Frequently Asked Questions

EconoLease was founded in Canada over 30 years ago and was acquired by SilverChef in 2021. The SilverChef Group is a global business with offices in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and The United States. The SilverChef Group has proudly invested more than $2.1bn in the hospitality industry globally and we're committed to supporting the success of our Canadian customers.

EconoLease is a Certified B Corporation under the SilverChef Group banner. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Additionally, the SilverChef Group has a global partnership with Opportunity International where together with our people and our customers we've provided microloans that have supported 1.5m people to support themselves.

Renting or leasing your restaurant equipment is a great alternative to buying. There are a lot of costs involved in setting up and running a hospitality business, so choosing to rent or lease your restaurant equipment can leave you more money for running your business and other expenses.

When leasing with EconoLease, we provide 12-60 month term length options and you will own the equipment at the end of your lease, with nominal buyout options available.

With EconoLease's Rent-Try-Buy® you get additional flexibility over typical financing options. You can change, upgrade or purchase your equipment at any time in the first 12 months. At the end of your 12-month contract, you can continue renting your equipment, work towards ownership, or return the equipment if it no longer suits your business.

Rent-Try-Buy is a flexible, 12 month rental agreement that allows you to get the hospitality equipment you need, with the flexibility to change, upgrade or own the equipment at any time. All while keeping your cash flow healthy, with low weekly payments that are 100% tax deductible. At the end of the 12 month rental term, you have the option to return, continue renting or work towards ownership with our Easy Own® product.

Leasing is a great option for financing hospitality equipment, non-standard equipment items, vehicles, digital menu boards, signage and technology. We offer 12-60 month terms. At the end of the lease term, you will own the restaurant equipment (providing the last payment has been made and customer is not in breach of the agreement) with nominal buyout options available.

At EconoLease, we work with a wide variety of lenders to secure the best rates in market. Our team can tailor the right solution for your business based on your individual circumstances.

Loans are ideal funding for when your business needs cash to keep operations running smoothly. Loans can be used for a variety of non-equipment expenses such as renovations, repairs, wages, marketing and unplanned emergencies. We have 6-12 month terms available, with fixed repayments that can be paid off any time.

If you’ve been in business for at least a year, you can qualify for a loan based on your current sales revenues. If you’re a startup, check out our lease and Rent-Try-Buy solutions.

Servicing is different to warranty. Servicing is an optional maintenance cost, and the responsibility of the customer. For example, in some areas, coffee machines need to have their boilers serviced every 6 -12 months to remove water scale. When you finance through EconoLease you need to make sure you follow the manufacturer's recommended servicing schedule as, if the equipment breaks down, EconoLease is not responsible for repairing or replacing it – this is a matter for the manufacturer and you may be covered by their warranty (but typically not if you haven't followed their recommended service schedule).

When returning equipment after your 12 month term, we require four weeks notice of your intent to return. You are responsible for the cost of shipping the equipment back to one of our warehouses or partner warehouses. Our Certified Used team can help you arrange shipping, or you can arrange your own shipping.

Once we receive the equipment back, we will need to be clean, service, and test the equipment so it can go back on the market. Typically, your deposit should cover these costs, unless the equipment is in disrepair.

If you return your restaurant equipment before the end of your 12 month rental agreement you will be liable for any rent payments up to the full 12 month period.

You can purchase your equipment at any time during or at the end of the 12 month term. As Rent-Try-Buy is a rental agreement, your payments go toward use of the equipment and keeping your flexible options available, not toward ownership of the restaurant equipment. However, we offer a 60% net rental rebate during this timeframe that is put toward the purchase price of the equipment. To calculate your buyout quote, get in touch with our customer success team at 1-888-473-9309 or info@econolease.com.

If you decide to buy the rental equipment, you’ll get back 60% of the net rent you paid in the first year and — if applicable — 20% of the net rent you paid thereafter.

The rental rebate is deducted from the amount financed — the rebate can’t be paid to you in cash.

For our lease product, we work with a variety of lenders to secure the best rates in the market based on your profile. Reach out to our team to see what we can do for you.

Rent-Try-Buy is a rental contract and as a result, does not have an interest rate. There is a cost of borrowing, but Rent-Try-Buy is an off balance sheet loan, meaning that it acts as an operating cost and doesn't impact your ability to borrow more funds.

The commercial kitchen equipment in our warehouses comes from EconoLease customers who have upgraded equipment or returned it. We only stock used commercial kitchen equipment that has been previously financed by us.

We have a large team of qualified tradespeople at our warehouses who manage the preparation of used restaurant equipment for sale.

All our used kitchen equipment is professionally repaired, cleaned and polished, and any damaged or worn parts are replaced and run-tested, including electrical test and tag. Then there is a final check by a quality assurance officer before it's ready to ship.

Yes, Rent-Try-Buy is available for all Certified Used equipment. At the end of the 12-month contract, you have a number of options. You can purchase the used commercial kitchen equipment, continue to rent for maximum flexibility, work towards ownership with our Easy Own® finance, or return the equipment if it no longer suits your needs.

Yes, you get all the same flexible options of Rent-Try-Buy when you use it to finance Certified Used kitchen equipment. During your 12 month contract, you can change, upgrade or buy your equipment. At the end of the 12 month term you can also return the equipment, continue renting, or work otward ownership with our Easy Own finance.

Restaurant equipment is much more robust than domestic appliances, and built to last. Used restaurant equipment that’s in very good condition is traditionally more expensive than what you find on second-hand auction sites – those items have usually not been cleaned, repaired or refurbished, and do not have a guarantee. We pride ourselves on Certified Used restaurant equipment having been completely refurbished, so it has the appearance and reliability of new.

Shipping costs are worked out on equipment size, weight and distance. The website will give you a quote for the equipment once you put it into the shopping cart and give the destination address.

You are welcome to organize your own shipping, or collect your Certified Used kitchen equipment from the warehouse where it is located. Make sure that the carrier is experienced with restaurant equipment of the size, weight and type that you have ordered.

Certified Used equipment that is on our website and ready to ship is normally sent within two business days. Depending on where you are located, it can take anywhere from 5 to 10 business days to reach you.

We stock a large amount of our equipment at our Accurate Repairs showroom in Toronto, which is open Monday to Friday 7am to 3:30pm. If you are looking at a specific piece of equipment on our site, check with our team before coming to see it, as not all of our equipment is housed at our showroom.

The cleaning and servicing costs are determined by the equipment’s condition when it is returned. Each item is rated from 1-5, and you can save on cleaning and servicing costs if you return the equipment in excellent condition. Here’s how we assess it:

• Excellent Condition - no internal or external cleaning required, and needs safety checks only
• Good Condition - basic clean and/or basic manufacturer maintenance and incidentals required only
• Average Condition - full clean and/or full servicing and parts required
• Poor Condition - extensive cleaning and/or major servicing, parts and accessories required
• Very Poor Condition - extensive cleaning and/or major service and repair work required.