Frequently asked questions

Here you will find an overview of questions and answers from our previous and interested partners.

For whom are partnerships offered?

We offer these partnerships for public sector organisations. These can be social welfare offices at communal, regional and cantonal level, but also organisations that are responsible for the integration of refugees, for example, or relief organisations/foundations.

Our partners must be able to ensure that the service is only offered to people experiencing poverty. It is not the aim, for example, to equip partners' offices with laptops.

We can already count on a large number of partners. Click here for the corresponding overviews:

What does the process look like?

After an initial contact by our team, you will receive the partnership agreement, as well as the additional necessary documents. Once these have been signed, the process is as follows:

1. Those seeking help submit a device application to your organisation.
2. You check the application according to your guidelines.
3. The request is recorded on our portal (Instructions)
4. We send the device directly to those seeking help.
5. Your organisation pays the contribution towards expenses as agreed.

The more specific details of the process will be sent to you after the contract has been signed.

On the following page you will find our collected experiences, which can help you to start the new cooperation: Implementation tips

For whom may devices be applied for?

Basically, we distinguish between three possible target groups:

• Social assistance recipients
• People in migration processes
• Working Poor

Requests from public sector partners may thus also be made for persons who may not be covered by cantonal legislation.

How much do laptops cost with us?

We currently charge a contribution towards costs of CHF 150 per laptop for each device handed in. This contribution is needed to cover our own expenses.

The actual laptop is "donated". We receive laptops as donations from private individuals, companies and administration and therefore do not calculate a price on a model basis.

How is the invoice issued?

Invoicing can be done either per order (single invoice) or quarterly (collective invoice). The invoices are sent by e-mail to the contact person or office that you define.

Single invoice

In the case of a single invoice, we always show only one item. The following information is transmitted:

• Our reference: Will be handed over by us
• Your referenceYou can specify during the ordering process
• Created byUser account of the person placing the order
• Shipping dateDate on which the corresponding parcel was dispatched.
• Recipient address: First address line of the recipient
• Number of unitsAs a rule, 1 or, in the case of several units in one order, the corresponding number.
• Device model: Listing of the delivered unit

Collective invoice

The content of a collective invoice is exactly the same, but more items will be listed (depending on what was ordered in the previous period).

By default, one invoice is issued per order. If you wish to change the invoicing method, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Which is better?

Individual invoices are particularly suitable when contributions to expenses have to be booked to specific client accounts. This is usually the case with social services.

If no client allocation has to be carried out, a collective invoice makes more sense - then only one payment has to be entered and released. 

What about clients who cannot be provided with laptop support?

Just think what the opportunity costs might be if someone is in a predicament longer than necessary due to lack of equipment.

A job-seeker may remain unemployed longer than absolutely necessary because applications cannot be made at home.

A person in the process of migration has a longer integration time because our national language can only be learned in face-to-face courses.

Working poor people have to buy laptops for their children, possibly take out micro-loans, and then they already have one foot in the social welfare office.

Many of our partners have the leeway to decide on procurement at their own discretion. A small contribution towards costs can make a lot possible.

Any workforce that can handle digital devices is more attractive in tomorrow's labour market - and this also means potentially higher taxpaying power.

Who pays the expense contributions?

The rule is that a partner organisation bears the full costs itself. This makes sense, for example, if the partner organisation is a social service, which in turn can benefit if someone can find work again more quickly.

In the case of relief organisations, the costs are usually shared. For example, the relief organisation may bear two thirds (CHF 100.-) and the end users 1/3 of the expenses (CHF 50.-).

We issue the invoices directly to our partners, who also owe us these amounts. If, for example, a private person is supposed to pay but does not do so, we charge the partner directly.

Can private individuals also order directly?

Effective equipment orders can only be made by partner organisations. This is a necessity, and we do not allow any exceptions. This creates a clear division of tasks:

• They take care of the means test and the order registration.
• We see that laptops are professionally set up and shipped.

Requests from private individuals are only triaged by us. There is no entitlement to a laptop when a private individual fills out a form.

How and when are units delivered?

We send out orders every fortnight. Thus, the delivery time can take a few days up to a maximum of three weeks - depending on the time of order.

It is important that we have all the information at the time of ordering - for example, for apprentices and students we need a confirmation of training. If this is not available, the order cannot be processed until we receive it.

Is there a guarantee?

All warranty conditions can be found on this page:

What are the expenses for partners?

The expenses are manageable and include the following points:

• They are responsible for examining the applications.
• If the decision is positive, you enter the order via our portal.
• You transfer the agreed expense contributions to us.

Assuming that many people seeking help are already known to you and the individual cases can be discussed quickly, there is thus a minimal additional effort.

Are there alternatives to wLw?

The simplest alternative would be to procure new laptops for their own clients. However, in many places this is not economically viable and reasonable.

Each organisation must therefore ask itself whether the following work is possible for less than our contribution to expenses:

• Procurement of second-hand laptops
• Data deletion and processing
• Shipping
• Support

According to our experience, this is not possible anywhere else, as we specialise specifically in the above-mentioned work and can exploit economies of scale here.

What is the support like?

We offer help with the documents provided, our wiki, the technical forum and also by telephone. There are no further costs for this.

The documents and support provided are also intended to enable the recipients to get to grips with the equipment and thus develop methodological competence themselves.

• Click here for the help portal

We deliberately want to empower the end users to acquire their own competencies. Especially when dealing with computers, it is important to learn that you are never actually the first person with a problem - and relevant information can be found quickly on the net.

How are the laptops set up?

Devices

We exclusively process laptops that we receive from private donors and companies. The devices are tested for functionality and various performance features.

Further information on the unit types can be found on this page:

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Operating system

All our delivered laptops have an operating system: either Zorin OS or Windows 10.

Zorin OS

An operating system from the Ubuntu family. It offers extremely similar operation to Windows 10 and is also visually very reminiscent of it.

Zorin OS is installed on laptops that are used, for example, by job seekers or people in migration processes. These laptops can be used for all everyday tasks that are also possible with Windows 10.

A variety of useful programmes are also installed on these devices, such as a free alternative to Office365. It is important to us that there are no follow-up costs for the users.

On this page you will find more information about the setup:

Windows 10 can also be installed on all our devices. We have developed an installation routine for this that massively simplifies the installation: Use Windows 10 instead of Zorin OS

Windows 10

We also offer laptops with Windows 10 for apprentices and students. However, no other software is installed on these devices. However, many schools provide Office365 free of charge, for example.

Are specific requirements taken into account?

We are happy to accept explicit requests, but must check the specified requirements in each case. Please indicate in each case if special requests would be necessary for a unit.

If we do not have a suitable unit in stock, we will contact you with procurement alternatives. We do not ship units that do not meet the requirements submitted to us - unless this is requested.

Due to the nature of our work, it is not possible to request specific models of equipment. However, we always check whether we have suitable goods in stock.

May we continue to purchase equipment from other service providers?

Sure! We don't issue gagging contracts, we simply want to help. Once the contract is signed, your organisation has a possible solution for missing IT hardware. If the offer is not used, there are no costs.

What if a client no longer wants/needs a laptop?

If an order has been placed but nothing has been shipped yet, this is not a problem. We can simply cancel the order and that's it.

However, the situation is different if a laptop has already been shipped. Expenses already incurred are not refundable.

Of course, the laptop can also be passed on to another person.

If the laptop has already been used by the client, we recommend (if only for data protection reasons) to reinstall Zorin OS. A corresponding instruction can be found here:

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Further questions?

Do not hesitate to write to us. We will be happy to be at your disposal: