Here’s how to best ask for a laptop replacement at work: When you need a significant investment from your boss for the sake of your job, it’s usually best to make a formal, written request.
You can write a justification letter that clearly explains why the purchase is a good idea and how it benefits the company.
From there, you can present your case and convince your boss. So if you want to learn all about how to best ask for a new laptop at work, then this article is for you. Keep reading!
How to Convince Your Boss to Get You a New Laptop at Work?
A justification letter sounds promising, but how do you make it? How do you present this in a way that will definitely convince your boss? Obviously, every person is different, so there are no guarantees.
But, you can generally expect better results if you take an informed, measured approach. Think about how the laptop is beneficial to your boss, and make the presentation from that angle.We’ll go over the most common points you should cover in your letter.
How Is the New Laptop Different From What You Are Currently Using at Work?
How Does the New Laptop Enhance Your Work Performance? When considering the replacement of your current laptop, it’s crucial to provide a detailed explanation of why a new device is more beneficial than repairing or upgrading the existing one.
To effectively persuade your boss, focus on specific advantages the new laptop offers, and how they relate to your job requirements.
Before writing a justification letter, ensure that you’ve selected the new laptop and are well-versed in its features, price, and capabilities. Compare its specifications to your current laptop and highlight the differences that will significantly impact your work performance. You can explore and compare current laptops here.
Key aspects to consider include:
- Processing Power: A faster processor allows for smoother multitasking and quicker execution of tasks, thereby enhancing productivity. Explain how the new laptop’s processing capabilities will help you accomplish more in less time.
- RAM (Random Access Memory): Increased RAM enables your laptop to handle more applications simultaneously, reducing lag and improving overall performance. Explain how the additional RAM in the new laptop will benefit your daily tasks and streamline your workflow.
- Storage Capacity: With more storage space, you can store larger amounts of data and access it more efficiently. Describe how the new laptop’s increased storage capacity will improve your ability to manage and manipulate important data.
- Compatibility: Newer laptops may offer compatibility with updated software, tools, or peripherals that are essential for your job. Explain how the new laptop’s compatibility with these resources will enhance your work performance and contribute to the company’s goals.
- Battery Life: A longer battery life ensures that you can work without interruptions, even during long hours or while traveling. Describe how the new laptop’s improved battery life will enable you to stay productive throughout the day.
By thoroughly researching the new laptop and presenting a strong case focusing on its advantages and their relevance to your work, you increase the likelihood of convincing your boss to invest in the new device. There’s one other feature you can consider which is the durability of the hinges. We’ve seen many models have broken hinges after less than a year of use. We explore the most durable models here.
What Is the Cost-Benefit Analysis of a Laptop Replacement? (3 Points)
The details of the laptop are important, but they’re a stepping stone to explaining what truly matters to most bosses. What’s the bottom line? If the business is going to spend money on a new laptop for you, then that cost should generate a return on investment (ROI) in some form or fashion.
So, at this point, you want to clearly explain how the improvements that come from the new laptop directly benefit the company. Some benefits are very clear and easy to put a number on (like productivity). Other benefits might not be as direct, but you should still try to cover them.
#1 Increased Productivity
This is usually the easiest place to start. You want a new laptop because the one you are currently using is holding you back.
Maybe it’s old and slow. Maybe it crashes and uses data. Maybe it can’t use software that would help you a ton. It’s probably a combination of factors. Go over how these issues directly impact your performance and estimate how much more productive you will be with a new laptop.
If you regularly have to restart your laptop in the middle of the workday and that process takes five minutes, then you’re losing work time.
You can add up all of that lost time for a week, multiply it by your wage, and that’s an estimate of how much money the old laptop is wasting every week.
This is just one example, but ultimately, you should be able to quantify how the new laptop will improve your productivity and, based on your wage, estimate how much money the new laptop will save the company. This is arguably the most important thing to include in your cover letter.
#2 Better Accuracy
In a lot of cases, a new laptop doesn’t just help you work faster. Good technology can also help you do your job to a higher level of accuracy or ability. Let’s look at a common example.
Say you tally all of the spending receipts for a department. With your older laptop, you manually type in the numbers into a spreadsheet, and then you use that to track expenses.
With a newer laptop, you might be able to utilize software that automates this process. You can scan all of the receipts with your phone or a webcam (or whatever).
The scans are uploaded to the laptop, and then its software automatically pulls all of the relevant information from those receipts. There are no opportunities for you to accidentally mistype something.These typos can have consequences that cost money.
So, to the extent that you are able, explain how the new laptop will improve your performance (beyond just saving time) and try to put a price tag on that improvement.
#3 Scalability
One of the most important themes in the world of business technology is scalability. A similar topic that comes up is future-proofing. How will this laptop impact your job and the company in the years to come? How does that compare to keeping the old laptop that is already in service?
The general idea is that upgrades are inevitable, so why is it better to upgrade now instead of in six months or a year? This is where you can explain how the laptop creates opportunities for you to expand the range of your work or the capacity of your position.
This idea requires some deep thought, but it’s a great inclusion in your justification letter—provided you genuinely believe that the laptop generates such potential.
What Is Involved in Replacing the Laptop? (3 Things)
Obviously, this process involves buying a new laptop. There’s a cost associated with that, but there are a few other things to consider along the way. How does this process impact IT, and are there other things you might need to buy to go with the laptop?
#1 IT Concerns
When you get a new laptop, it has to be connected to the business network. It might need to have security software installed. There are a number of other issues that are commonly attached to a new computer in a business setting.
If you have an IT department, talk to them about getting a new computer and what is involved on their end.
Get this understanding before writing a pitch for your new laptop. That way, you can address IT and red tape concerns as they arise.
Any chance you have to get ahead of your boss’s objections will help you get the yes.
If you don’t have an IT department, make sure you know what it would take to make the laptop work in your workplace. Can you connect it to Wi-Fi? Can you ensure that it is secure? Can you hook it up to the printer? Can you easily transfer your old data?
Go over these ideas so that you can convince your boss that you can handle getting the laptop up and running.
#2 Additional Costs
A new laptop usually comes with some extra expenses. If you use specialized software with the current laptop, you might have to purchase new licenses for the new laptop.
This is particularly common with the Microsoft Office Suite, but it comes up with plenty of other software packages too. Your new laptop might need other peripherals too. Are you upgrading a mouse or computer monitor? Do you need an external hard drive or flash drive to store data? Consider the extra costs and address them in your justification letter.
#3 Keep It Simple
Most of all, make this process easy for your boss. The last thing they want is a list of new problems to solve. If you present your idea simply and clearly, you’re more likely to get the answer you want.
To help you with that, you can look over this sample letter. It’s going to use a made-up name and job position, so you get a clear idea of how to use specifics in your request.
What Does a Sample Letter of How to Ask for a New Laptop at Work Look Like?
Those tips can help you think about how to pitch and what information to include in a cover letter, but it’s nice to see a sample.
Despite being written by a made-up person in a made-up position, the letter provides details to help you understand how to present important information.
To Jane Austin, Department Manager
I’m writing this letter to formally request a laptop replacement.
In my current role, I spend a significant number of hours each week creating Photoshop images for our advertising department. The laptop I currently use for this work has become haggard, and it is as much a hindrance in my work as it is a useful tool. In a given week, I have to restart and reload photoshop at least a dozen times, and each one of those reloads eats up anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes while I wait on the laptop.
If this laptop is replaced by a Dell XPS 15, I could cut this time and save more than an hour of lost productivity each week. Additionally, the new laptop would be able to run the most recent version of Photoshop, empowering me with additional resources that could increase my productivity by at least 10 percent when working on these images.
We can consider that the cost of the computer is $1,400, and a new Photoshop license is $239.88 per year, the total cost of this investment for this year is $1639.88 plus tax. After that, only the Photoshop license is necessary.
Considering my current pay rate, this investment would save the company about $150 a week in improved productivity on my end, and this ignores how the upgraded software will enable me to make better images and expand how we approach marketing. This means the investment will turn profitable after 12 weeks. In the first year alone, you can expect an ROI of over $6,000.
I encourage you to endorse this investment as soon as possible so that we can all reap the benefits. I appreciate your consideration in this matter and optimistically await your reply.
Sincerely,
John Doe, Company Photoshopper
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