Breaking Tech Budget Barriers for Schools

Tech leasing providers (like DLL) work with IT manufacturers and resellers to create affordable solutions for schools. These solutions help schools acquire IT for their students by expanding their budget dollars.

Get your pen, paper (or tablet) ready — school's in session!

Crash course: How Schools Benefit from Tech Leasing  

It helps them manage their budget. Rather than paying outright for the IT, the school only pays for a select period at an affordable payment.

It keeps them up to date with the latest technology. Leases typically follow the grade range. At the end of the lease, schools can work with their leasing partner/IT reseller for the next upgrade 
 
It increases the amount of technology they can get without breaking the bank. Schools often get an annual budget. Let’s say a school has a $100K annual tech budget. In this example, the school’s $100K tech budget might not be enough to buy what they need. So, they can lease the tech and base the payments on the anticipated budget dollars they'll receive over the next three or four years. In essence, they can get three to four times the tech spend today by using future budget dollars to make their lease payments.

Featured Region: Australia and New Zealand (ANZ)

Meet the Experts:

• Protik Banerjee, Business Development Manager
• Michael Poole, Business Development Manager

A significant percentage of Michael and Protik’s educational customers are private schools for Grades K-6 and 7-12.

The school year
The ANZ school year runs from February to early December.

Pop quiz 

Question: True or false: ANZ schools often need to order their tech earlier.
Answer: True. In addition to current supply chain issues, some IT supplies arrive to ANZ via boat, meaning there can be longer travel times.

What does tech leasing to schools in ANZ look like?
Protik and Michael explained that in many cases, private schools offset the cost of IT payments via a regular IT levy (fee) charged to parents/guardians. Under a leasing model, private schools will often collect these levies at the start of the school semester (which on average, is 10 weeks).

The levies are collected at the start of the semester and are held by the school in reserve. As monthly leasing costs become due, the school uses those available funds to make the payment, therefore keeping their cash flow in surplus.

This payment model (levies via a leasing structure) is beneficial for private schools because it:

• benefits the cashflow of the parents/guardians: they can utilize the purchasing power of the school and pay a discounted levy spread over multiple semesters, rather than paying for the device (i.e. a laptop) outright on the first day of school.
• benefits the cashflow of the schools: instead of paying an upfront purchase price for IT, the school only pays for the IT over a specified timeframe.
• frees up school’s cash resources: money that would’ve been spent to own the laptops, tablets, accessories and licences can be spent on other needs, such as building maintenance.

What’s an example of school-based tech leasing problem that you’ve solved?
If you know kids, then you know that damage is inevitable when it comes to school laptops — spills, screen cracks from dropping the laptop, or any other number of things could happen.

Michael recalled a situation when a school business manager returned some devices. The business manager was surprised when the damage charges on the invoice were less than expected. Michael explained that the charge was less because the other equipment was in resalable condition.

“The business manager was impressed and felt we went above and beyond the expectations of a standard leasing company,” says Michael. “The following day the school placed an equipment refresh order with us.”

Protik had another example. He and his team worked with a school that had two challenges:

1. Their IT budget wasn’t large enough to get the ideal technology for their students
2. They didn’t have the resources to manage the device disposition after the end of the school term (i.e. selling or recycling the IT)

“We created a rental agreement for the school. This rental agreement spread out the IT costs over three years with fixed monthly payments which saved the school money because the sum of those payments were less than the purchase price. These savings happened because DLL retained the residual value of the devices, which is the value of the devices at the end of the term.”

What should IT resellers look for when it comes to a tech leasing partner for their educational customers?
Michael and Protik share a few tips. Ideally, the IT leasing partner should:

• “Be schooled” in the school's budget cycle. Understanding the school’s budget cycle makes it easier for the school to make payments and the IT reseller to get paid in a timely manner. “As leasing experts, we work with the IT resellers and schools to set up all the payment schedules beforehand,” explains Michael. “As soon as the school receives their equipment delivery, the supplier is paid.”
• Score an “A+” when it comes to building relationships. “It’s important that the leasing partner takes the time to understand what the school needs. This means asking questions about their goals and challenges,” explains Protik. “This allows the leasing partner to effectively build the right payment solution for the school and create lasting relationships.”
• Be at the “top of their class” when it comes to understanding the nuances. This means the leasing partner should understand how to navigate the whole contract process so it’s seamless for everyone.
  
  

Class dismissed!

If you have questions, “raise your hand” by contacting our technology experts. We’re here to help!