I have been meaning to write about my approval with Apple that I got for a client a few weeks ago but I simply did not have the time.

The Scenario

I am currently working with a client out of Austin Texas who has a music studio and does a lot of visual and audio editing. When working with clients(as some of you may know) I try to get an idea of what business you are in so that we will know what vendor accounts will be more beneficial to obtain than others so we generally try to go for the appropriate accounts first rather than to just keep adding account to your file. He had a brand new corporation so we went ahead and acquired a 4 year old corporation for him for $150(which was part of our $199 per month service). Once we acquired the company, we built it up over a two month period where we get starter accounts, some gas cards and it currently has 11 tradelines with a high trade of $4200. So I was talking to the client about what he needs and he express his need for some new audio equipment and some Apple computers. (In a future post I will be writing about the various option we have for leasing all kinds of equipment, but this post will focus on my client’s need for Apple computers). So I felt that the company was definitely strong enough to get him financing with Apple.

The Approval Process

I have gotten approved for Apple financing on many occasions. Previously all Apple business financing was done through Bill Me Later Business. BML no longer does the financing for Apple. When getting financing for Apple I cureently use two options.

Option 1

Go directly to apply and apply for their business lease.

If you go to Apple’s page for commercial financing you will see that they have three options for leasing equipment. All three options have a minimum leasing value of $2500 for new leases and a term from 12 to 60 months. The three options that they give you simply give you various options of buying the equipment after, trading it in for new equipment and various monthly payment options which will help with your business cash flow. All three options offered by Apple are backed by Direct Capital and they will usually get back to you within 48 hours of the application via email to let you know if you were approved. The application does not require a pg or an SSN if your corporation is more than 2 years old. They do require a number of references. The application can be viewed on the website provided. With my client’s application, we requested a $7000 limit and was approved with a 36 month term with a $1 purchase option lease. The client was happy and this was a pretty straight forward application. I usually use the second option if a client needs more equipment leased from the same company. You must know though that Direct Capital has some negative review by various clients who have had issues with them but I have not had any issues personally. I also feel that if Apple trusts them then I can.

Option 2

Northern Star Leason Company

Northen Star is a leasing company that leases a wide range of equipment for businesses and does much of its leasing with No Pg. I usually use them an a second option for leasing Apple equipment as well as other leasing needs that myself or my clients may have. They are pretty easy to deal with and usually get back to clients within 4 hours of their application(which is amazing). The seem to have a good reputation with clients and are very flexible on  their financing terms.

In an upcoming post I will be writing about a number of leasing companies that do equipment leases without a PG and this company will be one of them. I hope that you too will have success in building business credit.

Marc