If you want to maximise your tech casb, buy Apple stock, not Apple products. Don’t get me wrong: There is nothing wrong with Apple products. They are consistently reviewed as some of the best in the world in their class. But when you are running a business on a budget (like everyone during the pandemic), you don’t need the absolute best products in the world. You need products that will keep you up and running.
When you are running a small business, you have a couple of advantages. One advantage is that you get to use consumer technology you and your workers already have. The second advantage is that you can take advantage of outsourcing services that cater to small businesses. Those services might not make as much sense at the enterprise level. But at the small business level, you can find surprising savings.
There is also savings in the technology a small business person can easily do without. You might not need a typical phone system used by large businesses. Depending on what you do, you might be able to get away without having a phone number at all. You don’t need to purchase Microsoft’s enterprise licenses to get the job done. Here are a few more ways you can cut back on tech spending without cutting back on productivity:
Outsource Your Printing
If your small business depends on printed material, it is past time you consider some sort of managed print services. Companies tend to flush anywhere from 1% to 3% right down the drain of overhead spending. There is also the problem of downtime due to the office printer not working. A company can lose thousands of dollars in opportunity costs because they couldn’t print out crucial documents in a time when they needed them the most. Printer hardware is notoriously fickle. It might be days before the service rep stops by.
This is one of those situations where consumer tech is not up to the task. It might do if you can get away with 10 or fewer printouts per day. But that simply won’t cut it for a business that runs on ink and paper. You can realize significant savings by outsourcing your printing to a dedicated service.
Buy Pre-owned
You can save a lot of money by getting something pre-owned as opposed to something new. You can also get into a lot of trouble going pre-owned if you don’t know what you’re doing.
One reason you would go that route is that you save a lot of money. Another reason is you can get something in a higher tier than you could if you were buying new. How much new car can you afford? Spend that same money on a pre-owned vehicle and you can get an older model of a much better vehicle.
If you want to save on your initial investment, you shouldn’t buy new Apple products for your business. But if you want or need Apple products, you can check out the Apple refurb store and get a great product for what you would have paid for a new, lower-tier product.
Just be sure you are buying from well-established, reputable dealers. Pay with a credit card with fraud protection and purchase insurance. And run the product through its paces before you buy if possible. Certainly, push it to its limits before the return period wears out. If there are problems, reveal them sooner rather than later.
Use Your Credit Card for Everything
This one is quite easy: Find the best cash back credit cards and use them for all your tech purchases. Use the Apple Card and get 3% when you use Apple Pay. There are other cards that offer the same, if not better perks on tech that is much more reasonably priced. Buy it with the card. Get your cash back. Then just pay it off like you would have had you paid in cash. Instant and free savings.
There are a lot of ways to save money on tech without compromising your productivity. Outsource your printing. Buy pre-owned. And get cashback on everything you buy.