Print dealers don’t need reminding that the industry is shifting toward managed services. You’re living it every day.
Customers expect one partner to handle IT, cybersecurity, collaboration tools and print while, in many cases, having these services under a single contract.
Right now, that transition is happening against a complicated U.S. backdrop. For the last few years, borrowing in the U.S. has been more expensive and harder to access. Elevated interest rates pushed up the cost of capital, lenders became more selective and businesses across nearly every sector have had to think twice about large upfront investments. In simple terms: money hasn’t been cheap, fast or easy to get, which puts pressure on dealers (you) trying to build new services while managing existing print operations.
Even so, these realities can—and do—coexist within strong technology investment. Recent updates from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation1 highlight that technology equipment and software remain an active area for investment and financing. Complementing that, the IDC states that, “By 2028, 40% of organizations currently under a print services contract will seek to consolidate print and IT services under one contract through a ‘single source’ provider.”2
So, what’s my point in all this? The question isn’t if the shift to managed services needs to happen. You already know it does. The real question is how.
Specifically, how are you going to fund the devices, networking and services customers now expect from you?
Why You Should Care About Financing
To get these devices and services, you could self-finance. That would typically mean using your own cash or a line of credit (LOC) from a bank. One shared advantage for both is, in most cases, quick turnaround times for approval and access.
However, a shared disadvantage is neither are designed to scale. If you use internal cash for upfront purchases, that could mean impacting other areas of your business. With respect to an LOC, that could mean you eventually max out that LOC and need to look elsewhere.
This is where financing can help. I’m going to go over two specific examples: leasing and assignment of payments.
Leasing
Leasing can allow you or your customer to use equipment over time while preserving cash and keeping refresh cycles predictable. The finance provider owns the equipment. Payments are spread out monthly and refresh points become natural managed‑services checkpoints.
Imagine your customer needs $100,000 worth of laptops and expects predictable monthly costs. You send the customer application to your leasing partner, and then the customer gets approved and signs the lease. From there, the leasing partner funds the equipment, and the customer pays a steady monthly amount.
Advantages
- Scalable service model: Predictable refresh cycles create recurring upgrade and renewal opportunities
- Low upfront commitment: You keep capital available for operational investments
- Budget friendly: Payments are steady and often easy for customers to plan around
Considerations
- Refresh cycles must align with actual customer needs
- Requires proactive end‑of‑term engagement
- Requires planning for returned or refreshed devices
Assignment Program
This is a structure in which you offer your customer periodic payment terms in or alongside your managed-services agreement. The financing partner takes assignment of those contractual payments as well as the assets and any rights to the assets or payments. You deliver and manage the services, the finance partner handles billing and collections. This model is especially powerful for large managed‑services deployments.
Suppose your customer needs 10,000 laptops. An assignment program would mean your finance partner would fund you the equipment purchase price and take over the payment stream. This lets you focus on deployment, lifecycle management and ongoing service without tying up capital.
Advantages
- Scalable: Enables very large deals without putting strain on your operations
- Improved cash position: No major outlay needed for equipment acquisition
- Operational simplicity: The finance partner manages invoicing and collections
- Faster execution: Move from quote to delivery with fewer internal bottlenecks
Considerations
- Customer contracts must allow payment assignment
- Pricing must reflect term length and program structure
- Financing terms and conditions must be included in the contract
- Not every customer or deal qualifies for assignment of payments
What Does This Mean for Your Current Operations?
When it comes to introducing financing, many dealers ask me if they need to change their payment options. The qualified answer is this: in most cases, no. The reason I say “no” is that many dealers already have payment options in place, including leasing.
The change is where the funding is coming from. When a third party supplies the upfront capital and lifecycle support, it helps reduce risk to:
- Your cash
- Your service readiness
- Your capacity to pursue new opportunities
In other words, you reduce cash‑flow risks and scaling constraints.
Why Dealers Who Answer the “How” Stay Ahead
From working with dealers who use financing to answer, “how am I going to pay for this?” these are the benefits they often experience:
- Competitive advantage: Dealers can deliver managed services without heavy upfront costs. This means they can often move faster on bidding processes and closing deals.
- Partner leverage: Dealers who leverage equipment finance providers can often scale quicker. Ultimately, leveraging the financing provider’s balance sheet and risk appetite reduces self-funding limitations.
- Predictable sales cycles: This is especially true with leasing when it comes to end-of-term options. The dealer knows when the lease term is up and can schedule time, often in advance, to speak to their customer about upgrades. And as we know, tech obsolesce is real. The more you as a dealer can solve that problem, the more indispensable you become to your customer.
Bottom Line: Answer the “How?” First
More often than not, answering “how?” comes down to developing the funding model early, before service demand outpaces your capacity. When you solve the cashflow and scalability questions up front, you protect your business from unnecessary strain, which in turn can support overall growth.
Simply put—work smarter, not harder.
References
1 Equipment Leasing and Financing and Finance Association: 2026 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook.
2 IDC: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Imaging, Printing, and Document Solutions 2026 Predictions. #US53858425, October 2025.
