Basics planning for small business for computers
John Maier
May 22, 2008
The basics plan for your small business computer or home business computing. Since you´re a small business the basics plan does not have to be all that detailed but it should include some key information and help provide a small business Technology solutions solution along with budget.
I would recommend just starting off with the computer basics plan and using notebook or spread sheet after all you can always make this more detailed as you business grows. Another good reason to keep this information on spread sheet is when you do your taxes it will make things much easier when you review your business cost.
Here are some of the key things that you should look at starters:
Budget
Equipment - Computer systems, Laptop basics, printers, monitors, fax etc.
Accessories - Paper, replacement cartages, pens and pencils.
Software - programs that you will need for you business and customers. General software would include Office or maybe Quick books just to name a couple that you might need from the start.
Technology – New or replacement equipment and software. Remember this will change all the time.
Utilities – Cost for power and internet connections (ADSL, Cable, T1, etc).
Furniture – Chairs or desk.
There are other things that must be also included and examined when creating or looking at your computer basics plan. When looking at you business budget it is important to keep in mind that buy the right equipment for your small business or home based business.
I have seen many businesses forget this and buy the wrong equipment that is not going to meet the needs for the business.
For example if your business is involved in creating CAD designs and needs to produce high quality print outs for the customer then you need to keep in mind two key factors. One having a computer that powerful enough that it will run the CAD design software and two is having a printer that is going to product the high quality prints for you customers.
Yes most likely this will cost your business more money but in the long run you will more then likely make up for the cost if your customers are happy with what you give them and they come back for more.
If your can´t afford some of the equipment for your small or home business setups I would say that having the computer is the most important thing because you can take your design over to local printing company and have them do the prints for you just track the cost of this because you may find that over time the cost is much more then the cost of owning the printer. The same goes if you have to fax items just track the cost because it might pay to just buy an all in one printer that can copy, print, fax.
One other thing to keep in mind is that some of the equipment can also possibly purchased used but just be sure to check the equipment if possible and look for warranty as well.
During the computer basics plan you should decided the types of computer that you would need for your small business or home base business computer. Did you decide on a Desktop or do you need a Laptop computer because you have to travel for your business.
Or does your computer basics plan call for your small business require both types of systems. There is good chance that if your need both types of computers that a higher level more powerful Laptop will most likely do the job of both systems however if there is more then one person working at your small or home base business then to be more productive you should have more then one computer.
The cost will be more for both systems however you won´t need to buy both types of computers necessarily you can find a Laptop that will perform the same function but look at the cost because it could cost you very close to the same as two computers for one higher end laptop.
If so then your company most likely needs to invest into Workstation class system which is a more powerful computer that is capable of having multiple processors and holding more RAM and even storage. A workstation could be also a good solution for a low price server since they are almost as powerful however there are some draw backs to using them as replacement for a server. Of course all these extras will cost more but it is best to buy the equipment that will do the job for your business.
One other key factor to your computer basics plan is keep in mind is the software that your small business computer or home base business computer needs to use to operate properly. This can be a very important to keep in mind because if the software has high requirement to run properly on you computer. Make sure that your business computer system is able to running the unique software that you are asking from it to operate with because if it does not run it is waste of money and time.
Before you buy your Computer systems there other things that you also may consider such as what kind of warranty and software comes along with the system and support. This needs to be kept in mind in computer basics plan because if you buy a computer but it only offer a 90 day warranty and quits on you after working 6 months then you have no warranty fall back on which means more out of pocket cost from your business.
To get other information and free advice visit Business Computing guide . Copyright 2008 by John Maier.
I would recommend just starting off with the computer basics plan and using notebook or spread sheet after all you can always make this more detailed as you business grows. Another good reason to keep this information on spread sheet is when you do your taxes it will make things much easier when you review your business cost.
Here are some of the key things that you should look at starters:
Budget
Equipment - Computer systems, Laptop basics, printers, monitors, fax etc.
Accessories - Paper, replacement cartages, pens and pencils.
Software - programs that you will need for you business and customers. General software would include Office or maybe Quick books just to name a couple that you might need from the start.
Technology – New or replacement equipment and software. Remember this will change all the time.
Utilities – Cost for power and internet connections (ADSL, Cable, T1, etc).
Furniture – Chairs or desk.
There are other things that must be also included and examined when creating or looking at your computer basics plan. When looking at you business budget it is important to keep in mind that buy the right equipment for your small business or home based business.
I have seen many businesses forget this and buy the wrong equipment that is not going to meet the needs for the business.
For example if your business is involved in creating CAD designs and needs to produce high quality print outs for the customer then you need to keep in mind two key factors. One having a computer that powerful enough that it will run the CAD design software and two is having a printer that is going to product the high quality prints for you customers.
Yes most likely this will cost your business more money but in the long run you will more then likely make up for the cost if your customers are happy with what you give them and they come back for more.
If your can´t afford some of the equipment for your small or home business setups I would say that having the computer is the most important thing because you can take your design over to local printing company and have them do the prints for you just track the cost of this because you may find that over time the cost is much more then the cost of owning the printer. The same goes if you have to fax items just track the cost because it might pay to just buy an all in one printer that can copy, print, fax.
One other thing to keep in mind is that some of the equipment can also possibly purchased used but just be sure to check the equipment if possible and look for warranty as well.
During the computer basics plan you should decided the types of computer that you would need for your small business or home base business computer. Did you decide on a Desktop or do you need a Laptop computer because you have to travel for your business.
Or does your computer basics plan call for your small business require both types of systems. There is good chance that if your need both types of computers that a higher level more powerful Laptop will most likely do the job of both systems however if there is more then one person working at your small or home base business then to be more productive you should have more then one computer.
The cost will be more for both systems however you won´t need to buy both types of computers necessarily you can find a Laptop that will perform the same function but look at the cost because it could cost you very close to the same as two computers for one higher end laptop.
If so then your company most likely needs to invest into Workstation class system which is a more powerful computer that is capable of having multiple processors and holding more RAM and even storage. A workstation could be also a good solution for a low price server since they are almost as powerful however there are some draw backs to using them as replacement for a server. Of course all these extras will cost more but it is best to buy the equipment that will do the job for your business.
One other key factor to your computer basics plan is keep in mind is the software that your small business computer or home base business computer needs to use to operate properly. This can be a very important to keep in mind because if the software has high requirement to run properly on you computer. Make sure that your business computer system is able to running the unique software that you are asking from it to operate with because if it does not run it is waste of money and time.
Before you buy your Computer systems there other things that you also may consider such as what kind of warranty and software comes along with the system and support. This needs to be kept in mind in computer basics plan because if you buy a computer but it only offer a 90 day warranty and quits on you after working 6 months then you have no warranty fall back on which means more out of pocket cost from your business.
To get other information and free advice visit Business Computing guide . Copyright 2008 by John Maier.