Early stage IT considerations
Tools & Resources
Key learnings
- When you’re setting up a business, there are a lot of options when it comes to choosing what technology to use – whether it’s looking after your accounts or promoting your business, IT can be used in different ways depending on your business needs.
- It’s important to create an IT budget to make sure you stay on top of cashflow.
Technology plays a fundamental role in the running of any business. Even the most traditional businesses will use an element of technology, be it sending emails, invoices or promoting their products or services online. When setting up a business, it’s important to consider what your tech requirements will be and how you are going to facilitate them. This article looks at what you should consider and how to make sure you have the right IT for your business.
When you’re starting a business, it often isn’t practical to invest thousands of pounds into top-of-the-range IT solutions. It’s better to take some time to think about the essentials you need to get started and prioritise them.
Put together a checklist of requirements, focusing on the ‘must haves’ before the ‘nice to haves’.
Investing in technology isn’t cheap and even when systems are in place, there can often be additional costs if something goes wrong or needs replacing. Creating an IT budget will help with the overall financial planning and forecasting of your business.
Here are some things you should consider when creating an IT budget:
IT considerations when starting your business
- Ongoing expenses - such as subscription fees, licenses, or staff costs.
- IT security - costs relating to any security software your business has in place, including the price of recovery and backups.
- Hardware - costs to keep your IT equipment well-maintained and regularly serviced. This might not seem like an essential but keeping your hardware in good condition can save money in the long run, avoiding the need for replacement.
- Software costs - the overall expense of all the IT software you require to run your business. This can include things like Microsoft 365, accountancy software like QuickBooks or Xero, or any other paid system your business requires.
- Future upgrades - will any of the hardware or software you have need an upgrade in the future? Planning for the cost of potential upgrades can help you stay on top of your IT budget.
- Growth - budget for the potential growth of your business and any IT infrastructure that might be required to support this. If you’re going to employ staff, think about the software and systems you might need in place to facilitate that.
What devices do I need to get started?
Consider how you are going to run your business and the IT that will be required. Think about infrastructure, marketing, sales and invoices, banking, paying staff and tax.
Think about what you can afford but remember that going for the cheapest option might be beneficial in the short-term but could impact your long-term cash flow.
Think about the implications of the IT you are investing in – if you need to be able to work from anywhere, large, heavy hardware probably isn’t the best option for you.
Take the time to shop around and don’t be afraid to ask questions to help you make informed decisions.
Next steps...
- Create an IT checklist including the technology you’ll need to start and grow your business, then include ‘nice to haves’.
- Put together an IT budget to help forecast and stay in control of your business’s cash flow. Apptio provides a free IT Budgeting Template.
- Shop around and make enquiries to get the best option for your business needs.