Johannesburg, 03 Feb 2021
Assessing printer and photocopier solutions for your business can seem like a complicated task. To assist businesses in making an informed decision, United Copiers has identified the following five common pitfalls made when choosing business photocopier and office printer providers.
1. Monthly rental or cash purchase
When purchasing an office printer or photocopier, there are two buying options – either an outright cash purchase price, or a monthly rental price. Ultimately, price is always a key consideration in the decision-making process. A photocopier or office printer is a fast-depreciating IT asset, so we typically recommend that businesses consider purchasing an office photocopy or printer through a monthly rental contract.
2. Assessing rental proposals and contracts – clauses to look out for
- Rental escalations. In the office automation sector, rental escalations typically come in five variants on the anniversary day, namely 0%, 5%, 7.5%, 10% and 15%. The 7.5% on anniversary date is the optimal for South Africa. It's critical that you understand the escalation that is applicable to the rental contract that you are being asked to sign. Ask your account manager or solutions consultant to clearly highlight and initial any escalation clauses when signing an agreement. We typically recommend an escalation which is matched to the local currency’s US dollar depreciation rate. This ensures that when the time comes to replace the goods, your monthly rental corresponds to the replacement cost of another replacement device.
- Automatic renewals. Ensure there are no automatic renewals in the terms and conditions of your rental agreement. Avoid any clauses which automatically renew the rental agreement without your organisations needing to give prior notice at the contract’s conclusion.
- Contract duration. Carefully check the duration of your rental agreement. Some businesses may sign agreements for longer than the recommended life of the goods to reduce the monthly rental payments. Try to ensure that your rental or lease agreement is not greater than 60 months, anything from 12 to 60 months is acceptable.
3. The photocopier service level agreement (SLA)
Once the purchase of the office printer/photocopier has been finalised as either a cash sale or rental, you will need to address the ongoing upkeep of the device via a service level agreement (SLA). Office photocopiers and printers are electro-mechanical devices and require frequent and specialised service, maintenance and upkeep.
Be sure to assess the ratings, reviews and referrals for your chosen photocopy service provider to ensure they can adequately service and supply your machine over the duration of the SLA.
4. What to look for in an SLA
- Duration of the SLA. SLAs are typically signed to coincide with the duration of the rental agreement. If a cash purchase is made, the SLA should be signed to match the anticipated life span of your device.
- Cost per click (CPC). Ninety-eight percent of all photocopiers and business printers are sold with this agreement. CPC means the user pays a monthly fee based on the number of prints and copies (clicks) made in each month. This is measured via a monthly meter reading. It's important to remember that this price is market related, but beware of prices that are too low. Some vendors offer a very low cost per copy price, which indicates service may not be at the level required. Checking the service provider's reviews or testimonials should alleviate some concern here.
- Minimum billing. A minimum billing is an acceptable cost which reputable service providers will charge to ensure they can provide for a minimum quality of service and support at all times. Check that your minimum billing is market related.
5. The hardware
The physical features of office photocopiers and business printers are essentially very similar across all major brands. It is for this reason that we put hardware last in our list of critical factors to consider when assessing your business printer quotation.
Some major printer and photocopier brands we would recommend include Canon, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Sharp, Xerox, Samsung, HP, Toshiba and Ricoh.
6. Who are you purchasing from?
A photocopier managed business printing solution is a long-term relationship, with agreements typically between 12-60 months. Ensure that your proposal is professional, clear and is signed by both parties before the conclusion of the deal. Keep a copy of the proposal on hand and request that you have copies of both your rental and SLAs at the outset of the deal.
Be sure to run a Google search of the business you are considering engaging with and ensure they have legitimate reviews and ratings, or request that they send you a list of referrals and references. Understanding that your provider can meet the commitments laid out in your agreements is critical to ensuring that your business has a productive and efficient managed printing solution. Ultimately, your provider should be selected on a combination of price, quality and ongoing service provision.
United Copiers offers comprehensive SLAs on a wide range of multifunction printer brands and models. For more information, contact us on 086 001 8500 or email info@unitedbusiness.co.za.
Share