Setting up an office can be tough. Equipping your small business requires balancing budget against needs. Of course, everyone wants the very best for their office, but with the very best chairs running well over a thousand dollars some decisions have to be made. Even so, what is required in a small business office? A lot depends on what your small business does, but there are some things that are universal.
Furniture
Starting with the obvious, your office will need places for people and things. Desks and chairs for the people, shelves and racks and more for the things. Here’s one place expense can get out of hand a lot quicker that you’d imagine.
High quality desks can be very expensive, especially if you are interested in employee friendly ergonomic ones like adjustable standing desks. Chairs can run nearly as high. It’s valuable to make your employee’s workspace comfortable, efficient, and ergonomic. It doesn’t just make them happier, it can help them work harder and longer as well as reducing aches and pains that might turn into time off. But you do have to fit that in a budget.
Consider buying used furniture, or even finding an office going out of business or liquidating their furniture for some other reason. The savings could be impressive.
Computers
Once you have somewhere for people to work, you need something for them to work on. The answer to that today is a computer. There are a wide variety of choices available. Laptops, desktops, even tablets.
Depending on the mobility of your employees you could emphasize permanent workstations or something they can grab and go with. Sales teams or companies that do many presentations at other offices benefit from laptops, for example. A variety of additional devices must be considered with computers. Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), surge protectors, monitors, keyboards, mice, and more. And of course, the proper software. For desktop computers, a UPS is essential, while laptop batteries make them unnecessary.
Many studies show workstations with multiple large monitors increase productivity, so consider docking stations with monitors even if you use laptops. Work within your budget, but there are a lot of benefits to be gained with only a small amount of extra money.
Internet and Network
Once you can work, now you need to communicate. The first step is usually a broadband internet connection. And to make that available to all the computers in the office, some sort of networking. In the past that was guaranteed to be wires running throughout the office, but it is now possible to network wirelessly through WiFi connections.
Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, wired connections are typically faster, much faster in some cases, and aren’t subject to interference. On the other hand, wireless is quick, convenient, and you can pick up your laptop and go with no pause to disconnect. Don’t forget there are other pieces of equipment that may need connected. Like these…
Phones
Another means of communication is by phone. Once again, time has changed this from an obvious answer of a switchboard and wires to every desk to having options for technologies like Voice over IP (VoIP). With VoIP, you have the option of routing your phone service through the internet.
You can split your network connection for your computer off to a phone, or even purchase a headset and make all your calls though the computer. Take a look at all your options, but today VoIP is a strong contender on price and efficiency.
Printers and Copiers
In even the most paperless of offices, sometimes you need to print something out. Or make a copy of something. Or even scan something from paper for your computer or to fax. Times are changing here as well. Instead of buying a printer, scanner, fax machine, and copier, you can get a all-in-one printer instead that will do all of that.
Depending on how much you print, or use the other functions, and whether color is necessary, you can select from a wide range of printers with various levels of functionality, duty cycles (how much you expect to print a month), and price points. Don’t forget to factor supplies, ink or toner and paper, into your monthly budget.
Whiteboards
Now let’s talk about meeting supplies. Whenever people get together to talk, there are some ideas better expressed by drawing a picture. You will need a few whiteboards for this. They can also be used to post information for all to see, schedules, assignments, or deadlines.
Projectors or Big Screens
And more meeting supplies. With most of your work on your computer, sharing that work with a few people in a meeting needs some way of showing it. Projectors and TVs are the two main choices for this. After a long time with projectors being the obvious choice, big screen TVs are now becoming more popular, most likely because of a combination of increased size, enhanced resolution, and reduced cost.
There are many other items that an office might need, but it may be that your type of business will be the biggest determining factor in what is important. Just keep in mind all of your purchases must fit in a single, limited budget. Don’t let any single item dominate or you might end up suffering a loss of efficiency in another area that wipes out any other gains. Make a list, check it twice, and don’t be naughty.
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