Renting vs Buying Coffee Machines: Which Is Better?

No one wants to start their day without a cup of coffee, and coffee machines for offices are essential. But when you’re getting your employees their daily cup of coffee, do you know if it’s better to rent a coffee machine or buy one outright? Coffee machines don’t tend to be cheap (you get what you pay for) so a machine that is going to be used dozens of times a day needs to be capable of handling the workload. That’s a tall order!

So do you rent your automatic coffee machine for your office? Or do you buy a workplace coffee machine? Either way, you want to make sure that you get the best coffee machine for offices, for the best price and with great coffee quality.

Renting Office Coffee Machines

Let’s get right to the big selling point (or renting point) of renting a coffee machine: you don’t have to maintain it. A rented coffee machine is maintained by the company that you’re renting it from and if it breaks, it’s not on you to fix it or pay for a replacement (unless you wilfully break or damage the equipment). The company that you’re renting from is in charge of making sure that the machine is in working order, and so rental coffee machines for offices are very popular.

Likewise, if the coffee machine fails, you don’t have to get online and order a new one. Commercial coffee machines are not in every big box office store–at least not the good ones. So when a coffee machine dies, you’re not in limbo with uncaffeinated staff for a week while you wait for a new one to arrive. On the contrary, the company you rent from will switch it out with a replacement, often the same or the next day.

The downside, of course, is that you don’t own the machine outright, but is that really a downside? Most offices lease their copy machines and other office equipment. Do you really need to be the owner of a coffee machine?

Buying Office Coffee Machines

Buying a coffee machine means that the coffee machine belongs to you and that you don’t have to rely on anyone else to fix it. You are not paying someone monthly rent for an item that becomes an integral part of your business.

However, the best coffee machines for offices aren’t cheap, and you’d have to pay that money upfront. Most companies would rather not spend that much money and instead take a machine that they’re not locked into for life.

Now, there is the benefit that your coffee machine purchase can be depreciated over time on your tax returns, so that’s a plus if it matters to you. But renting a coffee machine can be deducted from your taxes as well.

Key Differences

The key differences all come down to two things: maintenance and cost. If you rent an office coffee machine, you’re going to be getting regular servicing from the rental company, and they’ll solve any problems. But if you own a coffee machine, you’re still going to have to hire a repairman to fix your coffee machine if something goes wrong.

The second issue is cost: do you want to pay a big lump sum upfront, or do you want to pay small increments throughout the life of your coffee machine?

Think of the following scenarios: do you want your coffee machine to just serve black coffee? Or do you want a commercial coffee machine for your office? Do you want cappuccinos and lattes? More and more, companies are giving more incentives to their employees to make sure their employees are happy coming into the office, and getting better automatic machines with all types of coffee are becoming commonplace and almost expected.

If you want your office to replace the coffee shop, then you’re going to need a coffee maker in your office that rivals the quality that they’ll get at Starbucks.

Renting is Better

With all of that in mind, it seems that renting a coffee machine is the smart choice. Not only are you going to have an easier time getting your coffee maker approved through purchasing because it’s much less of an initial cost, but you’re also going to have someone else ready and able to handle any coffee machine malfunctions and preventative maintenance.

Brewing coffee is more than just hot water, frothing milk, and a steaming wand–honestly, employees don’t want to be baristas. They want good quality coffee at the push of a button. And when you need office coffee service, the company you rent from is on hand to take care of any problems.