How to Present Hardware Refresh Plans During Budget Season. Need to convince stakeholders to upgrade your IT assets? Here’s how to present your hardware refresh plans during budget season. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne’s IT video hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. The Challenge of Presenting Hardware Refresh Plans During Budget Season. It’s budget season, that time of the year when an organization starts allocating and prioritizing funds. For IT teams, this may be the perfect opportunity to propose a much-needed hardware refresh, if stakeholders can be convinced. Acquiring new hardware can be expensive, and securing approval often requires strong business justification. IT teams need to present clear, visual refresh plans that align with business goals and operational priorities. While approval is never guaranteed, a structured seven-step plan can significantly improve stakeholder buy-in. Seven Steps to Create a Hardware Refresh Plan. First, perform a full audit of your current IT assets. Collect each device’s age and purchase date, warranty expiration, performance and health metrics, support status, vendor lifecycle, and assigned user or business unit Then group devices into three refresh tiers based on replacement urgency: immediate, near-term, or future refresh. Next, define the lifecycle of each device type. Establish a baseline lifecycle for each device type. For example, laptops typically follow a three-to-four-year lifecycle, while servers may follow a four-to-six-year lifecycle. Compare these timelines against warranty coverage and vendor support periods, then adjust the baselines as needed. After that, arrange devices into cohorts based on age and risk. Group them into the following. Devices of 0 to 2 years of age require no action. Devices between three and four years old should be monitored closely for performance issues. Devices five years old or older should be prioritized for refresh. Then, illustrate the hidden costs of keeping and maintaining old devices. Collect various metrics from support times, user productivity, repair costs, and security & compliance risks. Afterwards, build a visual roadmap showing how the hardware refresh plan will be executed over time. Use timelines and charts to give stakeholders a clear picture of the plan. Align your refresh plans with your company’s sustainability goals, particularly in the disposal, recycling, and procurement processes. And finally, highlight the benefits and return on investment in your hardware refresh plans. Show how refreshed hardware can reduce downtime and support costs while improving productivity, security, and operational confidence. Present a clear and precise hardware refresh plan, and you can acquire new and better hardware that benefits both MSPs and clients. For more information, check out our official blog post on How to Present Hardware Refresh Plans During Budget Season, linked in the description below.