When a business is evaluating equipment, the lowest scheduled payment can be appealing. Lower payments may help preserve cash, support seasonal operations or create more room for payroll, inventory and other commitments. But payment size is only one part of the...

October is a practical time to evaluate an equipment acquisition that your business already expects to make. That does not mean buying equipment simply to obtain a tax deduction. The equipment should make operational and financial sense on its own. It should address a...

A revenue-producing machine does not have to stop completely before it becomes a business problem. It may still be running while repair costs increase, production slows, parts become harder to find or employees spend more time working around its limitations. By the...

A large new order can be good news and a cash-flow problem at the same time. The customer may have accepted the proposal. The work may be profitable. The order may even improve the company's projected results. But before the business receives payment, it may need...

When a business owner is considering productive equipment, the conversation can become too focused on two numbers: “The equipment costs approximately $75,000, and the payment is approximately $1,700 per month.” Those figures matter. However, they do not tell the whole...