Practice made perfect

Cashflow is an important issue for all dental practices. But for newly established or expanding practices, it can be absolutely critical to success. Anything that eases the pressure on capital reserves or lines of credit means more resources can be channelled into business development.

Flexible finance, from a specialist finance provider such as Syscap Professions, allows companies to acquire the equipment they need without significant capital outlay, thereby allowing practices to focus on growth. Syscap Professions' long-established list of clients includes dental organisation First Choice Dental, whom they recently assisted with a number of surgery refurbishments.

An expanding group of dental practices spread across London and the South East, First Choice Dental was formed in November 2000. The group prides itself on the quality of care it provides and its friendly, personal approach to both patients and staff. There are currently seven First Choice Dental practices, employing just over a hundred people, and the company has ambitious plans for the future.

Regional Manager Petro Henning is responsible for ensuring the company's plans are viable; one of the key ways of ensuring this is to use finance solutions when expanding. Leasing allows practices to acquire the equipment they need now without tying up capital reserves. In budgeting terms, it allows practice managers to demonstrate return on investment much more quickly than with traditional purchasing methods.

Over time payment
The partners were already familiar with the concept of leasing before contacting Syscap. Mrs Henning is succinct about leasing's benefit: “It's a cashflow support in that you don't have to pay for your equipment with large amounts; you can spread payment
over a period.”

When it became apparent that a number of First Choice Dental's practices required surgery refurbishments, it was clear to the partners that lease finance was the way forward. A business contact had recommended they talk to Syscap Professions, the UK's leading independent finance and leasing supplier for professional practices.

Syscap was established in 1990, and offers a range of finance solutions targeted to the specific needs of professional practices. Depending on the individual circumstances, these may include hire purchase, lease purchase, finance leases, operating leases, contract hire or practice loans. Teams within the company are structured according to their business focus: the dental consultants, for example, have a specialist understanding of the requirements and rules of the dentistry profession. This dedicated expertise is one of the key reasons dental practices across the UK trust Syscap Professions with their practice needs.

Wish list
Syscap Professions is highly experienced at providing solutions for everything from refurbishments to partner buy-outs. First Choice Dental's wish list of equipment was extensive, and included dental chairs; cabinetry and furniture; x-ray cameras; flat screen monitors; surgery lights and various items of ancillary equipment. For many funding providers this may have proved problematic. Not Syscap.

Because Syscap is independent, it's not tied to any one equipment supplier, meaning it can devise a flexible solution that's tailored to each client's requirements. This enables professional practices to acquire the often broad range of business essentials they need.

Single agreement
Instead of drawing up separate lease agreements for each item or type of equipment, Syscap was able to roll the whole lot into a single finance agreement for each practice refurbishment. What could have been complex, time-consuming transactions required little more from First Choice Dental than a list of equipment and a signature.

“There have been absolutely no issues, it's been very straightforward,” confirms Mrs Henning. “My Syscap account manager has delivered exactly what he said he would; it all happened very fast.”

“And in terms of paperwork, it was delivered the next day.”

People focused
Whenever Mrs Henning has dealt with Syscap, she's been impressed. “Syscap's customer service is very good – I always deal with the same person and they are extremely helpful and very friendly. We've established a good rapport.”

To date, Syscap has provided a finance facility for surgery refurbishments in three of First Choice Dental's practices. “I've been consistently impressed by the level of service and the flexibility Syscap have demonstrated,” says Mrs Henning. “Next time we need a practice refurbishment, they will certainly get a call.”