Photocopier Service Contracts: 9 Things To Check (2026)
When you lease a photocopier, you usually sign two agreements. One is the lease, which pays for the machine. The other is the service contract, which pays for everything that keeps it working: engineer visits, parts, toner and the click charge for every page. The lease gets most of the attention, but the service contract is where the long term cost sits, and where most of the nasty surprises hide.
Here are nine things to check before you sign in 2026.
1. What the click charge covers
A click charge is what you pay per page printed or copied. It normally covers toner, parts, labour and engineer visits. Check whether it also covers drums, fusers, waste toner bottles and staples. Typical small business rates are roughly 0.5p to 1.0p for mono and 6p to 10p for colour. Our click charges guide explains the detail.
2. Minimum monthly volumes
Many contracts include a minimum number of clicks per month or quarter. If you print less, you still pay for the minimum. That's fine if your volumes are steady, but painful if your team now works from home two days a week. Ask for the minimum to be set below your real average, or removed.
3. Annual price increases
Most service contracts allow the supplier to raise the click charge every year, often by a fixed percentage or in line with inflation. Over a five year term, rises of 5% a year leave the final year more than 20% dearer than the first. Ask for a cap or a fixed price for the first two or three years.
4. Response times
How quickly will an engineer arrive if the machine breaks down? Good contracts promise a response within a set number of working hours, often four or eight. Check whether that's a phone response or a person on site.
5. Loan machines
If a repair takes days, will the supplier lend you a machine? For busy offices, this matters more than the response time.
6. Colour counting
Some machines count any page with even a small amount of colour as a full colour click. A logo in a footer can turn every mono letter into a colour page. Ask how colour is measured and set mono as the default print setting.
7. A3 counting
Many contracts count an A3 page as two A4 clicks. If you print a lot of A3, check this, because it doubles the cost of every large page.
8. Contract length and renewal
Check whether the service contract runs for the same term as the lease, and whether it renews automatically at the end. Missing a notice window can lock you in for another year. Diary the date when you sign.
9. Exit terms
What happens if you want to leave early, upgrade or move office? Ask for the settlement terms in writing. Our cancel a photocopier lease guide explains how settlement figures work.
A quick checklist
| Question | Good answer |
|---|---|
| What does the click charge include? | Toner, parts, labour, drums and fusers |
| Is there a minimum volume? | No, or below your average |
| How much can prices rise? | Capped or fixed for 2 to 3 years |
| What's the response time? | 4 to 8 working hours on site |
| Is a loan machine offered? | Yes, for long repairs |
| How is colour counted? | By coverage, with mono default |
| How is A3 counted? | Stated clearly in writing |
| Does it auto renew? | No, or with clear notice |
| What are the exit terms? | Written settlement process |
How much could a bad contract cost?
Take an office printing 5,000 mono and 800 colour pages a month at 0.8p mono and 7p colour. That's £40 plus £56, so £96 a month. With a 5% yearly rise, year five costs about £117 a month. Add a minimum volume of 7,000 mono pages that you never reach, and you're paying for 2,000 pages you don't print, another £16 a month at year one prices. Small terms make a big difference over a five year agreement.
Negotiating a better deal
You have the most leverage before you sign. Get two or three quotes on the same volumes and specification, then ask each supplier to improve their terms rather than their headline price. Lower minimums, capped rises and included consumables often save more than a cheaper lease. Our questions to ask a supplier guide has 15 questions you can use.
Managed print services
If you have several printers and copiers, a managed print service can bring them under one contract with central reporting. Check the same nine points, because the terms work the same way at a bigger scale.
FAQs
What does a photocopier service contract cover?
Usually toner, parts, labour and engineer visits, paid through a click charge per page.
Can I cancel a photocopier service contract?
Usually only at the end of the term or by paying a settlement. Check the notice period.
Why is my click charge going up?
Most contracts allow a yearly increase. Check the clause and ask for a cap when you renew.
Is toner included?
In most contracts, yes. Confirm in writing.
Do I need a service contract if I buy a copier?
It's not required, but most businesses take one because repairs and toner are expensive without it.