Why are one-off and monthly costs separated?

Separating launch purchases from recurring services makes cash requirements and ongoing operating commitments easier to compare without hiding either in one total.

Can an established small business use this planner?

Yes. Use devices needed rather than total devices, enter only planned setup work and use the monthly fields to model the team after the change.

Plan the technology behind the first year

Free startup IT budget planner.

Q: What should a startup IT budget include?

A useful first-year plan normally separates one-off setup from recurring costs and considers devices, desk equipment, onboarding, connectivity, productivity software, security, backup, business applications and support.

Q: Are the example costs a quotation or market benchmark?

No. They are editable example assumptions that demonstrate the calculator. Replace them with current supplier figures and confirm whether VAT, setup, support and bundled features are included.

Turn team growth, devices, software, security and support into a visible launch budget and monthly run rate. Change every assumption to match the business you are actually building.

Build an IT budget

Example assumptions

Start somewhere, then make it yours.

These examples change cost assumptions only. They are not quotations or market benchmarks.

01 Team plan

People in the team nowInclude founders who need accounts or equipment. Planned hires in year oneThe monthly model uses the resulting planned team.

02 One-off setup

Devices neededNew laptops or desktops, including useful spares. Cost per device£Use a complete business-ready device cost. Desk kits neededMonitor, dock, keyboard, mouse or headset bundles. Cost per desk kit£Enter zero where people already have suitable equipment. Setup per planned person£Accounts, configuration, migration and onboarding time. Network or office setup£Router, firewall, Wi-Fi, installation or meeting-room basics. Other one-off costs£Domains, specialist configuration or supplier onboarding.

03 Monthly services

Per-person costs use the planned team size. Check bundles carefully so the same feature is not counted twice.

Productivity suite per person£/monthEmail, documents, meetings and collaboration. Security per person£/monthIdentity, endpoint protection or device management. Backup per person£/monthIndependent cloud, device or application backup provision. IT support per person£/monthUse zero if support is deliberately handled in-house. Other software per person£/monthCRM, project, finance or line-of-business tools. Connectivity and telephony£/monthShared broadband, mobile, voice or failover costs. Other monthly costs£/monthMonitoring, domains, storage or fixed supplier charges.

04 Planning allowance Contingency on setup and monthly costs%This makes uncertainty visible; it does not predict price rises or unexpected work.

First-year planning view

8-person technology plan

Editable

Estimated year-one IT budget£—One-off setup plus 12 months of recurring costs

Launch setup£—

Monthly run rate£—

Monthly per planned person£—

Launch setup

£— before allowance

Devices£—
Desk equipment£—
People setup£—
Network and other setup£—
Planning allowance£—

Monthly commitment

£— over 12 months

Productivity and other software£—
Security and backup£—
IT support£—
Connectivity and fixed costs£—
Planning allowance£—

Figures exclude VAT and staff employment costs. Confirm tax treatment and current supplier pricing before committing.

Before using the total

Check what the number leaves out.

A planning model is most useful when exclusions are as visible as inclusions.

Bundles overlap

Productivity plans may include security, storage or device controls. Remove duplicated lines rather than paying for the same outcome twice.

VAT is separate

Supplier quotes differ in how they show VAT, delivery and setup. Compare like with like and confirm the business's tax treatment.

Premises change the shape

Office cabling, resilient internet, meeting rooms, printers and access systems can be material projects rather than small accessories.

Year two is different

Launch purchases fall away, while renewals, growth, replacements and supplier price changes become the next planning conversation.

Open calculation

No hidden industry multiplier.

The calculator multiplies the quantities and unit costs entered, adds the visible contingency, and keeps one-off and recurring commitments separate.

Equipment + setupONE-OFF Monthly services × 12RECURRING Year-one planYOUR FIGURES

Startup IT budget questions

Plan first. Price properly next.

What should a startup IT budget include?

Separate launch purchases from monthly services, then consider devices, desk equipment, onboarding, connectivity, productivity software, security, backup, business applications and support.

Are the example costs a quotation or market benchmark?

No. They simply make the calculator usable on first load. Replace them with current supplier figures and confirm what each price includes.

Why separate one-off and monthly costs?

It shows both the cash needed to launch and the recurring commitment the business must continue to fund after the first purchase.

Can an established small business use this?

Yes. Enter only the devices and setup work needed for the planned change, then model monthly services against the resulting team size.

Need real supplier figures?

Turn the planning range into a scoped startup setup.

ACA can help map the accounts, devices, security, backup and support the team actually needs, then separate essential launch work from sensible later phases.

Explore startup IT support