Here buying is simpler: write it into the procurement as a purchase and do not require a monthly payment quote for it.
Recurring need: computers, phones, furniture
You always need these, and new ones every couple of years. Look at the last three budget years: if the same type of equipment has already been acquired there once, it is a recurring need, not a one-off purchase.
What an operating lease changes in the budget
The monthly payment is a fixed budget line: you have the equipment, the payment stays the same throughout the term and the down payment is 0 €. At the end of the term you return the equipment or buy it out. Plan the equipment, financing and budget for the next term separately.
One procurement can contain both
The same procurement often includes both equipment bought once and equipment with a lifecycle. Split the specification into parts along these two lines. Otherwise you force the whole procurement into one form and lose the comparison exactly where it would have been useful.
Sum up the answers and write down the form
If the item is one-off and does not need replacing over time, run a purchase procurement; if the need recurs and you want to keep it as an even cost item in the budget, run an operating lease procurement. If you are not sure, require both quotes for the same equipment set and decide only then. Write the chosen form at the start of the specification, because every following requirement depends on it.
Write the specification so that the purchase price and the monthly payment can in the end be viewed side by side.
Allow both forms in the specification
Write in the specification that the bidder may submit a purchase price, an operating lease monthly payment, or both. If this is not there, you get only one form in response and no comparison arises. Two separate procurements do not give a comparable answer. If you allow both forms, set common minimum requirements and one evaluation method for them, for example the total cost over the planned period of use. Agree the wording with your procurement specialist.
One equipment set and a term that matches the period of use
Fix the equipment list, quantities, locations of use and the period of use in months, and require everyone to quote for exactly the same term. Choose the term by the equipment's period of use, not by the lowest monthly payment. The sample comparison term is 2 years for phones, 3 years for computers, tools and small equipment, and 4 years for kitchen equipment, furniture and vehicles. These are planning examples, not promises about the equipment's service life. A term that is too long means paying at a time when the equipment has already been replaced. One that is too short brings a new procurement before you have been able to budget for it.
Ask for payments and fees as separate lines
Ask for the monthly payment, contract fee and down payment as separate lines, not as one sum, and state what is included in the monthly payment and what comes as a separate invoice. The financed amount is the price excl. VAT, so mark the VAT basis separately in the specification. Maxa finances equipment in amounts of 500–500 000 €.
Write out the end of the term now
Require the quote to state the return procedure, the required condition of the equipment, the buyout price, and which party erases the data and arranges collection. During the agreement the financier owns the equipment, so the end-of-term conditions must be written into the agreement. An end that has not been agreed turns into a negotiation at the worst possible moment.
Name the roles: supplier, service provider, financier
State who is responsible for delivery, who for service and who for financing, and whom you contact in case of a fault. Write out the maintenance, the response time and whether the bidder provides a replacement device during a fault. Without this, the cheaper quote looks like the one that simply has no service.
Fix the delivery and the start of payments
Write down the delivery deadline and when payments start. With an operating lease the first monthly payment falls due the following month, so the delivery date decides whether payments already start in this budget year.
Write down in advance what may change during the term
Have the bidder describe already in the quote on what terms equipment can be added, the set swapped or the location of use changed. During the procurement these are a matter of agreement, later a matter of price.
Set the evaluation before opening the quotes
If you allow two forms, write into the evaluation criteria on what basis you compare the purchase price and the monthly payment side by side and which conditions are mandatory. If you evaluate only the purchase price, the operating lease drops out of the comparison before any substantive discussion. In the private sector, the same written rule prevents a later dispute; in a public procurement, your own procurement rules require it anyway.
Let's discuss the method before the terms are drafted.
We help analyse whether the procurement makes more sense as an operating lease or as a purchase. In the procurement preparation consultation we talk about method. We do not recommend a supplier or evaluate their quote for you.
In a public sector procurement, follow your own procurement and budget rules and the principles of transparency and equal treatment.
Present the equipment, service and financing in one clear quote.
If your bid needs financing, we assess the buyer's creditworthiness and whether the equipment and terms can be financed. Set out the financier's role and obligations clearly in the bid. We agree the structure of a joint bid separately.
Working on a specification?
Bring your work needs, the equipment list and the planned period of use to the conversation.