Lease financing is a super financing alternative if you are seeking funding to obtain business equipment.  When you lease an item, the lessor retains ownership of it. You use the equipment by virtue of the monthly payments you will be required to make. Most small ticket leases carry a $1.00 purchase option whereby you  purchase the equipment at the end of the lease term for $1.00.

A great advantage to leasing is that it may be allowed to be "off the balance sheet." This means that leases can be disclosed as balance sheet footnotes. They do not appear as debt even though they represent an ongoing company liability. This may sound like financial doublespeak, but it's not. Let's say a supplier is considering whether or not to extend credit to you, or a bank is weighing a loan proposal you have submitted. The lease commitment will play a relatively minor role in evaluating your debt burden.

Banks also tend to consider their total exposure when lending to small businesses. If you have obtained lease financing through a third party, they are more likely to lend you funds than if all of your borrowing needs have been met through them. This is very important if you have a relatively small business, because most banks expect you to use them exclusively for traditional lending but may not care if you use a non-bank source for lease financing.