Agreement checklist

Copier lease and service contracts: check before you sign

A copier contract can run for years, and the cost often sits in the small print. Below is each clause worth checking, in plain words. Or send your contract and get a straight answer on where you stand.

Each clause explained
Unfair contract terms law
Leaving early
A second opinion on yours

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Fourteen clauses to check

Term. The number of months, and the exact start and finish dates.
Total cost. The payment times the number of payments. That figure is the true price.
Cost per page. Mono and colour rates, and what they cover: toner, parts, labour, call outs.
Rate rises. Can the page rates go up during the term, and how far?
Minimums. Is a minimum page count or a minimum bill charged, even in a slow month?
Coverage. The page coverage the rate assumes, and the charge when your pages use more toner.
Toner delivery. Is a delivery charge added to every toner order?
Response time. How fast a technician attends when the machine stops, and whether that promise is written down.
Your data. Who wipes the hard drive when the machine leaves, and at what cost.
Rollover. Does the agreement renew itself without notice? How much notice is needed, and in what form?
End of term. What becomes of the machine: back to the supplier, an upgrade, or a payment if you hold on to it?
Early exit. What is the payout, and how is it calculated?
Insurance and damage. Whose policy covers the machine, and who carries the cost of damage?
Mid term upgrades. Does the old agreement get paid out, or folded into the new one?

Every clause checked, before any signature.

The law now leans your way

Small businesses on standard form contracts are covered by Australia's unfair contract terms laws. Since 9 November 2023, a business that uses an unfair term can face penalties, on top of the term being void.

In 2022, following ACCC action, the Federal Court ruled that terms in a major copier supplier's contracts with small businesses were unfair and void. Among them were automatic renewals, exit fees and price increases the supplier could impose by itself. If a clause in your contract looks one sided, ask about it.

General information only, not legal advice.

Copier lease payouts

Ending a lease or rental early normally means a payout: the balance left on the agreement, sometimes discounted, plus any service costs owing. Get the payout in writing, and ask how it was calculated. Upgrading? A new supplier can sometimes roll the payout into the new agreement.

Prefer the phone?Compare your options with a copier specialist.Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

(03) 7056 9994 Get a quote

Agreement check

Have your agreement read

On a lease, a rental or a managed print contract now? Holding a quote you are unsure of? Upload it. You get a plain reading of your position: the cost per page, any monthly minimum, the end date, the notice required, and what changing would cost.

No obligation. A photo of each page will do.

Upload the agreement

PDF or photos, four files at most.

PDF guide

Read Before You Sign: A Copier Agreement Checklist

Term, page charges, minimum volumes, increases, notice periods and what happens when it finishes, taken clause by clause, with a checklist for the meeting.

Download it

Enquire

Unsure about a clause?

Ask about any term in any copier agreement, whoever wrote it. The answer comes back in writing, in plain words. No obligation.

Rather speak to someone? Ring (03) 7056 9994, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.

Ask about a contract

Or upload the agreement itself with the form above. Every enquiry is answered the same business day.

Questions

Copier agreements: what to ask

Is it possible to exit a photocopier lease?

Normally, by paying it out. The figure depends on the agreement. Send it in and you will hear the likely cost and the options open to you.

How does a copier lease end?

That depends on the lease: hand the machine back, upgrade, extend, or pay a residual and keep it. Diarise the notice date: miss it, and some agreements renew themselves.

Can I read your agreement before signing?

Yes. Each term is shown and explained before you sign anything.

What matters most in a photocopier lease agreement?

Start with the total payable. Then the page rates and what sits inside them, any minimums, rate rises, rollover and notice, the end of term choices and the payout. The fourteen clauses above walk through each.