Website
by
Steven
G Atkinson
Technology
Tips for SMBs
6 Things to
Consider
More than Switching
Off the Lights
Common Sense Ways
to Conserve Energy
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Thank
you for considering
Technology Tips for Small Business.
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From: Technology Tips for Small
Business
Introduction
How Important is Technology to your Business?
Technology is important to business. It seems that wherever you look
there is some type of technology involved. Calls for service are
received and made with telephones. Computers are used to create and
manage projects, correspond with others and allow quick and easy
bookkeeping. Cell phones allow us to conduct our business when we
aren’t in the office. Office Automation devices such as Fax
machines, copiers and electronic time clocks assist us to achieve our
goals. At night we may be setting a security alarm to protect the
property and there should also be a fire alarm system as well.
The one thing to remember about technology it’s just a tool
to
assist in getting our work done. Having technology in the office or on
our person is no different than a carpenter with his hammer and tape
measure. It’s just a tool to do the job.
It doesn’t matter that we may have the newest, greatest piece
of
software or a new cell phone or the fastest computer in the area.
Having the wrong technology to do the job is just as bad as a carpenter
trying to drive a nail with a screwdriver. It may be able to be done,
but it takes a lot longer and is not done right. It’s even
worst
if the correct tool is available, but not knowing how to use it, or not
using it correctly.
Here are a couple things to consider when evaluating or purchasing any
new technology.
Understand the business need and the product enough to be able to make
an informed decision. Having a slick salesperson tell you that the
product will improve your business shouldn’t be enough
information to make that decision. Their job is to sell. Sometimes it
may pay to have an impartial expert evaluate the needs and benefits.
Once you’ve made the decision to purchase, make sure that the
user, whether it’s you or someone on the staff, has the
proper
training to use the product to its best benefits.
You don’t have to have each member of your staffed trained by
the
expert trainer. You can always do a ‘train the
trainer’.
That is train the person on your staff who will be using it
the
most then have that person train the others.
Training never ends. It’s just like a carpenter with his saw
he
has to keep it sharp to keep it in use. As technology changes, you need
to be trained on new or added features.
If you always remember that technology is a tool and that you need to
know how to use it for it to be productive, the money that you spend
will never appear to be waste.
At the same time technology can only do so much. It
can’t
be used to correct the ills of the office. Managers still
need to
manage their staff and while it can assist in that task, it will never
be able to replace good old human common sense. Managers need
to
use technology not ask technology to do their job.
At the beginning of 2006 I began a Weblog or as it’s more
commonly known, a blog, called Technology Tips for Small Business.
Those informational tidbits have been put together in a logical order
for this book. Many have been edited and revisited since the original
posting.
The primary purpose is to educate owners and office managers of small
business about technology so they won’t be scared of it. But
it’s also to know there’s no reason not to go out
and ask
for expert assistance. To have more information is to be able to
effectively use the tool.
This book is broken into five sections. The first has tips
relating to what is commonly referred to as telecommunica¬tions
or
telecom. My feeling that terminology is incorrect and in actuality it
is telephony. Whatever it’s call the section deals with the
office telephone.
The second section deals with cell phones. VoIP is the new trend in
business communications; the third section deals with it.
The next section is titled security, but it deals with the aspects of
what can be done to prevent information from fal¬ling into the
hands of those not authorized to use it.
The final section is termed ‘Other Stuff’ and has
tips that deal with other technology related stuff.
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The following are tips not
included in this edition of the book.
You May Need an Energy Audit
For most businesses their single most costly item is their electric
costs. In some cases a business may have to spend some money to save
it. But there are ways to save on energy costs without spending a dime.
By doing an Energy Audit savings can be seen quickly by finding the
energy wasting hotspots.
When looking at the electric costs, there are three major places where
it’s used. Lighting, Office Equipment and Heating/Cooling.
Each
area needs to be looked at individually as well as in total.
Lighting:
* Reduce lighting by using task lights.
* Turn off the lights when they aren't needed.
* Use timers and sensors for seldom-used areas such as storage closets,
conference room and rest rooms.
Office
Equipment:
* Shut off computers, copiers and other office equipment at nights and
on weekends. If these items are always on just by turning them off
during these times will reduce energy costs associated to Office
Equipment by over 50%. While some computes, such as servers, need
remain on at all times, the monitors do not.
* Use Power Management on computers, copiers and laser printers.
* Replace CRT style monitors with LCD monitors.
Heating and
Cooling:
* Don't open windows and doors.
* Lower the thermostat in the winter and raise them in the summer.
* Make certain that the thermostats are not blocked and can get a
correct reading of the room air temperature.
When performing and energy audit, it’s important to walk
around
the office with an energy checklist to help identify areas where
savings cane be found.
This walk around should involve the employees and done at different
times during the day, during work hours as well as after-hours and on
weekends. Since seasonal conditions may change it should be done on
average once each season.
Once the checklist is finished, items needs to be itemized and
prioritize. Those that can be accomplished quick and with little
expense can be done first. Those that have costly upfront costs need to
be part of the annual budget review and made part of the business plan.
For more energy savings tips visit
MoreThanSwitchingOffTheLights.com for
Common Sense Ways to Conserve Energy
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Don't Waste Money in Your
Telecommunications Budget
After electric and fuel costs, one of the biggest cost to do business
is through communications. It’s nearly impossible for a
business
to survive today without using telephones and a connection to the
Internet. But these services aren’t cheap and it’s
not hard
for them to become out of control. There are ways to control these
costs, perhaps even to decrease those expenses.
To begin you will start with the obvious.
Check
invoices for errors
This is so obvious that it is sometimes overlooked. It is quite common
for telecommunication invoices to have errors. These errors could be as
simple as paying above the cost of a contracted service, to as complex
as out right fraud. The fraud though is not done by your carrier, but
via third-billing charges of others.
Each and every month those invoices need to be checked and audited. A
whole business has arisen due to the errors that occur on invoices, but
many small businesses won’t have enough savings to hire them.
Although it may not be a bad idea to have a professional come in once a
year to assist in the review.
Some common errors include:
• Services invoiced at an incorrect rate.
• Services that have been disconnected, but still
being invoiced.
• Incorrect Taxes and Service Fees.
• Third-Party Billing Charges.
Check the
Cellular Invoice
Don’t forget to look at your cellular invoices. Do you use
Informational Services (411) on your cell phone? Many of the providers
charge a huge fee for those calls.
Are you paying for a Text Messaging plan, but never use it? Or worst
are you texting, but don’t have a plan? It doesn’t
take
long for a few text messages a day to create a huge invoice for text
messaging if you aren’t already in a plan.
Depending on how many handsets you have on your plan, if you are
playing insurance, it could actually cost more then replacing a handset
at cost.
Review the
contracts
It’s not uncommon for small businesses to request services
and
after the end of the contract period a carrier will renew at the same
rate. If you negotiate your contact, it’s possible that there
may
be a better rate. Or at worst you never negotiated a contract and you
are being charged the per-month cost of services. These rates could be
as much as 60% more than having a term commitment.
Even if you are in a long-term commitment, it could be to your
advantage to periodically review with your service provider’s
account manager to see if you may be able to lower your rates.
Consider
alternatives
Technology changes every day, and something that was costly or
impossible for a small business to do in the past may be available
today. By using the Internet, it’s now possible to do Video
Conferencing with the standard computer equipment on your desk, when in
the past you needed specialized equipment.
To help with the costs of Long-Distance telephone calls, you can use
the Internet and VoIP for calls. There’s also the possibly of
using secure Instant Messaging and email instead of placing a telephone
call.
Create a
Technology Policy
Unfortunately some of the largest waste come from employees misusing or
abusing office technology. This could be anything from using the
Internet to do personal shopping on company time, to taking personal
calls using the company’s Toll-free number, to opening the
company to unauthorized data collection companies.
It’s important to have a technology policy in place and have
your
employees understand and adhere to it. Since technology is always
changing, the policy may need to be addressed a few times each year.
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