Freelancer/external, their laptop or ours?
Depends on data sensitivity and duration. Short job on non-sensitive data: own laptop with M365 Guest. Longer or with customer data: your device.
Try this first
- 1Short engagement (<3 months), non-sensitive data: M365 Guest or external collaborator licence. Their laptop, your policy via conditional access.
- 2Longer engagement or customer data: your device with MDM, BitLocker, no local admin. Treat like a permanent hire.
- 3Middle ground: a 'choose your own device' list the freelancer picks from; you co-pay and reclaim at offboarding.
- 4Whichever path: write down what happens to data at end-of-engagement. Don't sort it out on the last day.
When to bring us in
External collaborations covering more than 5 people? We draft a short policy template for access, devices, and offboarding.
See also
- Should we buy or lease laptops as a 5-person company?Both work. Lease is predictable but pricier over the term; buying needs cash and your own depreciation. The difference is mostly admin.
- Is buying refurbished smart or asking for trouble?For office work fine, if from a serious vendor with warranty and a clean OS install. The trap is shady marketplace listings.
- How much RAM and SSD for office work in 2026?Rule of thumb for knowledge work: 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD as a comfortable minimum. 8 GB already feels tight; 32 GB is for heavy tools.
None of the above fits?
Describe your situation below. We pass your input plus the steps you already saw to our AI and return tailored next-step advice. If it's too risky to DIY, we'll say so.
Or skip the DIY entirely
Our Managed IT clients do not look these things up. One point of contact, a fixed monthly price, resolved within working hours.