A single smart garden or a handful of herb-growing kits for a classroom, office kitchen or reception desk is a small purchase in any EU country — nowhere near the roughly €216,000 threshold above which a school, kindergarten or municipal office must run an EU-wide tender for supplies. In practice, ordering one or two units usually means a normal invoice, not a procurement procedure.
Schools, kindergartens, libraries and public offices often want a smart garden for a classroom corner, staff kitchen or reception desk, then stall on whether the order needs a tender, a VAT invoice or special paperwork. It usually doesn’t. This article explains why a single-unit order counts as a small purchase, what an invoice looks like when IndoorGarden sells to an institution rather than a private customer, what warranty applies, and how spare parts keep one unit running for years instead of being replaced.
Products mentioned — in stock at IndoorGarden, shipped from Tallinn across the EU.
Why a single smart garden doesn’t trigger a public tender
The EU’s public procurement directives set a value above which a contracting authority has to advertise and tender a supply contract across the whole EU, rather than simply buying from whichever supplier it likes. For 2026–2027, that figure is €216,000 for most public bodies — municipalities, schools, kindergartens and similar institutions — and a lower €140,000 for central government bodies, under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2152, as published on the European Commission’s procurement thresholds page. A LetPot Senior at €129 or a LetPot Max at €249 is nowhere close to either figure, and the same is true if a school orders five or ten units for several classrooms at once. These purchases simply don’t reach the level where EU-wide tendering rules apply.
Each country sets its own small-purchase rules below that threshold
Below the EU-wide tendering threshold, every member state sets its own national rules for how public bodies handle smaller purchases, and these vary by country and by how much is being spent. Estonia is a useful example of how such a rule works in practice: the simplified-purchase (lihthange) threshold for goods and services rises from €30,000 to €50,000 on 1 November 2026, following an amendment passed by the Riigikogu, according to the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A single smart garden or a small batch for a few classrooms sits far enough below even the old threshold that most institutions handle it as an ordinary small purchase approved within their own budget, with no separate tender or committee decision needed. If you’re buying from outside Estonia, the exact euro figure and process will differ, so it’s worth checking your own institution’s small-purchase or direct-award threshold with your finance or procurement department before assuming extra paperwork is required.
Getting a VAT invoice and paying as an institution, not a private customer
IndoorGarden is the trading name of UX Labor OÜ, an Estonian company with EU VAT number EE101794163, and the business ordering page lays out how institutional orders differ from a private checkout: a proper VAT invoice with the institution’s own details, written quotes that stay valid for 30 days so a budget request can be approved before you commit, and e-invoices for institutions that require them. Payment terms are also set up for how public bodies and companies actually pay rather than expecting card payment on the spot — net 30 days for public bodies and net 14 days for companies, rather than payment up front. For cross-border orders inside the EU, a business with a valid VAT number registered in VIES can buy VAT-free, while other buyers pay VAT at their own country’s rate, the same as any other EU online purchase.
Warranty: what’s covered if a unit arrives faulty or fails later
Every smart garden IndoorGarden sells carries a two-year warranty, matching the minimum guarantee period set by EU consumer-protection law, and this applies however the order is placed — through a normal checkout or against a quote and invoice for a school or office. If a unit arrives faulty or develops a fault within that period, the contact page is the starting point for a claim; for day-to-day questions about an order, the about page has the company’s registration and contact details an institution’s finance office may want on file.
Spare parts, so one broken pump doesn’t retire the whole unit
Past the warranty period, the part that tends to wear first on a shared or heavily used unit is the water pump, followed by the light panel or a power adapter, and IndoorGarden stocks all three as separate items in the replacement parts category. A pump typically costs under €15, a light panel with its adjustable rod around €55, and an EU power adapter around €20 — each far cheaper than buying a new unit, and each straightforward for office or classroom staff to swap in themselves without tools. For a system with several pods in constant use by rotating groups of students or colleagues, this matters more than for a single home countertop unit: a shared classroom or office garden gets opened, refilled and handled far more often, so having a spare part on hand (or knowing where to order one quickly) keeps a growing project running through a full school year rather than stalling over one worn part.
Which size fits a classroom, office kitchen or canteen counter
A 12-pod LetPot Senior gives a shared classroom, staff kitchen or reception desk enough pods to grow more than one crop at once — herbs in some pods, lettuce or microgreens in others — and its 5.5-litre tank is large enough to get through a typical school holiday without anyone needing to top it up. For a bigger space, such as a school canteen counter, a library activity corner serving several groups, or an office floor shared by more people, a 21-pod LetPot Max gives roughly double the growing space in a similar footprint, at a correspondingly higher price. Institutions ordering for more than one room or department commonly start with one unit, run it through a term or a season, and only then decide whether a second unit or a bigger model makes sense for the next budget cycle.
| Product | Price | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| LetPot Senior, 12 pods | €129.00 | A shared classroom, office kitchen or small reception area |
| LetPot Max, 21 pods | €249.00 | A canteen counter, library corner or a larger group sharing one unit |
| LetPot 172-piece replacement pod kit | €24.99 | Keeping a Senior, Max or Air unit running for years without buying a new system |
Frequently asked questions
Does buying one smart garden for a school require a public tender?
No. The EU-wide tendering threshold for most public bodies is around €216,000 for 2026–2027, and a single unit or a handful of units for several classrooms is far below that, so it’s handled as an ordinary small purchase rather than a formal procurement procedure.
What small-purchase threshold applies in my country?
It depends on where your institution is based. In Estonia, the simplified-purchase threshold for goods and services rises to €50,000 from 1 November 2026. Elsewhere, check with your own finance or procurement department, since each EU country sets its own below-threshold rules.
Can IndoorGarden issue a VAT invoice or e-invoice?
Yes. Institutional orders can be invoiced with your organisation’s own details, and e-invoices are available for institutions that require them. See the business ordering page for how this is set up.
What payment terms are available to institutions?
Public bodies can pay on net 30-day terms and companies on net 14-day terms, rather than paying by card at checkout, and a written quote stays valid for 30 days so a budget request can be approved first.
What warranty applies to an institutional order?
Every smart garden carries a two-year warranty, matching the EU’s minimum consumer-protection guarantee period, whether the order goes through a normal checkout or against an invoice.
What happens if a part breaks after the warranty period?
Pumps, light panels and power adapters are sold separately in the replacement parts category, so a single worn part doesn’t mean replacing the whole unit.
Where to start
Most institutions start with one shared smart garden for a classroom or office kitchen, run it through a term, and only then weigh up whether a second unit or a bigger model earns its place in next year’s budget. If you need a written quote, an e-invoice or help choosing between models for a public or institutional order, our business ordering page covers invoicing, VAT and payment terms in full.
