Equipment Rental Fees

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OlWiseRedEye

Active member
Hello All!

I have a new employer that has hired me as a production specialist. He has agreed to pay me a rental fee for use of all of my equipment. This includes a Mac Pro, a lot of software and various other editing equipment including VTRs and LCD Monitors...

I am not sure how much I should ask for rental of all of this equipment. Is there a flat % that would be typical for something like this? I was thinking 5% of the total value a month. Does that seem fair or am I way off? Thanks!

-RedEye
 
Typically the longer the rental, the lower the daily cost. (1 day rental is say $100, 1 week is $450, just as an example)

Between 5%-10% is a good place to start IMO.
 
If the equipment is part of a permanent, turnkey solution at his place of business, you should secure a flat, fixed-overhead stipend on top of the working day rate for the suite plus technician(s).

Avid Nitris and comparable systems regularly begin at $400 / hr and have day rates between $1800 and $2500 / day. You should look at some cards to discover how your package and level of operational expertise compares.

You might negotiate a sales rep relationship with the facility, where they enjoy a heavily-discounted rate for in-house work (promos, pre-negotiated long and short-form projects), and receive a percentage of your total receipts - say 1% - 15%. This agreement could get complicated, so you must contact an attorney. I lost about $20k in gear in an agreement like this when I was young - because I didn't think more than a handshake was necessary to merge resources. I was wrong about this and very, very wrong about the older fellow who owned the facility.
  • Growing the infrastructure. On who's dime and in what measurable increments? Set milestones and benchmarks for this in advance and you'll have a better time of it.
  • No lein granted. You must have written assurance that your equipment remains your sole property and that you have a mutual agreement whereby you can both walk away at any time without obligation. Naturally, you would hope that both parties would honor standing work orders and not leave the other in a lurch.
  • Sales and booking representation. Who speaks for you and represents your interest. Does a client consult you directly or is everything filtered through a central sales agent? Keep as much control as possible. It can be as simple as you being required to sign off on every proposal where you will be required to render services prior to same going to the client.
  • Accounts receivable. How will this be handled? How will you be paid? Are you on their payroll or are you a subcontractor who must submit invoices to the facility for wages and rentals? This is another important point. They could literally hold you hostage if you don't have this hashed out in advance.
There are books written about this, but these are all important considerations. Don't go in half-assed on this - I guarantee you that you will regret it if you do.

Do have an attorney draw up an agreement and work together to establish SOPs that you can both happily adhere to once you hang out the shingle.

Best of luck and be ****ing careful!

e
 
Erik, i too am going to be renting out my equipment and am curious to know if there is a standard contract that is widely used, generalizing that any damages done to equipment will be covered by the one who is renting, etc.. you know, the generals ?

Must i go to an attorney for this or is there a format somewhere that you are aware of?
 
Any attorney should be able to accommodate you on this. Depreciation, damage and fixed rental terms would be a part of the agreement. A good attorney will excel at taking your plain language and finding legal language to cover your concerns.

"I want to have a rate that I'm paid when the gear is sitting there, and a different rate when it and I are working" would translate into several paragraphs - I don't think there is a stamp form out there for something like this, but standard partnership agreements might have a lot of this language in them, which could be mined into your customized one.

e
 
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