Loaner laptop program: how to run one without losing devices

Most IT teams end up running a loaner program before they decide to. A laptop goes in for a screen repair and someone needs a machine by the afternoon. A new hire starts before their device arrives. A manager is traveling somewhere they would rather not carry their own laptop. An old laptop from the last refresh gets handed over "just for now."

The trouble starts when those informal loans pile up. Nobody is sure who has the spare with the cracked hinge, the charger never came back, and the machine returned last month still has the previous borrower signed in.

This guide covers how to set up the pool, what to record on every loan, a loan agreement you can copy, and the return check that gets devices ready for the next person.

What a loaner laptop program is for

A loaner program lends a prepared laptop for a defined period and gets it back. Typical reasons:

• Repair cover. The borrower's own laptop is out for repair or warranty service.
• Waiting for hardware. A new hire, a replacement or an upgrade has not arrived yet.
• Travel. Universities such as Yale and Purdue lend clean laptops for international travel, especially to destinations where data theft is a concern, so the traveler's own device and data stay at home.
• Short-term people. Contractors, interns, temporary staff and visiting speakers.
• Students. Schools lend spares while a student's assigned device is repaired, or to students who do not have one.

Each reason implies a different loan length. Repair cover might last a week; a traveler might keep a device for a month; a student spare might be same-day. Decide your standard loan lengths per reason before you lend anything.

Set up the pool

Decide how many devices you need

There is no universal ratio. Look at the last six months and count the most loans you needed at the same time: repairs in progress, hardware on order, trips. Add a device or two for the unexpected. The number of devices you need is set by that peak, not by headcount.

Retired laptops from the last refresh are the usual source. They are fine as loaners if they still receive security updates and run your standard software; a loaner that cannot be patched is a liability, not a spare.

Give each loaner an identity

Tag every device with an asset tag and record it individually: tag, serial number, model, and the accessories that belong with it. Mark the pool clearly — a "LOANER" label or a colored tag — so a loaner is never mistaken for someone's assigned machine. Our asset tags guide covers tag formats and placement.

Build them clean

Every loaner should start from the same clean build:

• your standard image or enrollment profile, with current updates;
• no local accounts or files from a previous user;
• the borrower signs in with their own account, so their files stay in their own cloud storage rather than on the device;
• a charger and any adapters, recorded as part of the loan.

For travel loaners, go further. Purdue's program states that "only clean, secure laptops without sensitive data will be issued," and that a returned laptop "will be reviewed for potential compromise before it can be redeployed."

Keep them in one place

Store the pool in a locked cabinet or a named shelf, and record that as the devices' location. A loaner is either in the pool, on loan to a named person, or out of service — never somewhere unknown.

What to record on every loan

A loan is a custody record. At checkout, capture:

A paper sign-out sheet can hold all of this. The free equipment checkout sheet generates a printable one with your asset tags and QR codes already filled in.

Loan agreement template

Copy this into your service desk's knowledge base or checkout form and adjust it to your policies. It works alongside your acceptable use policy for company devices, which still applies to a borrowed laptop.

LOANER LAPTOP AGREEMENT

Borrower: ______________________   Department: ______________
Device asset tag: ______________   Serial number: ____________
Accessories: [ ] Charger  [ ] Adapter  [ ] Bag  Other: ______
Condition at checkout: ___________________________________
Date out: ____________   Return by: ____________
Reason: [ ] Repair cover  [ ] Awaiting device  [ ] Travel  [ ] Other: ______

1. This laptop is on loan and remains the property of [Organization].
   Return it, with every accessory listed above, by the return date.

2. Sign in with your own account. Keep your work in [approved cloud
   storage], not on the laptop. Anything stored locally will be erased
   when the laptop is returned.

3. Do not install software, change security settings, or lend the
   laptop to anyone else.

4. Report loss, theft, damage, or anything unusual to [IT contact]
   immediately. For stolen devices, also report to [security / police
   as required].

5. If you need the laptop longer, ask [IT contact] before the return
   date. Loans not returned or extended by the return date will be
   escalated to your manager.

6. Damage beyond normal wear, or failure to return the laptop or its
   accessories, may be handled under [damage and loss policy].

7. The company acceptable use policy applies to this laptop.

Borrower signature: ___________________   Date: __________
IT staff: ____________________________   Date: __________

RETURN
Date returned: __________  Condition: ___________________________
Accessories returned: [ ] All  [ ] Missing: ______________________
Checked by: __________________________

The return check

A loan is not finished when the laptop is handed back. It is finished when the device is ready to lend again.

1. Record the return against the loan: date, who took it back, and whether it came back on time.
2. Check condition and accessories against what was recorded at checkout. Photograph any new damage.
3. Sign the borrower out and reset the device. Remove their accounts and any local data before the next loan. For a routine loan this is a reset to your standard build; for a device that held sensitive data, follow a recognized method such as those in NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2, Guidelines for Media Sanitization.
4. Review travel loaners for compromise before they rejoin the network, as Purdue requires.
5. Update and patch, then return it to the pool and record its location.

If a device needs repair, mark it out of service rather than returning it to the pool, so nobody lends it by mistake.

Following up overdue loans

Most loaner losses are not theft. They are loans nobody followed up. Set a routine:

• review loans due in the next few days every week, and remind borrowers before the date, not after;
• on the day after the return date, contact the borrower and agree a return or an extension, and record the new date;
• escalate to the borrower's manager after a set period, such as a week overdue;
• when someone leaves the organization, check for loaners as well as their assigned devices. Our employee offboarding equipment checklist covers the rest of that handoff.

When a spreadsheet stops being enough

A shared spreadsheet works for a handful of loaners and one person running them. It starts to fail when several people lend devices, when you need to know a laptop's history (who had it, what was damaged, when it was reset), or when overdue loans are only found by someone remembering to look. At that point, the loan record belongs on the device's own record, alongside its repairs and its assigned history, in equipment checkout software or an asset management system.

How AssetCenter fits

In AssetCenter, each loaner is an asset with its own record and timeline. Keep the pool as a storage location, and when you lend a laptop, assign it to the borrower with a Return Date. The asset then shows as a loan, with a Due Back date on its current assignment and on the timeline. When it comes back, Person Loan Returned closes the loan, and the device goes back into storage. Condition updates, notes and photos of damage are added to the same timeline, so the next loan starts with the full history. Staff can scan the asset tag with a phone camera to open the record at the counter. The asset management manual covers loans step by step.

AssetCenter does not send overdue-loan reminders on its own. To follow up, add a to-do on the device for the return date and assign it to whoever runs the loaner pool; the To-dos page lists every to-do by due date and shows overdue ones in red. The asset export also includes each device's loan due date for a weekly review. AssetCenter does not image or wipe devices — keep using your device management tools for that. See AssetCenter for IT teams for the rest of the IT asset record.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a laptop loan last?

Set it by reason: long enough to cover a typical repair turnaround, a hardware delivery, or the trip. Every loan should have a return date, even if it is extended later; an open-ended loan is an unrecorded reassignment.

Should borrowers use their own accounts on a loaner?

Yes. Signing in with their own account keeps files in their own storage and makes the reset after return straightforward. Shared "loaner" accounts make it impossible to tell who did what on the device.

What happens if a loaner is lost or damaged?

Treat it like any other company device: the borrower reports it immediately, IT records it on the device's record, and your damage and loss policy decides what happens next. The condition recorded at checkout is what makes a fair decision possible.

Can we use old laptops as loaners?

Yes, as long as they still receive security updates, run your standard software, and have a working battery. Retire them from the pool when they no longer do.

Next step: record your next loan properly

Copy the loan agreement above, tag and list the devices in your pool, and record the next loan with a named borrower, a return date and the condition on checkout. If you want to print sign-out sheets for the counter first, start with the equipment checkout sheet.

By Jeremy Francis

Founder & CEO, AssetCenter