Renting kitchen equipment can be a good alternative to buying outright, for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are a lot of costs involved in setting up and running a commercial kitchen, so choosing to rent commercial kitchen equipment can leave you more money for running your business and other expenses.

Secondly, there may be tax benefits to renting restaurant equipment – it’s important you discuss these with a qualified tax advisor before making any decisions.

Finally, with SilverChef’s Rent-Try-Buy you get additional flexibility over typical rental products.

You can decide to upgrade your equipment in the first 12 months if you need something bigger and better (in the same equipment category e.g. upgrade rented fridge to a bigger fridge); you can also decide to purchase it and get a 60% net rental rebate on your payments so far (up to 12 months).

At the end of your 12 month contract, you can decide whether to keep renting your restaurant equipment, work towards ownership, or return. Please note that if you decide to purchase your kitchen equipment after the end of your 12 month term, the net rental rebate drops to 20% after 12 months.

Typically, the difference between leasing and renting has to do with the length of term – with the length of a lease typically being longer. SilverChef offers a rental product – Rent-Try-Buy, and a finance lease product – Lease-to-Keep™. They are different in several important ways.

With Rent-Try-Buy, you rent your commercial kitchen equipment and make weekly rental payments for a 12 month term, while retaining the option to purchase your equipment or upgrade it during the term. At the end of the 12 month rental term, you have the additional options to return, continue renting or work towards ownership with our Easy Own® product.

With Lease-to-Keep you sign up for a four or five year term, you make monthly lease payments, and at the end of the term you own the commercial kitchen equipment (providing the last payment has been made and customer is not in breach of the agreement).

When you rent or lease restaurant equipment there may be tax benefits. It’s important you speak to a qualified accountant and/or tax advisor to find out what deductions you may be eligible for.

SilverChef Rent-Try-Buy is a rental agreement, and therefore there is no interest rate applied. Your weekly rental amount is calculated based on the value of your rental contract and our rental rate.

There are some upfront costs involved in renting commercial kitchen equipment through Rent-Try-Buy. Typically you will need to pay a fully-refundable security bond, one week’s rent in advance and taxes. Talk to our customer success team for a detailed understanding of what your upfront costs will be.

Rent-Try-Buy is a rental agreement, so if you definitely intend to purchase your equipment it may be worth looking at Lease-to-Keep instead.

If you do decide to purchase your restaurant equipment during or at the end of your 12-month rental agreement, you will receive a 60% net rental rebate on your payments made so far.

If you decide at the end of 12 months to continue renting, the net rental rebate will be less if you decide to purchase during your ongoing term. Contact our customer success team to get a payout quote for your equipment at any time.

You need to be sure that you’re happy to rent your chosen restaurant equipment for the full 12 months contract (with the option to upgrade or purchase during the term). This is because, if you decide to return your rented commercial kitchen equipment before the end of term, you will still be required to pay all the unpaid rental payments up to the end of contract term. 

If you opt to return equipment after the 12 month term is up, you will need to give us four weeks notice, so make sure you keep that in mind.

As the renter or lessee of the commercial kitchen equipment, you are responsible for properly insuring it, and arranging and paying for all servicing and maintenance on the kitchen equipment. If the equipment breaks down this is a manufacturer warranty issue and you will need to contact the manufacturer to arrange repair or replacement as per their terms and conditions.

SilverChef does not charge any penalty payment for returning your rented restaurant equipment at the end of contract.

However, you will be responsible for the costs of shipping and cleaning when you return your rented kitchen equipment. You’ll be provided with a quote for cleaning the equipment based on the work and materials required - so the cleaner it is when you send it back, the better.

It's important to remember that you need to give us four weeks' notice when you're planning to return your equipment and close out your contract. This gives you time to organise the return, and us time to manage the administration at our end.