To rent or to buy cubicles — that is the question.
Picking between owning or renting workstations is about more than just cost. Office furniture visually represents your brand, plus it can help or impede your employees’ productivity and general workplace happiness.
Ensure your array of office cubicles doesn’t turn into a Shakespearean tragedy with work stations making the right statement at the right price for all employees. Here’s a guide to determine if renting or buying office cubicles will work for your company.
Renting versus buying will be appealing to organizations in a variety of circumstances. When choosing to rent or buy, the decision-makers at your organization should review the following criteria:
Sort subjective preferences from objective costs, concerns and benefits to determine if cubicle rentals are in your best interest.
There are a few undeniable advantages to renting office furniture and cubicles, namely:
Consider the downsides of renting office furniture:
Buying your office’s cubicles offers several advantages — for your employees, your brand and your wallet.
Owning your office’s furniture gives you complete control over what you have in the office. You call the shots on usage, layout, maintenance and, eventually, disposal. Best of all, owning gives you the ability to put your fingerprint on the actual look of each piece, upgrading office aesthetics to match and enhance brand visuals. At the end of the day, you get to do with your furniture as you please. No questions, oversight or stipulations from your furniture outlet.
Renting office cubicles may initially seem like an economical choice. You get the exact pieces you need at a lower sticker price, letting you allocate your business’ hard-earned money elsewhere.
However, there’s a clear turning point when those short-term savings switch over into long-term, unrecoverable expenses. The pitfall strikes after just a few years of renting your cubicles. A company reviewing its expenditures will quickly find the accumulated costs of monthly renting has now exceeded what it would have spent on downright purchasing that furniture.
Again, the short-term payment flexibility of leased furniture is good for just that reason — it’s the short term. When you’re looking for furniture for the long haul, renting is not the best way to go.
Ergonomic furniture design aims to create chairs, desks, cubicles and more that are as comfortable to work in as they are functional. The balance of form and function is harder to achieve with leased furniture, which will often be older pieces without the details found on more contemporary designs.
When comfort yet efficiency are top office priorities, it pays to go with an established furniture dealer who can curate the most ergonomic cubicle designs available today.
Purchased furniture comes with a manufacturer’s warranty. The coverage gives owners peace of mind in the event of damaged or defective furniture. From cubicle drawers that don’t stay on their tracks to arms falling off conference room chairs to desks that lose balance, you have a go-to maintenance and repair partner. With rented furniture, warranties will be minimal, if they exist at all.
Newer furniture is more likely to contain the designs and accessories needed in a modern workplace. For example, desk stations today can come outfitted with a full, self-sustained technology suite, from outlets to cabling and built-in charging stations, to name a few.
It’s in a furniture dealer’s own best interest to offer the latest in office cubicle models. A warehouse stocked with cutting-edge, ergonomic office furniture is a key competitive differentiator, propelling sales and increasing customer loyalty.
Having control over your own furniture usage and selection affords another key benefit: You can pass that agency onto your employees.
For example, it’s an increasingly popular workplace perk to award employees a workstation stipend. These small allocations let employees pick their own desk decor, decorations and equipment — and sometimes even the cubicle itself. You can even set up a feedback portal where employees submit ideas for ideal workplace furniture. Once a team or office goal is met, management brings that furniture in-house as a reward.
Showcasing high-quality, contemporary and brand-aligned furniture at the office impresses everyone who steps into the space. From new and current employees to visiting vendors, clients and more, that furniture tells the story of your company — who you are, what you’re about and your overall company culture.
Similarly, office expansions broadcast the growth and stability of your organization. These are direct cues signaling the overall health of your brand, which newly purchased furniture only adds to.
Purchased furniture contains by far the greatest scope for customization and hand-selected features. Most often, businesses use office cubicles to highlight brand color schemes. Brand colors can be easily integrated into cubicle wall panels, partition dividers, desk chair cushions and lounge seating.
For a truly creative twist, your company may even look to add various textures or patterns onto its cubicles. This latitude for brand representation simply isn’t possible with rented pieces.
Compared to renting, owning your cubicles increases the amount of care and attention typically paid to your furniture pieces. Just as people tend to invest more into assets they own, you and your staff will likely take better care of your surroundings when you see yourselves as their permanent keeper.
The same logic applies to individual employees with a say in office furnishings and cubicle decor. If someone’s selected their work station personally, they’ll be far more inclined to clean it, maintain it, report maintenance concerns and uphold its overall quality.
In most cases, businesses can categorize the cost of their newly purchased furniture as a business expense. The expenses may qualify as tax deductions, which can add up to some serious annual savings.
Always consult with a tax advisor or accounting expert before writing off your new office furniture. A tax professional can make sure you’re itemizing deductions properly to leverage the full cost-savings potential of office cubicles. An accountant can also help you stay within budget when making your purchase.
Sunline cubicles are a premier line of contemporary office cubicles available for purchase at prices that are comparable to renting.
Breaking from the boxy, monochromatic cubicle mold, every Sunline cubicle can be customized for size, square footage, color schemes and configuration. There’s even a build your own cubicle option, allowing you to get fingerprint-unique features and designs.
Still looking for reasons to buy new office furniture? Consider what else Sunline cubicles do differently than the rest:
Get in touch for a free quote to compare renting versus owning Sunline cubicles for your office. As the exclusive distributor of these top-line office workstations, we know Sunlines like the back of our hands and can answer any question about bringing these premier cubicles to your space.
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