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A UK startup should budget for people, devices, cloud software, security, support and recovery—not just laptops. Build the first-year plan per person and as shared company costs, include one-off setup and replacement reserves, then add contingency. There is no honest universal percentage because a two-person consultancy and a regulated product company have different risk and infrastructure.
Reviewed: 9 September 2026
Startup IT budget categories at a glance
| Budget line | One-off examples | Recurring examples |
|---|---|---|
| People and devices | Laptop, displays, accessories and deployment | Support, endpoint management and replacement reserve |
| Cloud workspace | Tenant, domain and migration setup | Email, collaboration, storage and backup |
| Security | Baseline design and remediation | Identity, endpoint, monitoring and awareness |
| Business systems | Configuration and integration | CRM, finance, operations and specialist licences |
| Continuity | Plan and recovery setup | Backups, tests, spares and connectivity |
Use ACA’s free startup IT budget planner to collect the variables. Its output is a planning estimate, not a supplier quotation.
Start with headcount and working model
Model founders, employees, contractors, locations and hiring dates month by month. Record whether each role needs a standard laptop, higher-performance device, phone, extra display or specialist hardware. Include home, office, hybrid and travel needs because connectivity and support change with the model.
A standard device catalogue reduces purchasing, support and security complexity. Include warranties, setup, secure delivery, accessories and a replacement cycle instead of treating hardware as an isolated purchase.
Price the cloud workspace and identity
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace price by edition and user, with terms that can change. Check the live provider pages and choose the edition that contains the identity, device, storage and security capabilities required. The guide to Microsoft 365 versus Google Workspace for startups gives a workflow-based comparison.
Budget for the domain, DNS ownership, shared mail, collaboration structure, password management and administrator security. Personal accounts may appear free but create ownership and offboarding problems that become costly at the first dispute or departure.
Do not leave security as a later upgrade
Security starts with company-owned identity, strong MFA, supported devices, encryption, endpoint protection, controlled administration, email-domain protection and reliable offboarding. Some capabilities are included in productivity plans; others need a higher edition or separate service.
Use the startup IT security checklist to turn these headings into owned actions. Budget for ongoing review and response, not only initial configuration.
Include line-of-business software and integrations
List finance, CRM, project, design, development, customer support, HR and specialist industry tools. Record price unit—per user, workspace, contact, transaction or usage—and likely growth. A low entry tier can become expensive when automation, audit or integration capability sits in a higher plan.
Remove overlap before adding a new tool. Two systems for the same job increase licence cost and fragment company data. Give each platform a business owner, administrator and exit route.
Budget for support and internal time
Someone must onboard people, reset access, configure devices, resolve incidents, manage suppliers and maintain records. That may be a capable internal owner, an external provider or a shared model. Founder time is not free simply because it is absent from an invoice.
Compare on-demand help with recurring ownership using ACA’s guide to on-demand versus managed IT support. If considering a contract, define users, devices, hours, security, projects and exclusions consistently.
Plan backup, recovery and service interruption
Define which data and services the company cannot afford to lose, acceptable data loss and recovery time. Compare native retention with the requirement, then budget for any independent backup, monitoring and restore tests. Include spare-device and connectivity plans where downtime affects revenue or customer obligations.
The recovery priority planner helps order services and dependencies. The result is a conversation starter, not proof that recovery will work.
Build three startup IT cost views
- Setup cash. Devices, deployment, migration, configuration and initial projects.
- Monthly run rate. Licences, support, connectivity, hosting and security services.
- Annual and irregular cost. Renewals, replacement reserve, audits, training and planned change.
Create low, expected and growth cases. Add contingency for damaged hardware, urgent replacement, supplier price changes and unplanned onboarding. Confirm whether prices include VAT and what annual commitments do to cancellation or cash flow.
Review the budget at each hiring stage
Review before the first employee, when a new location opens, before regulated or enterprise customers, and when the team outgrows informal administration. Compare forecast users and actual licences quarterly. Remove unused accounts promptly, but do not cut controls or backup without assigning the risk elsewhere.
ACA’s startup IT support can help turn the budget into a standard setup, onboarding process and support plan.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a startup spend per employee?
There is no sound universal figure. Price the device, workspace, specialist software, security, support and replacement reserve for each role using current supplier terms.
Should laptops be bought or leased?
Compare total cost, cash flow, warranty, return condition, ownership and secure disposal. The best route depends on hiring stability and the device standard required.
Can founders provide their own devices?
That may reduce initial cash but complicates ownership, security, support and data removal. Define requirements and separation before company data is placed on personal equipment.
How much contingency should we add?
Base it on identified uncertainty rather than a universal percentage. Show supplier changes, hiring variance, urgent hardware and integration work as explicit assumptions.
