Catering Equipment and Supplies Buying Versus Renting

In the catering business, there is an important question that you need to ask yourself! Should I buy the equipment and own it out right or should I rent the equipment and have to worry if they will have what I need?

They are two main questions:

1 How frequently will I need to use this piece of equipment?

2 How versatile is the equipment?

By answering these questions you can make an educated informed decision whether buying or renting is your best option. If you need the equipment regularly enough over its estimated life to pay back the cost of owning, the case to purchase it is strong. If renting the piece of equipment will cost as much or more than owning it, then it makes sense to buy it, get the benefit and save the incremental cost.

Another reason for buying your catering supplies is the tax advantage. Although I am not advising you on tax related manners in some cases you may be able to depreciate most or some of your purchases during the first year. You would want to consult with a professional tax advisor on what can and cannot be depreciated. Another advantage of buying is that now, most rental companies have to charge environmental fees. These are recurring expenses that you do not have if you own your catering equipment. This could result in a huge savings depending on how often and how much you are renting.

You also have to consider that by using rental companies that you have turned over that aspect of your business to an outside entity. You also run the risk of the rental companies not being able to fulfill your rental needs which in turn you will not be able to fulfill your customer needs. Some events require quick response time and if the equipment is not available for rental you could be losing hundreds or thousands of dollars each year.

The decision to rent or buy will continue to be a question that you have to ask yourself, the information that I provided only discusses a few advantages in buying your equipment. It is not an easy decision but with the information above, you can see that in the long run and if you want the flexibility of catering events with short notice, buying your catering equipment should be considered.