Setting Up an Office

3. Office Equipment

The time saved by having the right equipment in your office will more than justify the cost.

3.1 Most start-ups find that a computer system pays for itself within a year.

• Email makes it possible to send documents, files and images directly to customers and suppliers instantly.This means that in many cases it is no longer necessary to print, copy or post hard copy documents.

3.2 If you do need a photocopier, choose one to suit the expected copying workload.

Many small businesses can use the fax for everyday copying, and use photocopy shops for larger numbers of copies.

• If you lease a copier, check the maintenance charges carefully. Watch out for expensive maintenance commitments, buyout clauses and minimum usage contracts.

3.3 You may be able to save time and money by investing in basic postal equipment.

• Buy a set of postal scales, to avoid frequent trips to the post office.
• A franking machine saves time by automatically stamping your mail. Rental costs start from around £5 a week. Royal Mail can give you the names of recommended suppliers.
• If you use stamps, keep them in an indexed (1p, 2p, etc) stamp book.

3.4 A dictating machine can be a cheap and efficient way of recording information.

3.5 A scanner with optical character recognition (OCR) software can be a good investment, if you routinely need to re-type large volumes of text.

• Choose a flatbed scanner which is fast, with high resolution and a good OCR software package. Test the model you are thinking of buying, by trying it out on a document that is typical of your workload.