With Device as a Service, you turn one-off purchase costs into a fixed monthly rate per device. Repair, replacement, device management and return are included, so items that would otherwise hit the budget at irregular intervals drop out. Providers like Everphone offer this for smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs and accessories (docking stations, monitors, protective cases and so on).
Predictable doesn't automatically mean cheaper. But you get three big advantages. First, in January you already know what the device fleet will cost in November. Second, you shift CAPEX to OPEX (capital expenditure to operating expenditure). And third, you sharply reduce the internal costs of provisioning and running the devices.
This article shows which cost blocks shift, which stay, and when the switch isn't worth it.
Why IT costs are hard to predict when you buy
When you buy, you pay for the hardware in one go. The follow-up costs arrive afterwards in waves, and those are what blow up budgets.
A worked example: a company with 200 laptops at €1,000 each ties up €200,000 of capital before the first device is even running. On top come repairs that can't be forecast, replacements for lost devices, and IT time for setup, incident management and returns.
Then there's the price itself. If you replace the whole fleet every three to four years, you sometimes hit a bad year. How badly rising memory prices are currently affecting device planning is covered in the article on the memory shortage and device planning.
Which costs Device as a Service puts into the monthly rate
With DaaS, it's very different. The rate fully covers hardware and services for each device. At Everphone, replacement of damaged devices, asset management, certified erasure and the shipping costs for delivery and return are included. Your rental rate is therefore the final price, unless you add optional managed services (for example active MDM operation or mobile plan management).
| Cost block | When buying | With Device as a Service |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | one-off, due immediately | spread across the monthly rate |
| Damage | unplanned repair costs | covered as part of the service |
| Device management | IT working time | included in the service |
| Return and data erasure | effort or external provider | certified erasure at no extra cost |
| Replacement after loss | full new purchase | current value per residual value table |
The last point matters: a loss remains an expense. If a rented device is lost or stolen, you have to replace it. But you pay its current value, not the new price.
What still varies with Device as a Service
Not everything becomes fixed. The number of devices changes as soon as you hire employees or cut positions, and the total rate changes with it. That's intended, because you only pay for devices that are in use.
Mobile plans, software licenses and accessories continue to run separately. If you have plans managed as well, you can bundle that block too. Loss and intentional damage remain special cases with their own amount.
So the bill becomes predictable exactly where it's hardest to forecast: hardware prices, defects and administration effort.
OPEX instead of CAPEX: what it means for the balance sheet and financing
Rental rates count as ongoing expenses, while purchased devices sit on the balance sheet as fixed assets. That eases liquidity and credit lines, because you tie up no capital in hardware.
There is no blanket answer on accounting treatment. For context: Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) allows a useful life of one year for computer hardware such as notebooks in the tax balance sheet. That narrows the tax difference between buying and renting, but it doesn't remove the capital tie-up of buying. More context is in the article From capex to opex.
How to compare buying and renting
Compare over the planned period of use, not by price per month. Four steps are enough:
- Add up the total cost of buying: device, setup, repairs, replacements, return and erasure.
- Add the IT team's internal hours, ideally at the real hourly rate.
- Work out the total cost of renting: monthly rate times term, plus items that are not included.
- Subtract the residual value of the purchased devices and estimate it honestly.
A ready-made grid with figures for smartphones is in the TCO calculator for company phones, and for laptops in the TCO comparison of renting or buying laptops. If you want to plug in your own numbers, use the ROI calculator.
Who benefits from predictable costs, and who doesn't
Device as a Service pays off for companies of every size, but the effect isn't equally large everywhere.
It works best for companies that manage many devices, have high turnover or want to protect their liquidity. If you run a small team with a few long-lived devices and repair them cheaply yourself, you save less.
A clear recommendation: first work out your actual follow-up costs over the last two years. If your spending on repairs, replacements and IT time is visibly above zero, the comparison is worth making. Companies with up to 250 employees order directly in the Everphone shop. For larger fleets, we recommend a consultation first.
Frequently asked questions
Does Device as a Service make IT cheaper?
Not automatically. The rate is predictable, but the total price depends on how high your previous follow-up costs were. The more repairs, replacements and IT time you have been carrying, the more likely rental evens out.
What happens if a device is lost or damaged?
Damaged devices are replaced as part of the service. In case of loss, the current value per the residual value table counts, not the new price.
How does renting affect the balance sheet?
The rental rate is an ongoing expense rather than tied-up fixed assets. How exactly you treat it under German commercial law (HGB) or IFRS 16 depends on the contract. Clarify this in advance with finance or your tax advisor.
Can I buy the devices at the end of the term?
A purchase option at the end of the term is available by arrangement. In principle, it is easy to implement.
From how many devices does Device as a Service pay off?
There is no minimum size. What matters is your follow-up cost per device, not the size of your fleet.