Get REAMs of benefits with RentWorks rental solutions

A lot has been written about the benefits of IT rentals compared to cash purchase, from optimising cash flow to keeping financials fluid and fixing equipment costs. On the other hand, not enough has been said about what the options are at the end of the rental term. If this is also taken into account, does that mean renting IT equipment is still more beneficial for businesses than purchasing it? In this article, RentWorks unpacks the rental lifecycle.

Pre-pandemic, many companies chose to purchase IT equipment due to the lack of information available about their end-of-term (EOT) options, or because they were afraid of getting roped into an iron-clad contract that would be difficult to get out of. Other businesses may have been under the impression that it would end up costing more in the long run.

However, in today’s volatile economy, rental options are simply the most logical and business-savvy way forward. With the country moving to work-from-home or flexible models and seeing that owners now have access to a wide range of flexible EOT options that consider their unique business needs, more and more organisations are turning to IT equipment rentals.

Flexible and cashflow friendly

And it’s clear why. Besides the fact that renting your IT equipment from a reputable company like RentWorks is environmentally a wise choice in terms of e-waste, the benefits don’t stop there. Rental options are flexible – from the start of the rental lifecycle until the end. This means that should you choose to have your existing equipment bought back; you immediately inject cash back into your business operation. If you have paid cash for your IT equipment or business assets in the past 6 months, RentWorks can set up a Sale and Rent Back (SARB) facility for your business, providing a solution that gives cash back now while you rent your equipment back over its remaining useful life. This enables you to use these assets while conserving your cash flow, which assists your business in both the short- and long-term as it expands your budget and fixes equipment costs.

Companies can also choose to rent the same assets post-EOT again for a further period. Alternatively, businesses can decide to buy the equipment from RentWorks.

User-friendly and cost-effective

The challenge with other rental companies then becomes to manage all of a business’s IT rental equipment. Capturing data related to rentals correctly can be tricky and with different departments existing within a business, such as the procurement, IT, management and legal departments, duplication of data and synchronisation of information can become problematic. Not to mention the fact that it is incredibly time-consuming and prone to human error, especially when capturing data manually.

Fortunately, with RentWorks, customers gain access to a secure solution called REAM (RentWorks Enterprise Asset Management portal) that delivers sustainable and cost-effective asset management services. The REAM platform has a fully customisable dashboard that is accessible to all of our customers at no additional charge via a secure web portal user interface. Customers have access live, real-time data, as well as historical data. The system offers best practice guidelines on items or areas requiring attention, such as:

• Asset classes;
• Contract expiry;
• Contracts and contract numbers; and
• Rentals due.

Over and above this, the REAM solution comes with additional value-adds. These services include absolute data, device, and security products, which remotely secure computer user data by freezing or wiping data from the rented device. Customers can also easily and conveniently view which assets are due or overdue for return, as well as rental contract assets that have not been verified or those that are at risk. These features all contribute to flag potential problems and enable proactive risk management. It also ensures that customers are able to manage their refresh cycles more efficiently and avoid hassles when assets are at the end of their leasing terms.

REAM – at the office or remote

Assets can, therefore, be remotely managed and secured to ensure – and prove – appropriate endpoint IT compliance processes are properly implemented and enforced. Any changes made to the user and location information is automatically recorded in an auditable manner, capturing who performed the change, as well as when the change was made. Customers can also do automated live asset verification against their rental contracts whenever they need to, which makes for a more efficient and easy auditing process. This improves reporting and governance, as well as assisting with insurance claims and the associated rented asset.

Another benefit of REAM is that it was designed for non-sophisticated integration with customers’ existing data systems and processes. In other words, companies won’t have to learn how to use a new tool if they prefer their existing approach – they can simply feed their existing information into the online system.

If you want ensure that your business gets the best possible return on investment when renting IT equipment while enjoying a user-friendly and customer-centric rental experience during its lifecycle, get in touch with RentWorks today. Simply call us on +27 11 549 9000 or complete the contact form on our website.