New Office Setup Checklist & Computer Rental Sizing

The most accurate way to plan computer rental for a new office is to count fixed desks per function — not total headcount. The formula is simple: map the fixed desks per team, choose the right form factor for each desk's function, multiply by that tier's rate, then add a 5–10% buffer. With PC rental starting at Rp 300,000/month per unit — and effectively 40% lower on an annual contract — a new 25-person office can be fully operational for around Rp 7.9 million/month in desktop cost: no upfront capex, no queuing at service centers, and every unit delivered and set up until it is ready to work. This guide walks through the calculation step by step and closes with a real cost simulation you can copy for your own office.

Why Should a New Office Rent Computers First Instead of Buying?

Three conditions typical of a new office make buying hardware on day one a premature decision.

First, headcount is not stable yet. A plan for 25 people in month one can become 35 by month six — or 18 if one division is postponed. A computer bought for a chair that never gets filled is an idle asset that keeps depreciating anyway.

Second, cash is needed elsewhere. Fit-out, the building deposit, furniture, recruitment — all of them pull cash in the same quarter. Shifting computer procurement from capital expenditure to a monthly operating cost frees up cash for the items that cannot be rented.

Third, there is no internal IT team yet. When a purchased PC fails, the new office is the one chasing warranties, spare parts, and downtime. Under a rental scheme, repair and replacement are the vendor's responsibility — at Arental, replacement follows the SLA: Greater Jakarta < 2 hours; outside Greater Jakarta within 1×24 hours on business days.

To be honest about the trade-off: buying still makes more sense when the need is permanent for years, the desk count is stable, and an IT team handles maintenance and refresh. A full comparison of both schemes — including the cost components that are often left out of the math — is in our article on renting versus buying IT equipment. For the first 6–24 months of a new office, renting almost always wins on flexibility: units can be added as the team grows and returned when plans change.

Step 1: Map Fixed Desks, Not Headcount

The most common mistake when sizing a new office's computer needs is equating unit count with employee count. What actually matters is the function of each desk, and not every function needs the same kind of device:

• Fixed desks — reception, admin and data entry, finance, operations, design desks — are served by desktops or All-in-Ones built to stay put: a larger screen for all-day work, a full keyboard, more stable performance per rupiah, and no risk of the unit being taken home.
• Mobile staff — field sales, managers who are often in external meetings — are served by laptops (entry from Rp 250k/month), not desktops.
• Shift desks — cashiers or customer service rotating morning and evening — are counted as one unit per desk, not per person. Two shifts at one desk is still one computer.

Run this mapping per division alongside the office floor plan: how many fixed desk positions, how many people who move. The result is two separate numbers — a desktop requirement and a laptop requirement — each with its own calculation. On the desktop side, every form factor and fixed-desk use case (front office, labs, back office, cashier, workstation) is documented on our PC & All-in-One rental Jakarta page; this article focuses on how to calculate the quantity and the cost.

Step 2: Choose a Form Factor per Team

Every team has its own optimal form factor, and choosing wrong here is the quietest source of waste: a premium AIO on a data-entry desk is money lost, while an essential PC on a designer's desk is productivity lost. The quick reference:

Two notes to keep the comparison apples-to-apples. First, an AIO already includes the screen, keyboard, and mouse; Mini/Tower/SFF desktops are rented as a CPU unit, and a monitor can be added as a package — whichever you choose is always written clearly in the quotation before you agree. Each desktop's physical format is explained in our glossary entry on desktop form factors. Second, every unit is a manufacturer built-up machine — HP, Dell, Lenovo, Apple, ASUS — never an assembled PC, so your office fleet stays consistent and serviceable.

Step 3: Calculate the Unit Count with a Buffer

Once the desk mapping and form factors are settled, the final formula is:

Total units = fixed desks per team + a 5–10% buffer (minimum 1 unit)

The buffer is not a luxury. It covers two scenarios that are near-certain in a new office: new hires arriving ahead of the procurement schedule, and units that need rotating during a technical issue so no desk sits empty waiting for a replacement.

How large a buffer is reasonable for a new office?

For 10–30 desks, one or two essential units are enough. Above 30 desks, use 5–10% of the total. This is where renting shines: since there is no rigid minimum unit count, the buffer never has to be "bought upfront" — you can start lean and add units whenever the team actually grows, with same-day delivery in Jakarta.

What Does Monthly Office Computer Rental Cost? A 25-Person Office Simulation

Now combine the three steps in one complete example. A new office of 25 employees: 17 of them work at fixed desks, while the remaining 8 (the sales team and two managers) are mobile and use laptops — outside this desktop calculation. The mapping result:

That figure is the month-to-month rate. Since a new office usually commits to a year straight away, a 12-month contract cuts the rate by 40%: an effective Rp 4,740,000/month, or Rp 56,880,000 per year for 18 desktop units complete with delivery, setup, and a standby technician. Averaged out, one workstation desk costs around Rp 439k/month at the monthly rate — dropping to around Rp 263k/month on an annual contract.

Need a shorter term? Daily and weekly rates are derived from the same monthly anchor (daily = monthly ÷ 5, weekly = monthly ÷ 2) — useful for training or a transition period before the long contract starts. The complete table of every tier across every duration, including the factors that push a rate up or down, is on our PC rental price table by tier and duration.

What the rate already includes — and therefore what you do not need to budget separately: a pre-installed OS (Windows 11 Pro / macOS), delivery and on-site installation, LAN or Wi-Fi connection, driver setup, a unit-replacement warranty, and end-of-contract pickup. Every handover comes with a per-unit BAST (handover certificate), so your new office's asset records are tidy from day one, and an official invoice is issued for every billing.

New Office Setup Checklist: The IT Equipment List

From the IT side, a new office needs a computer or laptop for every desk and mobile employee, extra monitors, a printer or MFP, a document scanner, networking (an internet line, router, switch and Wi-Fi), a UPS for critical devices, meeting room screens, and any specialist devices your business uses, such as two-way radios or barcode scanners. The table below works as a new office equipment checklist for the IT or general affairs team:

What should be ordered first?

1. The internet line goes first, because installation depends on the network provider's and the building manager's schedules. 2. Power and LAN points are confirmed at every fixed desk before furniture is fixed in place. 3. Core networking (router, switch, Wi-Fi) is installed and tested before the work devices arrive. 4. Computers, laptops, monitors and printers arrive last, already installed, and are set up the day before opening as in the checklist below.

The part that runs late most often is not the computers but the internet and LAN points: devices can be delivered quickly, while cabling inside a building needs physical work and the building manager's permission.

New office supplies beyond IT equipment

As a reminder, a new office supplies list usually also includes desks and chairs, filing cabinets, stationery, pantry supplies, cleaning equipment, a first aid kit and fire extinguishers. Those items are usually bought once, while IT equipment that dates quickly and whose numbers may still change makes more sense to rent in the first year.

A Checklist for the Week Before the Office Opens

Getting the math right is only half the job; the other half is executing the installation. The sequence that runs smoothly:

1. D-7: send the desk count per function, the floor plan, and the opening date to the vendor — the quotation and unit allocation are locked at this stage. 2. D-5: make sure power outlets and LAN points are available at every fixed desk; confirm the network policy (Wi-Fi, wired LAN, or domain/workgroup join). 3. D-3: finalize the standard application list per team profile so units arrive pre-installed rather than being configured in a rush on moving day. 4. D-1: schedule the mass installation one day before the office opens — the vendor crew places the units, configures the network, and power-tests every desk; in Jakarta, same-day delivery is possible if something changes at the last minute. 5. Opening day: sign the BAST handover, and every employee sits down at a desk where the computer is already running.

The configuration pattern per team profile — accounts, access, baseline security, all the way to employee handover — is covered in depth in our guide to setting up office laptops for a new team; the same principles apply exactly to a desktop fleet.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum unit count and rental duration for office computers?

There is no rigid minimum unit count — we serve a single unit for a small office up to hundreds of units for a branch office. For office desktops, monthly rental is the most common scheme with a practical 1-month minimum; daily/weekly rental is available for training or short-term needs.

Is a monitor included in the rental price?

It depends on the form factor. An All-in-One includes the screen, keyboard, and mouse (a single power cable on the desk). Mini/Tower/SFF desktops are rented as a CPU unit; a monitor, keyboard, and mouse can be added as a package and are always written clearly in the quotation — no costs appear later.

What happens if the team grows mid-contract?

Add units at any time without waiting for the contract to end — this is the main reason new offices choose rental. Additional units follow the same tier, and in Jakarta delivery can be same-day from our HQ in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta.

If a unit fails, how quickly is it replaced?

Remote troubleshooting comes first via phone/WhatsApp (many software issues resolve in minutes), then a technician visit if needed, and unit replacement where it cannot be fixed on the spot (Greater Jakarta < 2 hours; outside Greater Jakarta within 1×24 hours on business days). All of it is part of the rental service, not an extra charge.

Can desktops and laptops be rented under one contract?

Yes, and that is in fact the most common pattern for a new office: desktops for fixed desks, laptops for sales and management — one vendor, one invoice, one set of BAST handover documents. A combined fleet is far easier to administer than two separate vendors.

What IT equipment does a new office need?

A computer or laptop for every desk and mobile employee, extra monitors for roles that need two screens, a printer or MFP, a document scanner if there is a lot of paperwork, networking (internet, router, switch, Wi-Fi), a UPS for critical devices, and meeting room screens. Add two-way radios or barcode scanners if your operations need them. The full table with starting quantities is in the new office setup checklist section above.

Which new office supplies should be rented and which bought?

Equipment that dates quickly, whose numbers may still change, or that needs technical upkeep makes more sense to rent: computers, laptops, monitors, printers and meeting room screens. Furniture, stationery and permanent network cabling in the building are usually bought or installed once. This mix keeps cash free in the first months without leaving any desk unready.

Start Your New Office Computer Rental

Send your desk count per function, the office opening date, and the location via WhatsApp chat at +62 821-4777-2100 — a complete quotation is ready within minutes, and our crew delivers and installs every unit until each desk is ready to work, same-day in Jakarta from our HQ in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta.