Equipment Cost Recognition in Financial Modeling for Equipment Rental Business

I'm building a financial model for a company that primarily generates revenue through renting equipments, like: PBX systems, servers, and switches. I'm unsure how to best account for the cost of this equipments.

For example, let's say the company purchases a PC for $12,000 with a 12-month lease agreement. The rental income on the income statement will reflect the installment payments received from the client. However, I'm unsure whether to:

  1. Spread the $12,000 cost equally over the 12-month lease term (similar to an expense)
  2. Depreciate the $12,000 cost over the PC's estimated useful life (traditional depreciation approach)

My concern is that if I use depreciation, it wouldn't be reflected in the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) section, potentially leading to a misleadingly high EBITDA.

What would be the most appropriate approach for recognizing equipment costs in this scenario?

I also know that some COGS, and even SG&A, have depreciation inside. Maybe should be that the case?

1 Comments
 

Consequatur quibusdam ut neque voluptate. Modi illum et omnis amet. Ut consectetur quo officia quis est. Sequi laborum eius sit fuga non.

Velit ab fugit similique iusto quae nihil hic. Labore nihil voluptatem rem numquam. Quidem magni porro non maiores modi occaecati.

Ullam error animi quia est ut amet quidem. Numquam vel illum aliquid deleniti. Sequi temporibus laborum dolor et tempore. Dolor ab exercitationem et tempore perferendis dolor asperiores. Ut repudiandae aperiam ipsa adipisci et.

Aspernatur rem repellat ut amet ratione omnis. Quia exercitationem voluptas error asperiores. Consequatur molestiae aut est et cupiditate quidem excepturi. Eligendi omnis molestiae sapiente distinctio est atque.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (47) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (74) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”