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Buy, Buyer & Buyee

Douglas E. Welch

Small Business Gazette

COPYRIGHT 1999 Douglas E. Welch

It has been said that any idea that can be stated "in a nutshell" probably belongs there. At the risk of proving this by example I will try and present a few general guidelines to follow when purchasing your first office computer system.

As with any general rules you will need to adapt them to your specific needs and not blindly follow them. Each business is different and each will require different hardware and software.

Be prepared!

Before you choose a platform, call for pricing information or set foot in a computer store you will need a detailed understanding of what you need, what you want and how much you are willing to pay. Purchasing a computer before you have answered these questions will lead you into the lion’s den with no way out.

To begin with, what do you want? Do you need to perform specialized functions like office management or bookkeeping? Do you just need general office automation such as word processing, spreadsheets and databases? How many documents will you be creating and storing? How many people will be using each computer? Take some time to imagine how your office will function when computerized.

Next, what do you want? Do you want the ability to do audio digitizing and editing, high?end desktop publishing or multimedia presentations? These uses require more computing power and higher priced peripherals. Can you do without them now and add them over a period of time? Can you have high-end scanning or multimedia work done by an outside company at a lower price? Make sure you have a use before you purchase high?priced items.

Lastly, how much are you willing to spend? Can you really justify spending $2000 on a laser printer when all you are printing are a few letters and envelopes? While you may want that fancy piece of equipment you don’t want it to cost more than you are making in a year. Make sure you will use the features of the computer to its best advantage.

Picking a platform

Little has been more debated than the benefits of one computer platform over another. Avoid the Macintosh?PC wars. I no longer get involved in these discussions and neither should you. Each computer platform has zealots who will try and persuade you that their system is the eighth wonder of the world. In the end though, the decision of which computer platform to purchase is very personal.

The first item to be considered is what software you want to use. Most vertical applications, those designed for specific businesses, run on only one platform, either Mac or PC. If you are planning on running your medical office with one of these software packages, your platform choice is already made. The software dictates which type of computer you will use.

If you are using the computer for general office automation then your choices increase. Which operating system (MS-DOS, Macintosh, Unix) works best for you? Do you need to share data with other computer users? If so, what system are they using? If you plan on sharing data it is best to have the same computer systems. You may have to choose a certain computer platform in order to be able to work with your clients or consultants.

Selecting a computer platform is a very subjective process. You need to investigate the possibilities and decide which combination of hardware and software best meet your needs. It can often come down to deciding which software works the way you do.

Get recommendations from other business people

As with any service or product, word of mouth is often the best place to start your search for hardware and software. It is possible that a fellow business person has already found a solution to your problem. There is no sense re?inventing the wheel.

You do have to take into account any bias they may have to particular products or computer platforms, but if it works for them it is at least worth investigating. Get as much information from them as possible so that you can compare their deal against any you may have already researched.

Buy now

There is many a computer user who has gone for months without a computer system because they were waiting for the next price drop. In the rough and tumble computer industry it is almost certain that as soon as you purchase your computer the prices will drop. It is a "Murphy’s Law" of computing. If you need a computer, you have to buy it when you need it. The important guideline is to buy as much as you can afford today and not worry about price drops in the future. You will get the use of the computer whether the price drops or not. If you need it today, get it today. There is one major caveat. Don’t buy a system that is already discontinued, no matter what the savings. You don’t want to start out behind the race before you even begin.

You cannot have too much memory or hard disk space

While not 100% true, it is a good guideline. If you are planning on using a graphical user interface (GUI) such as Microsoft Windows or the Apple Macintosh Operation System make sure your system has as much memory and hard disk space as you can afford. GUIs and application software that run with them are notoriously power hungry and can take up large amounts of hard disk space. Don’t try to run MS Excel on a system with 2 megabytes of memory or you will soon be pulling your hair out.

A minimum recommendation for memory is 4 megabytes (MB) for a PC running Windows and 8 MB for a Macintosh. Recommended minimum hard disk space for both platforms is 80 megabytes. Data expands to fill all available space so be prepared to upgrade your computers.

Plan for backups

Always make sure that the system you purchase has some way of backing up your data. While floppies are the lowest common denominator you will quickly grow tired of inserting 40 or 50 of them to back up your hard disk. If possible, order your system with a factory installed tape backup drive or purchase an external tape backup unit or removable hard disk. Usually a very basic piece of software will be bundled with the hardware but more advanced packages are available from your local software store. Your livelihood is going to be stored on this computer. Make sure you backup regularly to protect your investment.

Bundle Buyers Beware

There is a common practice in computer retail stores that every buyer needs to recognize. It is the low?priced bundle. Often stores will advertise extremely low prices on a computer while a small asterisk on the advertisement notes that to get this price you have to purchase their monitor, keyboard or other peripheral. Often these peripherals are of lower quality and higher price than the equipment designed to go with the computer system. You may be tempted to go for one of these deals but beware. Working with a computer that has a fuzzy screen or a keyboard with a mushy touch will aggravate you far more in the long run than a few extra dollars. You have to work with a computer every day. Make sure that the entire system is of the highest quality possible for your budget.

Use it!

If you decide to purchase a computer, make sure you use it! So often I see computers that languish in dusty corners of the office because no one has taken the initiative to actually use them. Too often computers are bought as status items rather than workplace tools. Don’t let this happen to you. The guidelines above show you how a computer can be used and why. Get the training and assistance necessary to make the computer a productive partner in your business and not an over?priced paperweight.

Overall, when purchasing a computer you have to use a little common sense. Don’t let the salesperson talk you into something you hadn’t budgeted for or don’t need. If you don’t understand what something is, don’t buy it. If the salesperson gets snotty, walk out. The biggest weapon you have in your arsenal is the ability to walk away from the deal if it doesn’t meet your needs. Good luck and good shopping!