Starting a new business involves a sizeable financial outlay, but expensive tools don't need to be one of your main capital expenditures. Instead of purchasing new tools outright, you can rent many of them instead. Here's why tool rental is a smart choice when you're opening a new business.

1. Keep More Capital Available for Other Expenditures

First, you'll be able to keep more capital available for non-equipment expenditures if you rent the tools you need rather than buy them. The rental price of a piece of equipment is usually a small proportion of the equipment's total cost to purchase, so you can get it for much less.

While any business may benefit from lower costs, the savings that tool rentals provide is especially helpful to new businesses.

By renting, you can keep more funds available for other expenditures such as employees' salaries, facility expenses, and marketing campaigns. Depending on your business' situation, these other expenditures could help grow your business' revenue substantially.

2. Avoid Tool and Equipment Storage Expenses

Second, you don't need to worry about storing tools that you rent when they're not in use. Whenever you finish a project and no longer need a tool, you simply return it to the rental company and they have to provide a place for storage.

If you're in a setting where storage space is plentiful and cheap, this may be a negligible benefit for your business. In fact, you might even prefer to store a tool in your own building if you already have a large facility with excess space.

If you're in a location where space costs a premium, however, not needing to store tools could reduce your business' facility costs. You may be able to get by with a smaller facility that costs less to lease or own.

Of course, the size of a tool or piece of equipment also affects how important this consideration is. In some situations, you might purchase hand tools and similarly small pieces of equipment -- but rent larger tools and equipment like steam cleaners, compressors, and hydraulic jacks.

3. Complete Jobs in Less Time

Third, tool rentals can sometimes help you complete projects and jobs faster. 

When your business is young, you may be able to afford an inexpensive version of a tool but a nicer model could be out of your price range. If you could get it, though, the nicer model might help you work more efficiently and complete jobs faster.

In situations like this, renting the nicer tool until you're able to afford it outright makes a lot of sense. Not only will your work be easier, but the time you save lets you spend more energy on customer acquisition, employee training, and additional jobs.

4. Reduce Your Business' Risk Exposure

Fourth, renting substantially reduces your business' risk exposure because you're not fully responsible for the tools.

To start with, you don't have to repair a tool if it breaks from normal wear and tear. Rental tools are well-maintained and rarely malfunction, and it's the rental company's responsibility to repair or replace them when there is a problem. In contrast, this responsibility falls to you if your business owns the tools - - and repairs can be costly if there's a major problem.

In addition to the risk of malfunction, your business is also shielded from the risk of theft. You should still keep rented tools secure while they're in your care, but you don't have to worry about fully insuring them. The tool rental company gets insurance if it's necessary.

Depending on how much insurance would be needed for your business' tools, eliminating the need for insurance could save you hundreds or thousands in your business' first year of operation. Premiums for small miscellaneous tools can cost hundreds of dollars annually, and more expensive equipment costs more to insure. 

If you have a new business and want to rent tools, contact West Equipment Co. Inc.