That's how you do it.
June 24, 2026
5-minute read
Many organizations replace laptops and smartphones after three or four years. That is often when they are fully depreciated. But what happens to these used laptops afterward?
In many cases, they are stored somewhere, sold to resellers, donated to charities, or recycled. More and more organizations are asking the logical question: Why shouldn’t employees be able to take their old work laptops home? It’s a win-win—both enjoyable and financially beneficial—for both the employee and the employer.
Still, many organizations are hesitant to get started with this. Not because it isn't a good idea, but because the process involved in the acquisition seems complicated. In this blog, we'll show that this doesn't have to be the case at all.
Business devices are often replaced even though they’re still technically good enough to have a second life. By giving employees the option to keep their trusted device, they’ll take better care of it, it will remain in use longer, and your organization will still realize its residual value.
When organizations consider implementing a buy-back program for laptops and smartphones, practical, financial, and legal questions quickly arise;
For IT teams, this can quickly feel like extra work on top of their existing responsibilities and workload. The result: the idea of allowing employees to bring their own devices is shelved, even though it could actually be a very valuable initiative.
When employees are able to keep their laptops or smartphones, you also extend the device’s lifespan. This has several benefits.
First, it contributes to sustainability. By using hardware for longer, less electronic waste is generated and the impact of new production is reduced.
For employees themselves, this often feels like a nice perk. They’re already familiar with the device, know how it works, and can purchase it at a lower price
And perhaps even more importantly: employees often take better care of their devices when they know they can keep them later. In practice, this leads to less damage and fewer support requests for IT.
So the concept is simple: a win-win for the organization, the employee, and the organization’s sustainability goals.
Give employees the option to purchase their trusted work device themselves after its useful life has ended. This is an attractive employee benefit that gives employees something tangible in return and keeps devices in use longer.
From inspection and data erasure to preparing the devices for resale: Circlewise can handle the entire process. This allows you to offer your employees a buyback program without it becoming an additional project for your IT department.
No individual payments, invoices, or administrative tasks involving employees. Circlewise handles the sales and payment process, minimizing the workload for Finance and Administration.
The biggest hurdle usually isn't the idea itself, but the implementation: devices must be registered, tested, and wiped so that sensitive company data is no longer accessible before they can be reused or sold.
Next comes the administrative side: invoicing, payments, and sometimes also sending documents to employees.
It is precisely that part of the process that makes organizations think, “This is taking up too much of our time.” But it doesn’t have to be that way.
At Circlewise, we’ve noticed that many organizations want to use their devices in a more sustainable way without burdening IT, Finance, and HR with additional processes. That’s why we set up the entire acquisition process and support its implementation from start to finish.
Among other things, we provide:
Much of this process is supported by the Circlewise Buyback Portal. Employees receive a personalized invitation, log in on their own, view the offer for their device, and can easily arrange the trade-in and payment. This creates a single, clear digital workflow for the employee, while IT, Finance, and HR are not burdened with separate manual steps.
Organizations can securely and certifiedly wipe devices themselves before handing them over to employees, or outsource data erasure to Circlewise. In the latter case, we handle the certified data erasure and provide the corresponding certificate for each device. The organization can also perform the technical and cosmetic grading itself or outsource it to Circlewise. We then assess the condition of each device so that this information can be factored into the valuation.
Circlewise thus combines the Buyback Portal with our services into a single, comprehensive process: from registration and valuation to payment, transfer, and reporting.
The employee will receive a personalized offer and access to the Buyback Portal via email.
The employee can easily pay for the device using the payment methods available in the Buyback Portal.
*If possible, you can delete the data from the devices yourself or have Circlewise perform this process in a certified manner. The devices will then undergo a technical inspection and be graded.
The organization can securely and certifiably wipe devices itself before handing them over to employees, or outsource the data erasure to Circlewise. When Circlewise handles this, the data is erased using ADISA-certified software, and the process is verifiable with a certificate for each device.
Circlewise can provide technical diagnostics and grading as part of the Buyback Program. We assess the technical and cosmetic condition of the devices and use that information to determine their value.
Circlewise handles the administrative aspects of the Buyback Program, including invoicing and payment processing for employees. This ensures that your Finance team doesn't have to deal with separate payment and invoicing processes.
The Buyback Program is specifically designed to minimize the additional workload on IT. Circlewise can handle registration, inspection, grading, administration, invoicing, payments, and shipping. Data erasure can be performed by the organization itself in a certified manner or outsourced to Circlewise.
A buyback program involves IT, Finance, and HR, and requires registration, valuation, payments, data deletion, and transfer. For most organizations, this is not part of their core business. That’s why it makes sense to entrust the implementation to Circlewise: your organization sets the guidelines, and we handle the process.
Not every device needs to be taken over by an employee. Devices that remain after the Buyback Program ends are included in our regular trade-in and sales process. Through our European network, we sell these devices via the most appropriate sales channel, with the goal of achieving the highest possible residual value and, where possible, giving them a second life.
In many cases, a usage period of about two to three years is an opportune time. At that point, the devices typically still have an attractive residual value and are often still in good technical and cosmetic condition. This makes purchasing the devices attractive to the employee and allows the organization to continue deriving value from them. At the same time, the devices remain in use for a longer period.
Can't find your question here? Please contact us.
Is your organization planning to replace devices? Give your employees’ current devices a second life first. Circlewise handles the valuation, secure data erasure, payments, and transfer. This way, you can turn device replacement into a smart opportunity for your employees, without creating extra work for IT, Finance, and HR.
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