by George Parker
Last year marked the fourth straight year of recovery for the U.S. equipment leasing industry. A robust U.S. economy led many manufacturers and service companies to continue investing in new equipment, benefiting equipment lease providers. Although economic activity demonstrated relative strength, the U.S. economy shows signs of slowing and equipment leasing companies are reacting. What do these developments portend for companies looking for equipment leases?
Dr. Blair’s nationally-acclaimed Profits Plus program computes over 100 different statistics for each participating doctor’s dental practice and provides industry benchmarks for comparison purposes. Having reviewed over 200 practices to date, he lists the following benchmark ratios as those that provide the greatest keys to improving profitability in most practices.
Third-party medical receivables comprise the largest liquid asset of healthcare providers. The receivables are often pledged as collateral to receive much needed working capital for healthcare providers. Although the ultimate receipt of the payments from health insurance companies and government programs are likely, traditional lenders often limit the amount of funding. It isn't because they don't want to grant loans. It's because they don't understand the collateral.
The manner in which a dental practice is sold can have a marked impact on the ultimate wealth of the seller. If it is an outright sale, federal and state income taxes can eat up a large percentage of the proceeds. A dental practice is sold for a variety of reasons: retirement, moving to another city, or even because of health issues. Regardless of the reason, it is critical to consider the tax ramifications of the sale. 
Many business people don't know that equipment leases can be negotiated. They do a quick read-through of the contract, see that the monthly payments are what was represented, and sign where indicated. Not carefully reviewing each paragraph of the agreement can be costly. Long, drawn-out contracts are often developed by leasing companies to gain added revenues and advantages for themselves. Consequently, in this situation, it is to the detriment of the lessee.