Should we lease or buy laptops for our 100-person startup in India?
Last updated: 26 September 2026 · Published by Techvity IT Solutions
Many 100-person startups in India are better off leasing (renting) their laptops on a 24-36 month operational lease rather than buy outright. Leasing preserves cash for hiring and growth, converts a large upfront fleet capex into predictable monthly opex, includes warranty and break-fix coverage, and avoids depreciation and resale risk. Outright purchase is only economically rational once you have stable headcount, a multi-year horizon, and an in-house IT team capable of running AMC, repairs, and end-of-life disposal.
What Techvity does
Techvity rents laptops to companies anywhere in India in orders of 5 to 100+ laptops, with a GST invoice under SAC 997315, and buys back laptops, desktops, monitors, servers, networking equipment and other IT equipment your company already owns. The rental term, deposit and price are confirmed in writing with your quote.
The rest of this page is general guidance for companies in India, not a Techvity quote or commitment. Terms, timelines and prices vary by vendor, so confirm them in writing before you sign.
For a 100-person Indian startup - whether SaaS, fintech, D2C, or services - the lease-versus-buy decision is rarely about hardware. It is a financial and operational decision about cash, accounting policy, and IT capacity. At 100 seats, you are dealing with a substantial multi-SKU hardware footprint across roles (sales, engineering, design, exec), a refresh cycle of 36-48 months, and some staff churn every year. The right answer depends on three variables: cost of capital, expected tenure, and your IT team's bandwidth. Indian Accounting Standard Ind AS 116 treats most operational rentals as opex if structured correctly, while purchase shows up as a depreciating fixed asset. Both can be tax-efficient - but they signal very different things to investors and CFOs.
Lease vs. buy: 36-month TCO for 100 laptops
The honest comparison runs over the full asset life, not month one. Outright purchase appears cheaper on a calculator, but real TCO includes 18 percent GST (recoverable as ITC), AMC contracts after warranty expiry, spare buffers, IT staff time, depreciation accounting, and end-of-life disposal under e-waste rules. Lease bundles most of these into a single monthly invoice with full GST input credit. The table below contrasts the two paths for a representative 100-laptop fleet of mid-spec business machines.
| Cost Component | Buy (Outright) | Operational Lease/Rental |
|---|---|---|
| Day-1 Cash Outlay | Full hardware cost + GST | Refundable deposit, agreed at KYC |
| Monthly P&L Impact | Depreciation only | Full monthly opex (deductible) |
| Warranty / Break-fix | Separate AMC contract | Covered by the rental terms |
| Refresh / Upgrade | Sell, dispose, reorder | Roll into next contract |
| Disposal / E-waste | Your responsibility | Vendor handles return logistics |
| GST Treatment | ITC on capex (subject to rules) | ITC on monthly invoice |
When buying actually wins for an Indian startup
Buying is the correct call in three situations. First, when your headcount is genuinely stable and you are confident the same hardware will be productive for four-plus years - rare in growth-stage startups. Second, when you have an in-house IT/ops team that can run AMC tendering, spare-part inventory, repair coordination, and asset tracking at scale. Third, when your CFO is intentionally building book assets for a balance-sheet narrative ahead of a fundraise or M&A event. Outside these scenarios, the depreciation tax shield rarely beats the financial flexibility and bundled service of a well-negotiated rental contract. Indian Income Tax Act allows depreciation of computers at 40 percent (written-down value) per year - a meaningful but not decisive shield.
Decision framework: how to choose in 30 minutes
Run these five checks with your CFO and Head of People. (1) Headcount horizon: is the team likely to be the same size in 36 months? If unsure, lease. (2) Cash runway: would the day-1 outlay buy more than two months of runway? If yes, lease. (3) IT bandwidth: do you have a dedicated IT manager and a vendor management process? If no, lease. (4) Spec churn: are 30-plus seats power users (data science, design, video) needing refreshes every 24 months? If yes, lease so you can refresh mid-contract. (5) Compliance and DPDP: do you need certified data destruction at end-of-life? If yes, both work, but lease vendors typically include certificate-backed wipe in the return process. If you answer 'yes' to three or more of these, leasing is likely the better fit.
Bottom line
Leasing 100 laptops suits many Indian startups because it aligns hardware spend with the financial reality of growth-stage operations: unpredictable headcount, capital that earns more inside the business, and an IT function that should be focused on security, identity, and productivity rather than warranty paperwork. Buy when stability and capex appetite are both real. Lease when flexibility, predictability, and bundled service matter more than ownership. Either path can be GST-efficient if invoiced under SAC 997315 (rental) or HSN 8471 (purchase) with a clean paper trail.
Frequently asked questions
Is laptop leasing tax-deductible in India?
Yes. Operational lease/rental payments are fully deductible as a business expense in the year they are paid, and the 18 percent GST charged is available as input tax credit for registered businesses. This is governed by the Income Tax Act and the CGST Act read together.
What is the typical lease tenure for startup laptop rentals?
Most Indian startups choose 24-36 month tenures, which balance per-month price (longer is cheaper) against refresh flexibility (shorter is better for fast-moving teams). Some vendors also offer 12-month rentals for project teams or contract hires.
Can a 100-person startup negotiate the security deposit?
Deposit terms are agreed during company KYC and depend on the order size, the models and the term. A clean GSTIN, a longer term and a master agreement covering future orders usually help. Get the deposit terms in writing with your quote.
What happens to leased laptops when an employee leaves?
The laptop returns to your IT team, who wipe it (preserving DPDP compliance), reimage it, and reissue it to the next hire. The lease contract stays with the company, not the individual, so headcount churn does not trigger any vendor-side action unless the total fleet size changes.
Does leasing affect our ability to raise venture capital?
Leasing is generally viewed positively by VCs because it signals capital discipline. Operational lease commitments may need disclosure under Ind AS 116, but they do not appear as debt on the balance sheet for short-term contracts and do not affect equity dilution or valuation directly.
Related questions
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We serve companies across India and individuals in Bangalore. Tell us what you need and we reply within 2 hours during working hours (Daily, 9:30 AM – 9:30 PM). We'll call or WhatsApp you to confirm the details and share a written quote with SAC 997315 and 18% GST.