Apple Product Blog from Hardsoft Computers

HardSoft have been offering computer business leasing for many many years and for the last six months a 0% Personal finance option for home users………. The one thing this has caused is a lot of lease customers asking if they can get some of the great benefits of Flexi lease while getting a true 0% solution and get the best of both worlds.

So we are introducing two alternative Apple Mac computers on an 18 month zero per cent financing plans which offer exactly that. A 100% Tax deductible lease payment that after 18 months will have cost you no more than an outright Cash Purchase! And it includes ownership at the end of the 18 month period. ………..  A break-down of those packages is below…

Package 1:    New Apple iMac 27” Quad Core i7 – 3.4GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD, GeForce GTX675MX (1GB) Graphics, Mac OSX Mountain Lion, Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse, 3 Year Hardware Warranty and FREE Microsoft Office 2011 Home and Business for Mac (As per our June Offer).

…… All this available at the Apple Store for £1798 +VAT or from HardSoft on a Flexi Lease £99.89 + VAT per month….No interest !

Package 2:    New Apple MacBook Pro 15” Quad Core i7 – 2.3GHz, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, GeForce GT650 (512MB) Graphics, Mac OSX Mountain Lion, Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse, 3 Year Hardware Warranty and FREE Microsoft Office 2011 Home and Business for Mac (As per our June Offer).

…….. available at the Apple Store for £1548 + VAT or from HardSoft on a Flexi Lease £86 + VAT per month.

Zero per cent financing to business though costs us money and we have currently only been able to put a couple of packages together.  This is a limited offer for the Summer 2013 only and is not available to new start up companies but is available to both sole traders as well as Limited companies. Note that payments are quarterly by direct debit and there is a £100 fee of which £50 is a document fee and £50 covers passing of legal title of goods.

Interestingly the Apple Store themselves is offering a similar deal of 0% financing on Macs but this is over a 12 month period and is for Limited companies only. HardSoft are fully Apple Authorised .So always bought your equipment historically and weary of leasing offers maybe this is the perfect solution to let you dip a toe in, save some money for potential darker days and pay for that latest IT over time without paying any more than you would on a cash purchase. You’ll soon find out if leasing is for you and this could lead into the full HardSoft Flexi Lease experience.

While this package offers true zero percent finance on a Lease basis and is open to business customers it doesn’t have any of our Flexi Lease benefits such as an early get out option or regular upgrades so if this sounds more like the kind of thing you need for your business why not look into our 3 year flexi-lease packages which are available on all specifications of Macs, iPads or PC’s as well as software and Network servers and solutions.on the Web Site.

So this week we have had the normal rumour mongering, fanfare and hysteria that often precedes Apple’s WWDC conference. However for Mac hardware fans the WWDC didn’t offer up much as was expected or hope. There were two hardware updates though, the announcement of a very impressive new small Mac Pro with a less impressive “available later this year” tag; and an update to the Apple Macbook Air.

Since its initial release in 2008 the Air has carved out its own followers and own place within Apple’s product line, some may say by killing the original white Macbook but that’s neither here nor there. And now we have a new refresh; the Mid 2013 as it will become known, but what do you get over the Mid 2012 ?

Updated Processors - To the untrained eye the new processor  may seem slower, with the entry level being an i5 1.3 GHz rather than an i5 1.7GHz; but these are Intel’s 4^th generation processors, or the Intel  Haswell processors to their friends. Intel have worked hard on improving the battery life rather than speed performance which means that the new Airs will run for 9 hours for the 11” and 12 hours for the 13” compared to 5 and 7 hours respectively. A 12 hour battery without compromising on speed is a pretty impressive feat. The reason the 13” has more battery life as the bigger chassis can accommodate more batteries within.

Cheaper storage - The 11” Macbook Air now comes as standard with 128GB flash storage, as opposed to the Mid 2012’s 64GB flash storage. With this model still being the same price on a HardSoft flexible business lease as the previous generation, that’s double the amount of storage for not a bean more! Both models will have 128, 256 and 512GB options and with the 13” base model being slightly cheaper it means that having an Air with bigger storage is cheaper than ever before, especially combined with free Microsoft Office  2011 with all Macs leased from Hardsoft this month.

Faster - The MacBook Air uses the Intel integrated graphics solution. With the advent of the Haswell chipset comes the new Intel HD 5000 replacing the impressive HD 4000. Apple claim that these graphics are 40 per cent faster than its predecessor.  When combined with the fact that Apple are using faster  flash storage (well it’s the same stuff but attached internally direct to the motherboard) which is 45 per cent faster than the previous MacBook Air. HardSoft used to offer storage upgrades for the Air from OWC but these are now slower. This Mac should fly along through images and web pages.

Pricing  -Pricing has changed and the entry level 13-inch Air is now cheaper and £8.45 per week on a HardSoft business lease. The 11″ retains the same price it gets bigger 128GB Flash Storage which means just £7.45 per week including three years warranty and support to lease . Basically for a £1 a week you can jump from 11″ to 13″ !

This is also the first model in the Apple range to include the new wireless standard 802.11ac which allows for faster data transfer and a longer Wifi range- with fewer dead spots. To benefit you’ll probably need a new Wi fi router, but don’t worry Apple have thought of that with a reboot on both the Apple Extreme and Apple Time Capsule (available . These new 802.11ac devices are both available straight away and can be included in one of our flexible leasing packages. In future this standard should be faster than traditional cabling.

Want to know more either about how to finance a new Apple Mac for a new start up or established business or want details on the specs then give us a call, We are Apple Authorised as well.

Are you a new or a start-up business? Are you concerned that you do not have the credit history that will enable you to obtain finance for your office essentials such as IT hardware and software? Well, HardSoft, quite unusually in todays economy, are actively supporting new start-up businesses by offering their flexible lease to companies trading 10 days or 10 years.

HardSoft can provide anything from £1000 to £15000 of lease finance to new-start businesses. This can include both hardware and software. If you are a new business you may be well aware of how difficult it is to establish any credit history and traditional financing methods such as Banks are difficult to deal with and often require a ‘Charge’ on your home.

To set up a lease HardSoft will request the owner’s private address to establish some credit history through this route. Some recent bank statements (whether for the business or personal) will be required to prove the ability to meet payments, and a Limited companies Director’s Indemnity may be requested if you have set up a new Limited Company.

The HardSoft stand at the Start Ups show at Excel

The initial payment will be equivalent to one month’s payment, which can be paid by credit/debit card or using our online payment system. Occasionally we may require the lease to be over 24 months (rather than 36) and a deposit of three months may be needed should the ability to repay be difficult to assess. If this is the case however, we can offer you a £100 rebate as we understand this may be inconvenient. If you are a new start company, there are many benefits of leasing your equipment. Below are some of the reasons why as a new start company, leasing is the best way forward for you and your business: 

• Immediate use of the equipment without paying the full cost price.
• Fixed lease costs throughout the duration of the agreement, allowing you to include each year’s rentals in your annual budget.
• 100% tax deductible – Offset all lease payments against your annual taxable profits.
• More often than not, banks and other lenders can charge sizeable set up fees. This is not the case when leasing through HardSoft.

A recent example of HardSoft leasing to a fairly new start company is a company based in Kent which required a complete new Apple Mac system costing a total of circa £18,000. This included the 27” Apple iMac as well as the Apple iPad 4^th generation with Retina Display. With the business only trading a year, company bank statements were required and were provided no problem at all. HardSoft then had the lease finance in place within 24 hours and installed the system the following week.

HardSoft recently exhibited at the ‘Business Start-Up Show 2013’ at the Excel arena in London and returned after 2 days with 50+ enquiries from new start companies and sole traders that are looking to take on brand new Mac or PC equipment on a flexible lease basis.

HardSoft’shave been trading for over 25 years and are the one stop solution for the supply, support and financing of a new IT sstem. Leasing is a flexible alternative to purchasing new IT equipment. As well as a great source of start up financing also offers flexibility to Renew and Cancel within the lease and there tax advantages to business users as well PLUS every system has a comprehensive three year warranty and insurance option.

Please feel free to contact our sales team today to discuss your IT needs and how we can finance them. Call us on 020 7111 1643 or email sales@hardsoft.co.uk.

As the popularity of Apple’s Mac computers has increased so have the prices. The latest iMac is 10% more expensive that its predecessor.  Leasing is an easy affordable way to get the latest and most powerful Mac and make it affordable.

Established in 1984 HardSoft Computers has adopted a business model to both supply and support the new IT and provide the credit funding for the leasing for both established and new  start up businesses.  This allows a unique solutions for both your technical and financial needs by tailoring lease agreements around your business requirements. While many other companies simply supply the boxes, we are able to customise and upgrade the hardware and software of
the majority of the equipment we offer. This might be anything from a simple RAM (Macbooks can take 16Gb max) and hard drive upgrades (consider SSD, Fusion or Hybrid)  to a more powerful graphics card for the Mac Pro from Nvidia or AMD. Not only will we install your equipment but we also offer telephone technical support free of charge throughout the entirety of your lease. As many of our customers rely on their technology to run their businesses we place great emphasis on ability to provide support not only over the phone but also on site if needed. Our 3 year warranty as standard with all the machines that we supply, ensures that you will be covered against any issues that may arise; we also offer loan units (on certain higher spec Macs) ; so you are able to work when your machines are at our Apple Authorised repair centre.

Leasing offers a unique alternative to purchasing your new Macs outright. Unlike paying the full price cost, a lease allows you to manage your cash flow per month which can be especially advantageous for new business which cannot manage large chunky costs. Leasing is seperate from any other credit and bank loans and will keep your cash in the business to run your business. You can also offset all lease payments against your annual taxable profits; the payment will be treated as a business expense. It could reduce your tax bill. These are the standard advantages of leasing however at HardSoft we offer much more than a standard service. We are the only leasing company which allow you to own your equipment for a nominal figure of £1 at the end of your lease.

There’s more advantages though….If during your lease, as many of our existing clients do, feel the need to get new equipment during your lease we have a Return, Retain and Renew option. After 2 years of owning Apple equipment our sales team will contact you with a Renewal option which will include a quotation for an updated version of your current lease on a similar monthly cost. Its the same concept as a mobile phone upgrade. Not only can you renew to the latest equipment but you will also retain the equipment that you currently have on lease with us for your own use or for re-sale. For example, if you have a Lease agreement for several iMacs paying £100 per month. We can upgrade your lease and supply the new model iMacs at a new similar cost and you can take the old ones home!

Firstly it is worth looking at the difference between the two processors that Apple offer, the Intel Core i5 and Core i7, this will allow you to decide the platform from which you want to begin upgrading. Between the two Hyper threading is the main difference. On the i7 it’s enabled natively, whereas on the i5 it’s locked. The i7 has more cores too- quad cores. In laymans terms the i7 is more powerful than the i5 but also costs more. However this is not the be all and end all of determining the power/speed and storage of your Mac…..though in the last 12 months each new Mac has had less and less user configurable options. Often the default options that are offered by Apple don’t meet needs and therefore opt for upgrading aspects of the machine like the RAM or the Hard drive. However as we know Apple like to dictate the terms when it comes to their products and set the prices (high) for simple upgrades.

Although the new Retina display MacBook isn’t upgradeable after Apple have built it, the 13” and 15” MacBook Pros are free for you to put together your own spec. This involves everything from the screen to the RAM to the Hard drive. These changes can be made either during or after build and with a lease through Hardsoft we automatically upgrade all of our MacBook’s that are on a business lease to 8GB, which is the double the power you get with the standard offer direct from Apple. High RAM capacity will help to increase the general speed of your machine, one of the most desired traits from any piece of IT equipment. HardSoft offer a 16GB upgrade for just £1.35 + VAT extra per week on our flexible Mac leasing options for business users.

Another easy affordable way to majorly upgrade your Mac is to install a new Hard Drive. If it is speed that you are looking for then look no further than the 6G Bus speed SSD that Hardsoft offer as opposed to the 3G SSD that comes as standard with Apples default spec. Upgrading to an SSD gives you 3 main advantages; Less power usage (extended battery life), faster data access and higher reliability of data storage. This will effectively extend the battery life of your Mac and increase its processing power. As SSD’s are built using micro chips they are far more reliable and less prone to damage than a standard hard drive.

However if you are looking for large storage and fast data access we offer the Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid drive for the 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pro (non retina version) , this has 750GB of data storage as well as 8GB SSD storage. This is extremely popular with our customers who are looking for the perfect mix between speed and large storage. The SSD partition can store the OSX and the Hard drive can store the bulk of the data. This drive is a match for the Apple fusion drive and is completely affordable at just  99 pence  + VAT per week. This is the largest hybrid available currently that fits in a Mac though 1TB non hybrid drive options are available.

When you lease a new Mac with Hardsoft we don’t limit your choices, we aim to create a bespoke machine to service your needs. All of these upgrades are easily and affordably offered when you lease a  Mac with us and by making these simple changes you can dramatically improve the performance of your new Mac.

In the world of big business, disaster recovery and business continuity are of the most paramount importance with companies spending millions on solutions to keep their staff, departments and business working no matter what happens.  However for smaller businesses disaster recovery and business continuity can take a back seat due to time and monetary constraints leaving the door open to costly and damaging IT disaster.  In this guide I will be giving you a few ways of quickly and easily providing protection for your business, without spending great deals of money……..though if you were to lease one of our PC or Mac Networks then all these are included.

1. Surge Protect- A surge protector is a device, normally in the form of a multi plug adapter, that protects your computer equipment from power surges. A power surge is an increase in voltage above the normal level in a flow of electricity. In the UK, the standard voltage is 230 volts. Should the voltage rise significantly above 230 volts, your surge protector will cut the power and ground any extra voltage in order to avoid damage to your important computer equipment. Surge Protectors are fairly inexpensive as well costing circa £30. Many manufacturers like Belkin will include insurance as well, should the surge protector fail at all, covering you in all eventualities. A UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply is like a big car battery that includes the surge protection and will keep a system going for 10-15 minutes during a power outage- just enough time to safely shut down a system.This is a must for a Server
   system where data is centrally stored. Every Server we offer on our computer leasing includes a 1500VA UPS.
2. Onsite Backup- Data is quite simply the most important element of your IT infrastructure. Regardless of the new iMac you may have or the all singing all dancing HP Z Workstation; without data they are glorified calculators. It is estimated that 6% of all PCs and servers will suffer an episode of data loss in a given year. That is more than 1 in 20! Combined with the fact that 60% of companies who lose all of their data will shut down within 6 months; it is essential that you have some form of backup in place. If you do not have a server this can be as simple as using a memory stick to backup the data portion of your hard drive, this method means that you will have to give every member of staff a memory stick, but with an 8GB stick now costing as little as £5 this shouldn’t be a problem. Those with a server however can benefit from automated / semi automated backup solutions. This can be as simple as an external hard drive plugged into the server which takes a full backup every night to a multitude of hard drives that take full backup every night and are swapped over every day giving you a bigger scope of backups to recover files that may have been lost but not realised straight away. It will also allow you to take your backups offsite should the worst happen to your building, fire or theft.  Every server from HardSoft comes with a backup solution as standard, but if you wish to discuss your current solution give our sales team a call.
3. Cloud backup- whilst we always recommend an onsite backup solution as a minimum the next level up is Cloud backup. This is a backup that is done via the internet overnight.  A Cloud backup protects you from issues such as fire and theft at your business, but it also protects you from human error such as forgetting to switch backups or not having a backup plugged in at all. With the recent popularity in Cloud products, prices have been tumbling for Cloud backup so the once prohibitive costs are no longer there. Again if this is something you would like to add to your business give our sales team a call and they can tailor a solution for you. Leasing a network system from HardSoft includes either 100GB or 200Gb of daily data back up for a full three years peace of mind.
4. Email Continuity & Anti Virus - With E Mail firmly overtaking the phone call as the primary source of contact, it is ever more important to make sure your emails continue working. However unless you have measures in place, should your email server go down or your office become available; it can take 24 hours plus to propagate changes in the event of your disaster; and it will take a further 24 hours to revert back should you need to. By using a third party company to redirect your email you can have the ability to quickly and easily redirect your email to a new computer, IP address etc should you need to.  The added benefit is that companies can offer email backup; usually up to 30 Days; and antispam solutions at the same time. At HardSoft the solution we use is the AVG Cloudcare or for larger networks look at Sophos.

At HardSoft Computers we take Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity seriously and as such are happy to advise on your current solutions and make suggestions to help. Leasing a PC or Mac Server package includes all the se four disaster protection solutions as standard. Leasing a 5 user PC system plus the Server with all these starts at £39 per week for a three year solution that also includes warranty.

Kyocera FS-C2526MFP

and reduce print costs..….At HardSoft it is not only Apple Macs and PCs that are available on our flexible lease; we can offer a range of printers from A4 Colour Lasers, A3/4 Multifunction’s and large format printers.

In this blog I will explain how our range of Kyocera Colour Printers can improve your overall office printing and cut running costs i.e toner etc… Kyocera is our chosen brand as they are consistently cheaper to run. ..and these days its all about TCO – total cost of ownership.

Whether laser or inkjet; the general operating expense, the cost of consumables… can be expected to cost several times the purchase price of the printer. Over a typical printer’s life, the difference in toner costs between Kyocera colour printers and any competitors such as Samsung, Brother and Canon can amount to hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Unlike other manufacturers the only consumable for the Kyocera Mita range, is the toner. HardSoft use Kyocera printers in our business and is our printer manufacturer of choice.

All printers are available with an inclusive toner package (up to 2000 or 4000 prints per month); whereby we will monitor your printer remotely and despatch toners when they are needed up to an agreed monthly print usage.

Options of Kyocera printers include the Kyocera FS-C2526MFP A4 Multifunction laser printer which has the capability to print, copy scan and fax. The FS-C2526MFP is a fairly wide and deep printer due to the fact it has a big sideways mounted scanner. The main control panel is also pretty deep and allows room for a well laid out and easy to use set of controls. Included in the controls is a 100mm colour touchscreen and the physical buttons to the left and right of the screen. The main paper tray in the printer can take up to 250 sheets at one times, however, there are 2^nd and 3rd trays available as an optional extra each taking 500 sheets of paper each. Other benefits include printing of 28ppm (Pages Per Minute) double sided printing, copying, scanning and faxing and 10.5 seconds to wait until time of first print. The FS-C2526MFP is available on a 2 and 3 year flexible lease through HardSoft with the 3 year price at just £7.80 + VAT per week.

Kyocera FS-C8650DN

If you are after something high end and high speed printer then the Kyocera FS-C8650DN fits the bill. It is able to print 50ppm A4 colour and 25ppm A3 colour. It has Kyocera’s long life technology meaning this machine will run and run. It also has the unique cartridge free toner system that keeps cost and waste to a minimum, which is one of the main benefits to a Kyocera printer, and this printer in particular. Other benefits to the FS-C8650DN are that is has a 1500 sheet paper capacity as standard with up to 7650 maximum paper capacity, 160GB hard drive as standard and 9,600 dpi printing quality as standard. The FS-C8650DN is available, again on a 2 or 3 year lease basis with the 3 year price at £29.80 + VAT per week. Inclusive toners can be added at an extra cost and can allow for up to 2500 or 5000 prints per month.

At the end of the lease, ownership of the printer will pass to yourselves for just £1 for you to continue to use. These lease prices are based on a two or three year lease, inclusive of warranty for the full term.

 For more information on the flexible lease of any of the Kyocera range, please do not hesitate in contacting our sales team on 020 7111 1643 or email sales@hardsoft.co.uk  

Apple iMac 27″

The latest line of Apple iMacs have been with us some time now and stock is at long last completely available on all standard models, even special builds are down to that expected 5-10 working days. With this in mind and the fact the Mac Pro is increasingly scarce (not to mention discontinued in the EU) we thought it was time to investigate five thing you can do to your iMac 27” to make it a complete power house for editing. So take a look at the five items below and consider the low impact these will have on cost if you take them as bolt-ons to your new HardSoft Flexible Lease.

All upgrades below are in addition to the iMac 27” – Quad Core i5 – 3.2GHz, 8GB RAM (HardSoft Upgrade to 16GB FREE), 1TB HDD, GeForce GTX675MX (1GB) Graphics all for only £15.20 + VAT per week on Lease.

Step 1 – The iMac 27” carries an impressive Quad core i5 processor which while powerful is no means the crème de la crème of processing available on the latest iMac, why not opt for the i7 (Quad) 3.4GHz option with Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz, This option is yours for just an extra £1.50 + VAT per week.

Step 2 – Apple are unfortunately limiting access the end user has to his own retro fitted upgrades as a way to charge a premium for in house options instead, fortunately they haven’t resorted to soldering the RAM in to the 27” iMac just yet which means we can offer the best possible RAM upgrades for a snip of the Apple Price ! This machine can go to a whopping 32GB RAM which Apple would charge you £480 for, on Lease this could be yours for just an extra £0.99p + VAT per week.

Step 3 – Hard Drives are a great way to make a machine faster improving speeds to write data and things as simple as near instant booting, not something you can expect from the normal 1TB option. You can instead opt for 3TB fusion drive for masses of space and a little 128GB Flash Drive which intelligently learns how you work to speed up numerous processors by utilizing the solid state component. This is a bargain at £2.95 + VAT per week or if you are feeling more flush and there is no need for all that space how about a 768GB Flash option for a considerably higher £8.95 + VAT per week.

Step 4 – This Apple does have a fairly impressive Graphics card in the GeForce GTX675MX with its dedicated 1GB DDR5 video memory but what if we said you could double that! Yes 2GB DDR5 in one upgrade – the GTX680MX Card which will add £1.20 + VAT per week.

Step 5 – Peripherals – Thanks to Thunderbolt you can add all kinds of exciting goodies to this machine so why not call and discuss the options, to name just a few you could Dual Screen with a 27” Thunderbolt display for masses of Screen real estate or how about a Thunderbolt RAID system from Drobo to protect your data with inspired beyond RAID backup while increasing your storage solution to a massive 10TB’s if you were so inclined.

So in summary the sky really is the limit with the standard iMac 27” and all this could be yours from the factory in as few as 5-10 working days. So contact one of our sales staff on 01279 718 693 or alternatively email ryan@hardsoft.co.uk and get the best possible price on your maxed out iMac today!

.. Total Cost of Ownership ! - Business owners today are expected to do more with less cash. Cost-cutting and belt tightening are now a way of life in these recessionary times. Capital budgets are being scrutinised like never before. So when you need to get new IT all the factors need to be taken into account.

IT capex spending —a major expense for most companies—is under pressure. When new IT technology projects or upgrades are needed, a growing number of companies require total cost of ownership (TCO) budgeting. It is not enough to look at just the upfront costs associated with an IT project; businesses owners need to understand the entire cost over the life of an IT project that could be several years. Computers break so costs for upkeep and repairs need to be considered.

At its most basic, a TCO approacjh helps business owners assess both direct and indirect costs of an IT solution,as well as the benefits. The goal is to develop a final budget  figure that reflects the full effective cost with everthing taken into consideration.

Acquisition and procurement While comparing the cost of different IT equipment can appear to be a relatively simple task, there are frequently less obvious costs unrelated to the initial purchase price which can influence your decision. Often, IT costs are viewed as the lion share of an investment. This expense can represent a low percentage of the overall investment, typically accounting for circa 30 per cent of the real cost.

Operations and maintenance A TCO review also helps answer questions about on going operations and maintenance by addressing cost consideration such as operations staff, maintenance, support contracts, software even electricity. The desire is to provide a comprehensive evaluation across the business, allowing you to select the solution that brings you the greatest return on your investment.

Older equipment and end-of-life management It’s tempting to assume that coaxing additional months of service from older IT equipment saves money. Often this is not the case. In fact, holding onto IT assets for too long can lead to significant additional expense in a number of areas including unscheduled downtime, increased maintenance and lost productivity. Older equipment may also limit your ability to quickly upgrade as business demands change. These challenges ultimately affect customer satisfaction and your bottom line. Alternatively, replacing equipment on a programmed schedule can improve overall utilisation of resources.

Quantifying the cost Generally only 40% of companies’ IT expenses are hardware related. The other 60% encompass costs that are harder to quantify—items like support (including labour), maintenance, depreciation, energy and disposal fees. Only when companies take a comprehensive look at all the components of an IT solution can they begin to understand their total costs—and make decisions that reduce the impact to their bottom lines.

Leasing provides an answer – Companies that take a total cost of ownership approach to IT acquisition often turn to leasing as a means of refreshing equipment and reducing costs. HardSoft have been established over 25 years now and specialise in helping customers’ implement a life-cycle approach to IT— gaining efficiencies and capabilities while keeping a lid on costs.

Leasing computers offers a fixed budget solution and can include installation and servicing costs as well as Software and licensing. It will allow the business to keep its cash which can be used to invest in marketing, new employees or projects. At HardSoft our knowledgeable professionals will work with you to evaluate ways to improve the TCO for your next IT solution whether its Apple or PC’s. We offer financial solutions tailored to designed to help you manage to the lowest TCO—from planning  to installing new computers and software.

HardSoft are a one stop lease shop for those who need to move from restricted capex to flexible opex. 

The Sales team at HardSoft

Most businesses will use leasing to finance new cars, photocopiers, iPhones  and phone systems. In the US most businesses lease their computers as well. In the UK very few businesses consider leasing their IT equipment.
Large corporate customers understand some of the many financial advantages, and organisations such as the Financial Times lease-finance their entire IT. The Federation of Small Businesses says, ”We feel it makes perfect sense in this present difficult climate to lease rather than buy IT equipment.” We have taken a unique approach by being the authorised Supplier of the equipment as well as the Credit broker.

WE ARE A ONE STOP LEASE SHOP. By being in control of both equipment supply and the finance we can offer tailored solutions. It also makes us far cheaper- we only take one bite of the cherry! ‘Flexi-Lease’ by HardSoft is the fusion of this and is the unique alternative to the purchasing of your IT.

- We include 3 years warranty and support and have our own team of Apple and MicroSoft certified engineers.

- Competitive Insurance against theft and damage is available for a little extra , plus the option of a loan computer whould we need to remove yours for repair.

- Guaranteed ownership at the end of the lease for just £1.There’s no mystery here and many people have been put off by leasing as often you have to return the kit.

- The option to Upgrade and keep the old kit ! Without paying anymore per month. It’s similar to a a mobile phone upgrade and it is exclusive to our lease schemes.

We are authorised suppliers for Apple, Lenovo, Toshiba, HP, Fujitsu and Sony. Our Network solutions mainly include HP Proliant Gen8 Servers and all are installed and supported by our own team of engineers. We have several branches around the UK with the latest opening in 2012 in Shoreditch and is the only Apple Authorised Reseller in what is being referred to now as Techcity.

Delivery is just a few days from order. You can order online if you know what you want but our team of trained sales experts can offer decent advice on a solution that meets your needs. That’s not just the IT solution but the financial path to pay for it. Once an existing customer delivery is next day on most Apple Mac computers.

We are a serious alternative to Bank borrowing- business loan rates are often higher than that of lease finance. Banks often charge a weighty arrangement fee. We will endeavor to avoid any demands for Directors Indemnities and when we do these are ‘limited’ liability indemnities. Banks often require a ‘charge’ against your home. This is something we would never need or ask for. New start businesses are welcome but we will need to see some recent bank statements to show that the business can support the lease payments.

Our flexibility means we can offer leases from 1 to 4 years, monthly, quarterly or annual payments, by invoice or direct debit. We can defer payments( currently we are deferring to July 2013 at no additional cost) , or can accept a deposit to reduce the future rental payments. Software from Adobe and Microsoft can also be leased.

Give us a call or drop us an email or pop along to our Shoreditch branch . We will share our 25 years of experience to answer your questions and show you the benefits of our leasing to business users……If you are though a Home user then consider our new Zero interest financing scheme on selected Apple Mac and iPads is available.