Reading the fine print

Copier lease agreements: what Gold Coast businesses should check

A copier agreement can tie your business in for years, and the real cost is often in the fine print rather than the headline figure. Whether you run a building company at Arundel or a practice in Varsity Lakes, the clauses below are worth reading closely, and each one is explained in everyday words. If you would like a second pair of eyes, send your contract through and we will explain what it means for you.

Every clause in everyday words
The unfair contract terms law
What leaving early costs
A second read of your own

(07) 5631 9266 Try the copier finder

Fourteen things to look for in the agreement

Length. How many months it runs, with the exact first and last dates.
What it really costs. The payment multiplied by the number of payments. That total is the price you are agreeing to.
Page rates. The mono rate and the colour rate, and what each one includes: toner, parts, labour and call outs.
Increases. Whether the supplier may lift the page rates while the agreement runs, how often, and by how much.
Minimums. Whether a set volume of pages, or a set sum, is billed even when the office is quiet.
Toner coverage. How much toner per page the rate allows for, and what you pay when your pages use more.
Toner freight. Whether every toner order has a delivery charge added.
Response time. How long you may wait for a technician when the machine goes down, and whether the agreement actually promises it.
Stored data. Who clears the machine's drive of your documents when it leaves, and at whose expense.
Rolling over. Whether the agreement quietly carries on unless you write to end it, how far ahead you must write, and in what form.
At the finish. Where the machine goes when the term is up: returned, swapped for a newer one, or kept for a further payment.
Finishing early. The payout figure, and the way it is calculated.
Insurance. Whose policy the machine sits under, and who covers the cost if it gets damaged.
Changing machines part way. If you move to a new copier before the term ends, what becomes of the balance on the old agreement.

Read every line before you put your name to it.

Unfair contract terms and your copier agreement

Australia's unfair contract terms laws cover small businesses that sign standard form contracts, and many copier agreements are written that way. From 9 November 2023 the stakes rose: a business that puts an unfair term in such a contract can now be penalised, and the term itself is still void.

In 2022, in a case the ACCC brought against a major copier supplier, the Federal Court found that terms in that supplier's small business contracts were unfair and void. Among them were renewals that happened automatically, fees for leaving, and price rises the supplier could impose on its own say. If a clause in your agreement seems one sided, it is worth raising before you sign.

Please treat this as general information rather than legal advice.

Paying out a copier lease early

Finishing a lease or rental ahead of time normally costs a payout, made up of what remains on the agreement, sometimes discounted, and any service charges not yet paid. Get that figure on paper, along with the working behind it. When the reason is an upgrade, the payout can sometimes be built into the next agreement.

Rather ring?Run your options past someone who has done this for decades.Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

(07) 5631 9266 Request a quote

A second look

Not sure what you signed?

Whether it is a lease, a rental, a managed print agreement or a quote that has just landed on your desk, upload it and we will go through it with you. You will know what each page costs, whether a monthly minimum applies, when it finishes, the notice it needs, and the cost of changing.

There is no obligation, and phone photos of the pages are fine.

Upload it here

A PDF or photos, up to four files.

A guide for owners

Before the Paperwork: A Copier Agreement Checklist

The length of the term, page rates, minimum volumes, yearly increases, the notice you have to give and how it all wraps up, set out plainly, with a checklist to bring to the table.

Get this guide

Get in touch

A clause you would like explained?

Send any part of any copier agreement, whoever wrote it, and we will explain it in plain English, in writing. You are under no obligation.

Easier by phone? Ring (07) 5631 9266, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.

Ask about a copier contract

If you would rather we read the whole thing, the upload form above takes the agreement itself. Every Gold Coast enquiry gets an answer the same business day it arrives.

Asked often

Copier agreements: questions before signing

Can a copier lease be ended early?

Usually, yes, though it means paying out what is left. Every agreement works that figure out its own way, so send yours through and we will explain the likely cost and the choices open to you.

What happens when a copier lease ends?

Whatever the lease says. The usual endings are a return, an upgrade, an extension, or a residual payment to keep the machine. Watch the notice date closely, since some agreements carry on by themselves once it passes.

Will I see your agreement before signing?

Of course. We go through every clause of ours with you, and answer any question, before you commit.

What should I look for in a copier lease agreement?

The total payable over the term comes first. After that, look at the page rates and what they cover, minimum charges, increases, how the agreement renews, how much notice it needs, what happens at the finish and what a payout would cost. The list of fourteen above takes each in turn.