Once you’ve purchased the computer and networking equipment that you need for your small business, it’s easy to forget about the fact that you’re likely to incur additional technology-related expenses. However, such expenses are important considerations for budget and vendor sourcing purposes.

For Ongoing Technology Expenses for Small Businesses

Here are a few of the ongoing technology-related expenses that small businesses are likely to incur:

Anti-Virus Software: Making sure that your computers and network are protected against viruses and other potential security problems is something that every small business owner needs to be concerned about. Anti-virus software isn’t a one-time purchase. It must be kept current at all times, and this typically requires either a monthly subscription or periodic upgrade fee.

Computer Batteries: If you use laptop computers or tablet devices, you’ll need to replace batteries periodically. So, make sure you have a quality source for Apple laptop batteries or PC batteries so that there won’t be a delay in making this important purchase whenever you find yourself in need of a new battery for your computer.

Website Maintenance: Once you’ve had a website developed, it will still need to be updated periodically. This may include content changes, programming changes, tweaks necessary for optimal search engine optimization and more.

Web Hosting: Having a website is essential for virtually every modern business. Once your site is built, you’ll have to provide a place for it to “live”. So, even if you take care of content updates and other types of maintenance yourself, you’ll need to pay for ongoing hosting.

Are you looking for ways to control and/or reduce expenses in your small business? If so, you’re certainly not alone. Wise business owners and managers know that keeping expenses under control is just as much a part of operating a successful business as sales and delivering quality products and services that meet or exceed customer expectations.

Ideas for Small Businesses to Control Expenses

Here are a few tips to try when you’re ready to make sure that you aren’t spending money on unnecessary expenses.

• Eliminate Unnecessary Services: Closely scrutinize the fee-based services that you use to make sure that you aren’t spending money unnecessarily. For example, if you have a paid subscription to a publication that you can view free online – or that you never even read, why keep paying the money? If you rarely send or receive faxes, yet still have a dedicated phone line for doing so – go to a computer based service and save money.
• Utilize Special Offers: Instead of paying full price for the items that you do need, take the time to shop around for special sales, coupons, gifts with purchase or other types of promotions. For example, instead of ordering from the same office supply store every time, shop with different ones based on the available savings offers. When you can find office supply coupons from Staples, shop there as opposed to other stores.
• Use Multiple Vendors: You don’t have to put yourself in a single source shopping situation. If you have office supply coupons from Staples that offer special pricing on copy paper and toner cartridges, by all means purchase those items from Staples. However, if another store has deep discounts on paper and cleaning supplies that will result in savings, shop at or order from both stores instead of limiting yourself to one for everything.
• Get Organized: Getting your schedule and your office organized can really help you control your expenses. When you are organized, you won’t spend valuable time searching for items that you can’t locate or spending money purchasing things that you have already bought, but just can’t find. Instead of wasting time and money dealing with problems caused by a lack of organization, you’ll be able to focus your time and financial resources on growing your business.
• Track Billable Time Closely: Do you provide services to clients that should be billed by the hour? If so, do you actually keep up with all of the time that you work? If not, consider utilizing a web-based time tracking tool to help you keep up with billable hours to make sure that you’re invoicing clients correctly for the services provided by your company.

Do you own rental property or do you manage such property on behalf of property owners or a commercial property company? If so, it’s important to make sure that you work with a trusted company to provide tenant screening services.

If you are a landlord, it’s likely that you know just how important it is to conduct a thorough tenant screening before entering into an agreement to let property that you own or manage to anyone. Doing so is an important protection for you and the company you work for, as well as other tenants who live in the property.

It’s very important to take the time to check out prospective tenants backgrounds before they take up residence in property that you are responsible for. Fortunately, checking tenant references is easier now than it ever has been in the past.

If your rental property is located in the UK, for example, there’s a company called LettingRef that allows clients to use a simple, online interface to quickly and easily run tenant credit checks, employment references, landlord references and address history reports. Any time you need to check out a potential tenant’s background, simply enter the agreement into the site and process the reports you need. You‘ll be able to get the information you need to make a letting decision faster than you would have believed possible.

Are you involved in a corporate merger & acquisition (M & A) or initial public offering (IPO) transaction? If so, you’re surely aware of how delicate the due diligence process is and how key security and effective global communication are to the process – not just to protect corporate interests, but also in order to stay in compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations and other legal considerations.

Electronic Communication Security

It’s a fact that quite a bit of communication and document sharing takes place electronically during the due diligence process. With security concerns so high and the risks of computer data security breaches so high, it’s no wonder that virtual data rooms (VDR) are often used as an extra layer for security. It’s important to enlist an effective and secure professional VDR solution for IPO process and M & A process interactions.

Effective Global Communication

With so many companies operating on a multinational basis, translation is also an important concern. If there will be parties involved in the communication whose primary language is not English, it’s essential to enlist the assistance of a professional technical translation services provider such as those offered by Merrill Brink translation services in order to be certain that all involved documentation is translated correctly so that all parties are fully aware of any agreements that are being entered into.

When you decide to open a small business, it’s likely because you have a product or service that you’re really excited about – and you think others will be excited about it as well. However, running a small business requires both willingness and ability to take care of the important operations functions associated with being an entrepreneur separate from the product and service that you are excited about bringing to market.

Three Important Operations Functions for Small Business Owners

Here are a few of the important operations functions that you need to prepare to handle yourself, or to oversee and manage if you choose to outsource or delegate them.

1. Bookkeeping: When you own a company, implementing an effective business bookkeeping system is key to your success. Establishing and keeping up with an appropriate system for managing accounts payable and receivable is key for every business, as is budget control and job costing. Without an effective approach to business bookkeeping, it’s impossible to manage your funds or make sound financial decisions.
2. Marketing: Implementing an effective marketing plan is an important key to the success of any business. Identify your target market and choose appropriate marketing messages, paired with effective public relations and advertising strategies to create interest in your product or services.
3. Legal Considerations: It’s essential for every small business owner to be aware of state and federal laws that impact business operations. This includes – but is not limited to – being knowledgeable about contract law if you are entering into agreements with vendors and customers, regulations that impact your specific industry, income tax codes, and employment law if you have employees.