Scan for help: End of Lease Help
Copier lease end checklist
Every lease is different, so confirm your own dates and requirements with your leasing company. This is the general order things need to happen in.
6 or more months before your term ends
- Find your term end date
- Find your notice window, the period when the leasing company will accept your return notice
- Set a reminder dated before that window opens
90 days
- Send your letter of intent to return
- Use certified mail if your lease requires it
- Get written acknowledgment that they received it
60 days
- Decide what happens next, and get quotes
- Request your return authorization number
- Confirm the return address with the leasing company
30 days
- Arrange for the machine's hard drive to be wiped
- Get written confirmation of the wipe, with the date, serial number and method
- Book the deinstall and the freight
The week of pickup
- Record your final meter reading
- Photograph the machine on all four sides, plus the glass and the control panel
- Empty every paper tray
Pickup day
- Confirm the machine is palletized and wrapped
- Keep the shipping receipt and the tracking number
After it ships
- Get written confirmation that the leasing company received it
- Remove the device from your network and delete its print queues
- Check your final invoice against the meter reading you recorded
Why each step matters
The checklist is the order of operations. Here is what usually goes wrong at each stage, and what the paperwork is actually for. Your own lease governs, so confirm dates and requirements with your leasing company before you act on anything below.
The notice window is the whole ballgame
Most equipment leases ask for written notice inside a defined window before the term ends, and they treat silence as a decision. Miss the window and the agreement typically continues on its own terms until the next opportunity to give notice. Find your term end date first, work backwards to when the window opens, and put a reminder on the calendar before that date, not on it.
Send notice in writing and keep the receipt
Do not assume a phone call satisfies your lease's notice requirements. Send a letter of intent to return, use certified mail if the lease calls for it, and keep delivery proof and the written acknowledgment as evidence that notice was given.
Decide the next machine before the deadline, not after
Returning a copier and installing a replacement are two separate projects, and the second one takes longer than people expect once you add scheduling, network setup and training. Getting pricing in hand at the 60 day mark keeps the return date from being the thing that forces the decision. You can build a quote or have us walk the return with you.
Return authorization and return address
Equipment that arrives without a return authorization number, or at the wrong warehouse, can be treated as never returned. Ask for both in writing, and put the authorization number on the pallet paperwork and on the shipping label.
Ask what data the machine may still hold
Depending on the model and configuration, a multifunction copier may retain stored images or job data. Before it leaves the building, arrange manufacturer-supported sanitization for the device, and confirm with the leasing company that removing a drive is allowed under your return terms. Keep written confirmation with the date, serial number and method used.
Meter readings and photographs are your evidence
Final billing is reconciled against the meter, and condition charges are argued from photographs. Record the final reading the week of pickup, photograph all four sides plus the glass and the control panel, and keep the shipping receipt and tracking number. You can submit a meter reading here and follow the return prep steps for packing.
You are not done when the truck leaves
Get written confirmation that the leasing company received the machine, remove the device from your network and delete its print queues, then check the final invoice against the meter reading you recorded. Discrepancies are easier to resolve while the paperwork and the readings are still fresh.
Advantage Business Systems, Inc. · 1079 Whalley Ave, New Haven, CT 06515 · (203) 777-0011 · xeroxne.com