What should IT resellers look for in an equipment leasing partner?
Most of your customers would rather pay for a project by the month, so it’s worth picking the leasing partner behind your proposals with care. Here’s what to ask one, why each answer matters to a reseller, and what Five West does on each.
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Why do IT resellers work with IT leasing companies?
Because your customers would rather pay for a project monthly, and a leasing partner lets you sell it that way without carrying the payments yourself. You quote the project with a payment on it, the customer signs with the funder, and you get paid for the whole invoice.
Most businesses already finance at least some of what they buy. In the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s 2024 Horizon Report, 82% of surveyed businesses that acquired equipment or software in 2023 used at least one form of financing. The two top reasons they gave for financing were optimizing cash flow (62%) and protection from equipment obsolescence (55%).
That second reason is a big one in IT. Laptops, servers and switches lose value fast and get replaced on a schedule, so customers want a term that ends about when they’d replace the gear anyway.
Will a technology leasing company finance the whole project?
It should, because a proposal that’s half financed and half cash is a harder sale. Here’s what can go on one Five West agreement:
- Hardware: servers and storage, switches, routers, wireless and firewalls, laptop, desktop and workstation fleets, phone and VoIP systems, racks and cabling, and POS systems.
- Software and licenses: the license, implementation, data migration and training, plus multi-year license bundles. Firewall licenses can sit on the same agreement as the hardware on qualifying transactions.
- Installation and deployment: full deployments are financed, install included.
- Security systems: everything, including cameras, access control, install labor and monitoring.
- Data center buildouts: servers, racks, networking, cooling, and power and UPS gear, with installation on qualifying deals.
Deals run from a usual minimum of about $15,000 to $5 million and above, and smaller rollouts can be bundled to reach the minimum. You’ll find the full list on our IT equipment financing page, and our software financing page covers projects that are mostly license and implementation.
The biggest data center and AI infrastructure projects work a little differently. The programs we place these deals with currently look for deals of $1MM and up, with $25MM annual revenue required and 3+ years in business preferred. Every deal that size needs a full financial package. Our guide to GPU server and AI infrastructure deals covers that end of the market.
Can your own labor and managed services go on the agreement?
Yes, both. If you buy the hardware from a distributor and bill your own labor on the same invoice, that mixed invoice can go on one agreement. An MSP’s monthly managed-services fees can go on it too.
I’d ask about this one early. Your labor and your services are the parts of the proposal that are yours, and I’d hate to see them become the line a customer cuts to make the budget work.
Put it all together and you can sell hardware as a service. Bundle the hardware, install, licenses and support on a fair market value lease (on qualifying transactions), then turn the old gear in at the end and refresh onto new equipment. Your clients get one monthly payment, and you’re paid in full when the deal funds. Our guide to hardware as a service for MSPs walks through it.
There’s one habit that speeds all of this up: put the hardware, licenses, your labor and the services on separate lines. That itemized quote is usually all a first response needs.
Does the IT equipment lease agreement fit the refresh cycle?
It should end about when the gear gets replaced. Servers are usually replaced every three to five years, so the term is set to end around the next refresh. At Five West, leases run 24 to 60 months and equipment finance agreements 24 to 84, and the structure depends on whether your customer plans to keep the gear:
- Fair market value lease: the lowest payment. At the end, the customer can buy the gear at market value, extend, upgrade or return it. It’s the common pick for laptops, servers and network gear.
- 10% option lease: a lower payment than a $1 buyout, with a fixed buyout of 10% of the original cost at the end.
- $1 buyout lease: works like financing, which suits racks, cabling and phone systems the customer will keep for years.
- Equipment finance agreement: the customer owns the equipment from day one.
Ask about the middle of the term, too. Qualifying leases have add-on and upgrade paths mid-term, so if a customer hires a dozen people in year two, you won’t have to wait out the lease to sell them the laptops.
Windows 10 shows what a missed refresh costs. Microsoft ended support on October 14, 2025. For a business that kept those PCs, Extended Security Updates cost $61 a device for the first year, and the price doubles every year after that, for up to three years. A business that signs up in year two pays for year one too. When the term’s set to the refresh, you’ve already got the replacement on the calendar.
How fast should an IT equipment leasing company answer, and what does it need?
Within hours, and on a soft pull, so you hear back while the customer’s still looking at your proposal. At Five West, applications start with a soft credit inquiry, most get a first response within 1 to 2 business hours, and clean application-only files can be approved in as little as 30 minutes. Application-only decisions, with no financials, go up to $500,000 on qualifying files. Above that, you’ll need a full package.
For a first response, it usually needs only the application and your itemized proposal. Many programs look for a 600+ FICO on established businesses, and two or more years in business opens the broadest set of programs. A customer under a year old is underwritten as a startup, which typically means 700+ personal credit, relevant experience, working capital after the purchase and usually a down payment. I’d leave the payment off those proposals and let the application set the terms.
Then ask what happens when a file is borderline. At Five West, it gets reviewed for a restructure before anyone calls it a decline: money down, a shorter term, a co-signer or corporate co-guarantor, or a different program. Every submission also has two funding paths behind it, the sharpest pricing or the Five West direct lending program when speed, certainty or structure matters more. When a file can’t be placed, we’ll say so plainly so your rep can move on.
When does the reseller get paid?
When the deal funds. Five West pays you 100% of the invoice directly, after your customer signs and the equipment is delivered and accepted, and standard deals can fund in as little as 24 to 48 hours after signing. Here’s what else to ask about:
- Deposits: where the equipment requires one, deposit funding can be released once your customer signs.
- Phased projects: progress and pre-funding are available on qualifying transactions, which helps when a deployment runs in stages.
- Collections: there aren’t any. You don’t carry a receivable, because the customer’s obligation runs to the funder.
That last one matters more than it looks. Your team sells and installs, and it doesn’t have to chase anyone’s payment.
What does a 3rd party leasing company cost the reseller?
Nothing, at Five West. All three partner tiers are free, with no setup fee, no monthly fee and no application fee for your customers, and each starts with a 90-day trial. The referral tier is even called 3rd Party Financing: you refer the deal, and we handle the credit, the paperwork and the funding.
| Tier | Monthly application volume | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd Party Financing | No minimum | A dedicated finance rep and nothing to sign. Send customers to support@fivewestfinancial.com or a named point of contact. |
| Co-Branded | About $100,000, plus one funded deal a quarter | Your logo on a payment calculator and financing page, an apply-online link, the Partner Portal, 100% funding upfront on orders, a dedicated rep and training |
| Private Label | About $500,000, under a partner program agreement | Everything in Co-Branded, plus a program built under your brand, CRM integration, annual sales meeting sponsorships, and in-person trade show and event support |
Volume counts what customers apply for, whether or not every deal funds, and moving up a tier doesn’t restart anything. Our partner tier comparison goes through all three.
The tools don’t cost anything either. Our partner widgets put a payment estimate, an apply button or a full financing page on your site with one snippet, with price prefill on Shopify and WooCommerce, and you don’t need to be a partner to use them. On Co-Branded and Private Label, Submit App in the Partner Portal takes about a minute for the basics, with no documents and no SSN.
What does an IT equipment lease cost per month?
For an established business with nothing down, every $10,000 financed comes to about $318 a month over 36 months, $249 over 48 or $208 over 60. Here’s how that works out on common projects:
| Example project | Amount | 36 months | 48 months | 60 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laptop refresh, with configuration and deployment | $25,000 | About $795 | About $622 | About $519 |
| Network and firewall upgrade | $40,000 | About $1,272 | About $995 | About $830 |
| Security system: cameras, access control, install labor and monitoring | $45,000 | About $1,431 | About $1,120 | About $934 |
| Server and storage refresh | $60,000 | About $1,908 | About $1,493 | About $1,246 |
| Mixed invoice: distributor hardware plus your install labor | $80,000 | About $2,544 | About $1,991 | About $1,661 |
| Data center buildout | $150,000 | About $4,770 | About $3,733 | About $3,114 |
Example project sizes, not quotes. Payments are estimated examples for established businesses only (two or more years in business), on an equipment finance agreement or $1 buyout lease with no money down and payments in arrears. A fair market value lease usually comes in lower. Actual payments depend on credit approval, the equipment and the term. Illustrative, not an offer.
The Quote Builder works as an IT equipment lease calculator: put in the price, term and structure, and it shows an estimated payment with no credit pull. I’d print that number under the total on every proposal to an established business, with the term and “estimated and subject to credit approval” beside it. Our guide to quoting a monthly payment has lines your reps can use.
What should you ask a leasing partner before you sign on?
Here’s the short list I’d take into the first conversation, with Five West’s answers:
- Will you finance the whole proposal? Yes: hardware, software and licenses, installation, your labor on a mixed invoice, and managed services.
- Can the term follow the refresh? Yes, with FMV, 10% option and $1 buyout leases of 24 to 60 months, and add-ons mid-term on qualifying leases.
- How fast is a first answer? Usually within 1 to 2 business hours, on a soft pull.
- How big a deal can you approve without financials? Up to $500,000 on qualifying files.
- What happens to a borderline file? It’s reviewed for a restructure before any decline, with two funding paths behind one submission.
- When and how do I get paid? 100% of the invoice on funding, with no receivable to carry.
- What does it cost me? Nothing, on any tier.
There’s no better test than a live deal. Send one and see how fast the answer comes back and how clearly it’s explained. Our guide to checking your financing partner has more questions like these.
Frequently asked questions
What do IT leasing companies do for resellers?
They finance your customers’ projects, so you can sell them with a monthly payment without carrying the payments yourself. At Five West, hardware, software and licenses, installation, your own labor and managed-services fees can go on one agreement, and you’re paid 100% of the invoice when the deal funds, with no receivable to carry.
Can a reseller’s own labor go on an IT equipment lease?
Yes. A mixed invoice, with hardware bought from a distributor plus the reseller’s own labor, can go on one agreement at Five West. Installation and deployment are financed too, so the customer has one payment for the whole project. Itemize the hardware, licenses, labor and services on the quote.
Can managed services fees be financed with the hardware?
Yes. An MSP’s monthly managed-services fees can go on the agreement. On a fair market value lease, on qualifying transactions, the hardware, install, licenses and support can be bundled into one monthly cost, and the old gear can be turned in for a refresh at the end of the term.
Can a security system be financed with installation and monitoring?
Yes. Five West finances everything on a security system, including cameras, access control, install labor and monitoring. Smaller rollouts can be bundled to reach the usual minimum of about $15,000.
How long should an IT equipment lease be?
About as long as the customer will keep the gear. Servers are usually replaced every three to five years, so the term is set to end around the next refresh. Leases run 24 to 60 months. Racks, cabling and phone systems that last longer usually go on an equipment finance agreement, with terms from 24 to 84 months.
When does an IT reseller get paid on a leased deal?
When the deal funds. Five West pays the reseller 100% of the invoice directly after the customer signs and the equipment is delivered and accepted. Deposit funding can be released at signing where the equipment requires it, and progress and pre-funding are available on qualifying transactions. The reseller carries no receivable.
What is a 3rd party leasing company?
It’s a finance company outside your business that handles your customer’s lease or financing and pays you for the equipment. At Five West, the simplest version is the 3rd Party Financing tier: no minimum volume, nothing to sign, no cost and a dedicated finance rep.
What does it cost a reseller to offer leasing?
Nothing at Five West. All three partner tiers are free, with no setup fee, no monthly fee and no application fee for customers, and each starts with a 90-day trial. Co-Branded asks for about $100,000 a month in applications and one funded deal a quarter, and Private Label about $500,000 a month.
Start a partner program.
Put a monthly payment on every proposal, get answers within hours, and get paid 100% of the invoice when deals fund. The partner application takes about 10 minutes, and it’s not a credit application.
This article is general information about leasing and financing the equipment, software and services that IT resellers, MSPs and integrators sell, not tax, legal or accounting advice or a commitment to finance. Survey figures and Microsoft’s pricing change, so check the current figures before relying on them. Example payments are estimates, not quotes or offers. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting.