Most everyone starts the day with coffee, and sometimes there isn’t a long wait before the second or third cup is enjoyed. Despite the money spent and the value placed on coffee, there is still debate about whether to buy or rent a coffee machine. The answer is going to depend on a few factors, so let’s discuss whether buying or renting a coffee machine makes sense for your needs.
How many people will be using the coffee machine?
The number of people using the coffee machine for business in an office or communal setting is going to be a key driving force in influencing whether you buy or rent. If there are a lot of people using the machine, then the cost per coffee is quite low, and the cost is justifiable in owning your own machine. If the usage of the machine will be high sometimes and low in other parts of the year (perhaps in a school or social club scenario), then maybe renting might be a better solution.
The maintenance consideration
When the coffee machine is brought in-house, who is in charge of the coffee machine maintenance? This is really going to decide whether buying or renting makes more sense, as renting will include routine maintenance from your coffee provider. This ensures that the coffee machine is cleaned and working exactly as it should, saving you from having to pay for someone to come out and fix the machine or diagnose the problem. If you don’t have faith in the coffee machines ongoing maintenance, then buying may not be the right call.
Changing needs
How many people will use this coffee machine in the future, and how long will that future even be? Changing needs can influence whether a business buys or rents, as you don’t want to be stuck with something that is not going to be ideal in the future. Renting allows you to use the coffee machine in the present and scale up to a better machine or down to a smaller one if your needs change. Buying a machine, on the other hand, means you are stuck with what you have and will need to buy another one should it no longer be optimal.
Business expenditure
If the coffee machine in question is for commercial use, then typically the business will pay for that expense. Some business operations will insist on buying outright, whereas others might prefer the rent system. If you are tasked with finding a coffee machine for your business, speak with the finance team to discern what payment arrangement they would prefer and what the budget is. They will have to reconcile the cost and assign it to a cost center.
Coffee appetite
Coffee may be loved by all, but how we take it will really vary from person to person. Just because you like a barista ground coffee, maybe your peers are quite happy with something simpler and easy to make. Or it might be the other way round, where you think an instant coffee machine will do the trick, but your peers will continue to get their quality coffee across the road. Actually survey your office and get an understanding of what the majority wants and then let that influence your choice to buy or rent. If a better machine is expected, then renting might be a way to get the top model and pay for it in smaller chunks.
We hope this article has answered more questions than asked, and you are closer to figuring out whether you will rent or buy a coffee machine. It might also be a good idea to describe your needs and business operation to your coffee machine provider, and they might be able to give their opinion on the decision.
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