Reimbursements keep going down and you know you need to get into cash paid aesthetic medicine. To get the patient traffic into your practice you must provide laser services to survive and turn a profit. With hundreds of laser models on the market, buying a machine that will fit your needs and guarantee a good ROI without breaking the bank is a puzzle.
Buying Cosmetic Lasers | Total Cost of Ownership
Purchase price, taxes, cost of financing, maintenance, service and consumables
Purchase price is just a starting point, and for a decent laser it will be in a $50,000-120,000 range before taxes. Add $10,000-15,000/year for recurring costs such as the maintenance fee, service contract and disposables.
When medical equipment breaks down, the practice is disrupted. Your laser will either need to be sent for repair or the technician will need to come to the office. Appointments must be rescheduled, and you lose business for 2-4 weeks. You have to have a good service contract to protect your business.
Practical considerations
1. Do you have the clientele volume to justify the investment?
2. Do you have the cash or good credit to finance the purchase?
3. How much will advertising cost for your new service? Do you have the marketing dollars?
4. Are you capable of doing an in-depth research to make sure you do not stumble into a better and cheaper laser the day after a persistent sales rep sold you the most “advanced and state-of-the-art machine” on the market?
Leasing a Laser
Essentially the same as purchase
Provided you have good credit you can get a lease-to-own deal at 12-18% p.a. Monthly lease payments of $2-3,000 will help your cash flow, but you are committed to the machine for the whole term of the lease, and most of the considerations listed above remain valid and fully applicable.
The average revenue per 15 minutes of laser treatment is $175. If you purchase a laser system that costs $100,000, forgetting the tax, cost of maintenance, consumables, and other expenses, it would take you 571 patients to just make dollar one!
Conclusion
Before deciding whether to rent or purchase laser equipment, consider the goals of your practice. Are you providing laser services to expand the aesthetic side of your practice, or are you merely offering an additional service to your patients? If you are new to the aesthetic market and would like to test the waters before you jump in, renting is a good opportunity.
Laser rentals allow you to try different systems to better understand the technologies and determine which would work best for your practice. Distinguishing between the various lasers and their capabilities can be very confusing. Renting lasers allows you to evaluate the equipment before buying. It also gives you the opportunity to build up your aesthetic patient base without the pressure of a monthly lease payment.
Call 813-472-7772
to discuss what may work better for you.
We'll be happy to help you make the right decision for your practice.
Why Rent Cosmetic Lasers?
Try a device without risk or hassle
Opting to rent laser equipment can eliminate many problems and concerns. Laser rental provides low barrier entry into the cosmetic treatments market without the risk and cost of ownership.
When renting lasers the burdens of maintenance and obsolescence are off-loaded from your practice. All liability risks, preventative maintenance, repairs and upgrades are the responsibility of the rental company.
- You pay only when you have patients
- You can make positive revenue from day one
- You have no laser cost during the slow months of summer and holidays
- You can choose from a suite of laser wavelengths according to your patient’s needs
- You are not paying for lasers that are outdated and sitting in the closest
- You don't pay for service contracts, replacements and repairs
When renting is a no brainer
If you already own a laser and it’s down for service or repair you should rent a machine. Canceling and/or rescheduling patients is never a good idea. They might switch to a different provider especially in case of laser hair removal or photo rejuvenation.
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