Ahhh, springtime. When a young man’s fancy turns to… equipment financing!

(quick – Mrs. Fletch isn’t around, right?)

But seriously, March is a great time to finance equipment. Let me give you a few reasons why:

First, winter is ending. For about half the country, this isn’t that big of a deal. But for the other (more northern) half, it’s generally a sigh of relief. The snow melts, the birds return, and people start venturing outside again. And some industries start cranking up. To give a good example, many outdoor construction projects are impossible with frozen earth, you see few motorcycles in the winter, golf courses are shut down, etc. These all awaken in the spring, meaning the regional economic engine starts to run again.  

Related to that is the mental line in the sand this month brings. Many companies will say “we’ll tackle that after winter”. Add in Daylight Savings Time, and you have a clear shift in overall demeanor. Spring is a season of rebirth, and that includes equipment financing. It’s time to spruce things up and modernize!

March is also the end of the first quarter. Many companies use the first quarter to predict where the entire year is going. Look at your own company – by this point, you probably have a decent indicator of what kind of year 2017 is going to be. This makes economic decisions (like financing new or used equipment) a little easier.

Some of the reasons I mentioned for earlier months are still valid in March – some companies may still have a few of “last year’s models” around at really deep discounts. And time is marching on (pardon the pun) – your Section 179 tax deduction increases in effectiveness, especially when you combine it with an equipment lease.

Let’s throw in St Patrick’s Day too. I can’t think of a good reason that ties that to leasing equipment, but it has green beer and shamrock shakes, so it’s definitely worth mentioning.  

So put the snow shovel away and think about financing equipment!