The reason for this trend is the need to outsource the frustrating "business of employment" tasks- such as hiring, human resource training, payroll, benefits and regulatory compliance. Between 1980 and 2000, the number of labor laws and regulations grew by almost two thirds, according to the federal Small Business Administration. This same study estimated owners of small or mid-sized business spent up to a quarter of their time on employment-related paperwork.

Employee leasing companies assume much of this burdensome responsibility and help businesses comply with all regulations. The employer can then focus on the income-producing areas of the business, where he/she is the expert.

Another advantage of using an employee leasing company is their ability to arrange a business' workers' compensation coverage with major insurance carriers, as well as manage the claims. They also offer human resources services delivered by certified professionals. Most provide services such as customized employee handbooks, recruitment, pre-employment screening, wage and compensation planning, and assistance with job descriptions.

Employee leasing companies help tens of thousands of businesses provide benefits such as health care plans, 401(k) tax-free savings accounts and other perks to their employees. Sponsored benefit programs can include major and supplemental health-care choices, including vision and dental care, employee assistance programs and even adoption assistance. An estimated 95 percent of workers in an employee leasing arrangement have access to a pension plan.

Almost any business can find value in a PEO relationship- clients range from accounting firms and construction to manufacturers and government agencies. The average client is a small business with an average of 19 employees, but some clients have fewer than three employees. Increasingly, larger businesses are signing up, too.

The employee leasing company enables each client company to lower employment costs and increase their business's bottom line. The client can maintain a simple in-house HR infrastructure or none at all by relying on the employee leasing company. Their professionals can provide critical assistance with employer compliance, which helps protect the client against liability. In fact, employee leasing companies have an 88 percent client retention rate due to strong client satisfaction.

Prepare Paperwork in Advance

Think ahead and gather all the necessary paperwork that you would otherwise start looking for and writing down when the leasing company requests it. There are no mysteries about the required documentation. You’ll need to provide an actualized business plan, detailed information on what your equipment needs are and what the equipment will be used for, the market your company works in, the competition and your differences with them. You need also to include your credit history and commercial references, contact information for satisfied clients, providers and financial institutions that have helped you in the past.

Review Your Credit Position

Ask your accountant if necessary or whoever is in charge of the financial side of your business, for a report on your credit situation. The report should include, bank accounts, loans, lines of credit, assets, current financial performance, income, expenses (both including credit payments and not). With this information you can foresee which will be your financial needs in the future and what might be the answer of the leasing company to your requests. In accordance to this information you should see which leasing terms can be the best option for you.

Request Multiple Quotes

You can request free quotes from leasing companies prior to deciding who are you going to work with and what terms will you look for. You should contact different leasing companies and request several leasing options for acquiring the equipment you need. With this information you’ll be able to put together a better request when the time for actually applying arrives.

The more, the merrier

Don’t worry if you think you are providing too many references or too many information on your financial situation. Lenders tend to like this kind of behavior from applicants. It shows that you have nothing to hide and that you can provide proof that you are a good payer and someone to be trusted when it comes to doing business.

Nevertheless, make sure to filter out anyone you might have had problems with even if it was in the past. When contacting references, lenders have the ability to obtain this kind of information even if your reference is happy now with your services.

Last but not least, regardless of how urgent the leasing transaction is, you should always have the leasing contract reviewed by a legal advisor. Once a contract is signed it will rule the relations between your business and the leasing company for many years. Thus, it is not something to be neglected or not taken seriously. Think what might happen if the equipment turns to be of no use and you loose the deal you worked so hard to get!

Leasing a car is basically “renting” a car. Normally there are terms of two to five years payments and then the car is returned to the dealer. Sometimes there is an option to buy the car at the end of the lease. After you negotiate a price with the dealer, the dealer sells the car to the leasing company and you pay the leasing company directly. Generally, a buyer should stay with what is called a closed end lease. Here you make payments over a fixed term with specific mileage limitations and then return the car to the dealer at the end of the lease.

Points to consider when determining whether to lease or buy:

• Do you dislike dealing with the trade-in process when buying a new car?

• Can you make a big down payment on a new car or not?

• Do you like to buy new cars fairly often?

• Do you drive under 15,000 miles a year?

• Is the car you are interested in fairly expensive?

If you answered “yes” to most all of these questions, you might be a good candidate for a lease.

Positive lease aspects

If you tire of cars quickly, leasing offers you the ability to get a new automobile every two to three years without big capital outlays.

Lease payments generally are much less on a monthly basis than loan payments. This has to do with how the payments are capitalized on a lease vs. a loan.

In most instances, the down payments are much less for a lease. In addition, that lease payment gets you a much nicer car for the same monthly payment.

There is no hassle to turn that leased car back in, unlike the trade-in process associated with a car that is bought.

Negative lease aspects

Leases can be very confusing to the average car buyer. Make sure the lease you are obtaining is well explained to you in all areas that need to be covered.

Watch out for penalties associated with the lease. Items like early return of the car or excess wear and tear can increase your holding cost by thousands of dollars.

Insurance to cover a leased vehicle can run more than the insurance to buy a vehicle.

Lease with the option to buy is normally not a good deal. If you think you want to own the car at the end of your lease, you are better off buying the car from the start. The option to buy at the end of a lease is usually much more expensive.

Lastly, leasing is good if you feel you will always continue to lease. But if you decide to buy your next car, you have no value in a trade in or sale for cash of the old vehicle.

So how do you lease a car?

First, you have to decide on the type of car you want. As you try to decide what kind of car you might be interested in, take a moment to think about your current car.

• What are some things you like about your current car?

• What would you change if you could?

• What do you want out of a new vehicle? (e.g., more passenger space, more prestige, better fuel economy)

The next thing you need to do is find out the total cost of leasing the car you want. The cost of leasing a particular car includes more than just the lease payment. Insuring the car is a very important factor to consider in the overall price. Once you have figured out as closely as possible the total cost of the lease, make sure you have taken in to account the price you would have paid for the car outright when negotiating with the dealer. That way you know you negotiated based on the actual cost of the vehicle. Bottom line, know the cost you would pay for the car before you start the leasing process.

Leasing a new car can be tricky business. Often, buyers are lured by the low monthly cost of car leasing, but leasing isn’t always the best option. Experts agree that leasing is a good idea if you regularly change cars every 2 years and prefer to drive new cars. By leasing a car, you only have to worry about monthly payments and mileage limits – not about trade-in values or selling your car privately.

The advantages of car leasing become clear for most people who have bought several new cars in a relatively short period of time. Paying those high monthly payments can seem like a waste of your budget, not to mention the depreciation hit you suffer on trade-in. Most people who do trade their cars in every 2 years or so tend to see a car as a monthly expense as opposed to an asset anyway, so for them it makes sense to either pay less or get more car for the same amount per month.

On the other hand, car leasing is not the best idea for those who typically keep their car for more than 2 years. The biggest problem with car leasing is that it appeals most to those who can afford it least. Let’s look at an example. Say you bought a new car at a monthly payment of $400 per month for 5 years. Assume that the car will remain in good working order for about 10 years. That’s a total cost of $24,000 over 10 years, or $200 per month. Let’s assume that the car retained 15% of its original value when it gets traded in after 10 years of service and subtract the remaining $3,600 of value from the total cost. That brings the average monthly cost to about $170 per month. Obviously, a lease price of $250 per month would be no bargain, especially considering the fact that car prices go up and your payments will probably increase with each new lease.