Advanced
Wound Technologies has established AWT Financial Services to provide
simple, easy access to capital to facilitate the acquisition of
equipment and software necessary in a thriving healthcare practice. We
offer a one-page application, credit approvals in minutes, and the
flexibility of an entrepreneurial partner. With competitive rates,
unparalleled customer service, and a commitment to integrity, we can
handle all your equipment financing needs.
Rentals,
Leases, Purchases...We are exceptionally flexible!
It's
very simple...Our success is measured by your success!
Why
Should I Lease Equipment?
Q:
Why Lease?
A:
Leasing is the smart way to
acquire
equipment your business needs.
* 100% financing available.
* Fixed payments to match your cash flow.
* Leases offer lower monthly payments than loans/ traditional bank
financing.
* Access to the equipment you need without making a large down payment
or impacting your available bank lines of credit.
Q: Who can
Lease?
A: Any qualified commercial entity - company,
organization, municipality or association. An individual
wishing to rent, lease, or purchase equipment through AWT Financial
Services will be required to produce additional documentation for
approval.
Q: Is a down
payment required?
A:
Generally for qualified Lessee's only an advance payment is required
- the first and last month's lease payment. In some instances new
business entities or applicants with less qualified credit scores, may
be required to provide a down payment to "buy-down" the gross
amount of the lease value. In this circumstance the equity portion for
the transaction will increase on the Lessee's favor.
Q:
What can I Lease?
A:
Any durable medical equipment used by your business -medical
equipment, dental equipment, health and fitness equipment.
In certain cases, office equipment and software, may be added
to the lease if properly submitted and approved.
Q:
How will Leasing affect my company's cash flow?
A:
In one word - positively. Leasing usually offers lower monthly
payments than other financing sources. These lower payments can help
you bring revenues and expenses into closer alignment. And because
payments are fixed, you can forecast future expenses more accurately,
improving your budgeting process.
Q: How are
Lease payments structured?
A:
There is a lot of flexibility in payment terms. Payments can be made
in advance, arrears, seasonal or at irregular intervals. Terms range
from 12 to 120 months. Basically, the lease is structured to meet your
needs.
Q:
What are the lease-end Purchase Option Choices?
A:
AWT Financial Services offers One
Dollar, Ten Percent, and Fair Market Value Options (check) .
The One Dollar Option is what it sounds like. After successfully
completing the lease term, the lessee (the end-user) is offered
the entire equipment package for One Dollar. Ten Percent option
means ten percent of the original cost, plus tax if applicable, and
Fair Market Value (FMV) means "what a willing buyer not under
duress and a willing seller not under duress would agree to."
(In
addition to these options, we also offer some very
interesting programs with low, low payments in exchange for a ten
percent purchase commitment.)
Q:
What are the good and bad parts of One Dollar Purchase Option Leases.
A:
The bad news is that the payments are higher than the other types of
leases. The good news is that the "total cost of equipment
ownership" is low and there are potential tax benefits.
Every business is entitled to deduct up $24,000 of capital equipment
purchases each year (Tax Codes Section 179) and durable medical
equipment purchase may qualify for higher deductible amounts.
Because tax authorities recognize this type of lease as intent to own,
the entire cost of equipment may be used as a deduction in the first
year . . . even though you have paid out only a small portion in lease
payments. Talk to your accountant about this and all tax aspects
of leasing.
Q:
Many leasing companies say that One Dollar leases have no tax
benefits.
A:
Depending on the circumstances of your business, the tax benefits may
be better or worse, but ignorance or profit-motive may be at work in
those recommendations. Talk to your accountant.
Q:
What are the good and bad parts of Ten Percent and FMV Purchase Option
Leases.
A:
Lower monthly payments are an important factor. Often these
payments may be written off as expenses, simplifying accounting.
If you definitely intend to trade-in or return the equipment at the
end of the lease, choose FMV, but remember, you may be responsible for
the value of the equipment if it is not in good repair (or missing) at
the end of the lease. At AWT Financial, we usually offer 10% and
FMV option leases with the same payment rate; just let us know your
choice before we prepare your contract.
Q:
This sounds fairly simple. What should I watch for?
A:
Some unethical leasing companies will "forget" to include
the Purchase Option in the contract paperwork. Make sure
you have it in writing BEFORE signing the lease. And make sure
you have a fail-safe reminder to notify the lessor of your intention
to buy within the time period allowed. This is important for all
types of lease, or you may have to return equipment that you
have paid for or continue to make "renewal payments."
At AWT Financial, we consider a hard-core notification period to be an
unfair gotcha. We have never denied a purchase option to a
lessee who kept his part of the basic lease agreement, and we do not
"automatically renew" your lease.
Q:
Can I select my own equipment?
A:
Yes. You have the choice of selecting your own equipment up-front and
then applying for a lease or you can get pre-approved and then select
your equipment with confidence. Remember - the equipment chosen must
be for business purposes only.
Q: What is required of my
new business?
A:
AWT Financial has stringent requirements for start-up businesses (under
two years of current ownership). We will review the personal
credit history of all principals, each of whom must personally
guaranty that the lease obligations will be met. We also require
that a business bank account and a business telephone listing be
established prior to the lease beginning. Lease payments will be
made by ACH (automatic withdrawal).
Q:
How much equipment will you finance?
A:
With a simple
application you can arrange a lease for - $10,000 to $100,000 We
will also consider larger financings if provided with certain
additional material; i.e., tax returns and financial statements. All
applications will be reviewed on a case by case basis taking into
account the equipment and the credit worthiness of the business and
its principals.
Q:
What kind of rates apply to this program.
A:
Frankly, this program is considered very competitive by most standard
leases. The lease would start with a deposit
The deposit is not an extra payment. It will be
applied to your last payments. At the end of the lease there is
a one-dollar purchase option. Rates fluctuate in general with the
credit markets. Your rate will be determined and fixed for the life of
the lease, at the time of closing.
Q:
OK. I'm ready to go. What do I do next?
A:
Call for a quote or use our quote
calculator (coming soon). If you like it, you can
down-load our online application and fax it back to us, or contact us and we will send
you an application. Approval can take as little as 15 minutes.
Q: Why does
AWT Financial look at personal credit and in certain circumstances, require personal
guarantees from business owners?
A: With the exception of
public corporations and large firms with multi-million dollar net-worth's,
the expectation of a business to fulfill its obligations is critically
linked to the business owner's personal finances. Lenders and
lessors are not in the equipment sales business. We cannot
threaten to hold off repair of the equipment. In most
cases we are not experts in the equipment that we may have to
repossess and sell, and our fast turn-around time is predicated, in
part, upon our avoiding any detailed equipment evaluation.
We are reliant upon the intentions and
ability of business owners to maintain our payments as priorities.
We require the assurance that our lease will be given the same concern
as other important debt relationships. This is particularly
serious when the lessee's bank has such guarantees. [We will
often consider requests to waive "PG's" if the customer's
bank has also waived them.]
On the negative side, a sloppy or
negative personal credit report will too often be a result of and/or a
precursor to a serious business downturn. Banks and lessors must
know about that to make prudent credit decisions. Often, the
applicant's desire to have the guaranty waived gives the credit team
an impression that the borrower knows of an impending financial
problem.
On a more positive note, we want to
make sure you remember to protect us when you sell your business to
Bill Gates for three billion dollars. We hate it when Bill's attorney
calls to tell us to pick up the used equipment from the business they
just bought.
Q:
But my lawyer said I have a corporation and should never sign a personal
guaranty.
A:
While a corporate structure should protect you from certain
unforeseen contingencies, it should not keep agreements from being
honored. Ask your lawyer if he would tell his clients to lend
money to a small corporation if the owner refused to guaranty the
debt. Of course not! It's one thing to advise a client to be
prudent. It's quite another to mislead a client into believing he can
obtain business borrowing without meeting normal requirements.
"Our
flexibility and willingness to listen to your specific needs, creates
a win-win partnership for the growth of your business"
If you have an interest in financing an equipment
acquisition for your facility and would like to discuss the options
available to you, please feel free to contact AWT at (732) 246-2330 or
info@awtmid.com
