Checklist: What to Look for in an Equipment Lease

- Lease term. The length of the lease will affect the amount of your monthly payment, with a longer lease term meaning a lower monthly rent.

- Up-front payment. Can you reduce the up-front payment and amortize it over the life of the lease?

- Monthly payments. You can analyze the amount of the payment by determining the interest factor associated with the lease.

- Return rights. For vendor-leased equipment, under what circumstances can you return the equipment if there are problems?

- Early termination. Most lessors will be reluctant to do this, but you may be able to negotiate an early termination right in exchange for paying a fee.

- Option to purchase. Equipment lessors will often give you this right at the end of the lease term, usually for a fixed price (e.g., 10 percent of the purchase price of the equipment) or at fair market value.