Set Home office

Here is a compilation of a few essential but low-cost IT tools, which can help you set up your small business from your home and run all essential operations, effectively.

If you have a business idea up your sleeve but are wondering how to execute it without shelling out too much money, we have a solution for you. Now, you can get started with your venture by setting up a small office at your home, or renting out just a small space, depending on your budget. However, setting up a small office does not only mean having an office space, equipped with a little furniture for you and your workforce to operate from. You would also require the basic office paraphernalia for the smooth functioning of the business and its operations. Thus, we bring to you a list of eight affordable tools, which you can install while setting up your small home office.

A computer/laptop: In today’s era of IT, a computer has become a necessity, because of its high accuracy, speed and ability to accomplish many tasks simultaneously. Running a business without a computer or laptop can not only lower your productivity, but also hamper the speed at which your business functions. Thus, while setting up an office, the first device that should be installed, is a computer.

Though there are a wide range of computers available in the market, you should take care to select one that fits your specific requirements. You could easily buy a brand new computer with a good configuration (related to appropriate storage capacity, speed of processor, etc) for less than Rs 25,000.

Recently, Lenovo launched a set of low-cost highly configured PCs for the SOHO (small office, home office) segment, starting from Rs 23,000.

While buying a computer, you need to take note of a couple of more features. Check out important details like the RAM (random access memory), the size of the hard disk (that provides storage space) and the version of the processor (that affects the speed of a computer).

It is highly recommended that you subscribe to a Wi-Fi Internet connection as it lets you connect all the PCs/laptops in your office to the Internet, wirelessly, i.e., without the need for network cables. This will also allow you and your employees to access the Internet without having to buy individual Internet data cards for each PC/laptop.

As there are many Internet service providers like Airtel, MTNL, MTS, Sify, etc, in the market, choosing the right one can be confusing. So, while opting for an Internet service provider and an Internet plan, keep your budget and data usage in mind. Ideally, an unlimited Internet plan with a good speed can be bought for around Rs 800 per month.

A Wi-Fi Internet connection: In this era of digital connectivity, professionals are expected to ensure that they are in constant touch with their clients, i.e., they should be able to send and receive emails, promptly, stay updated about market trends, and so on. All this is possible by logging on to the Internet. Thus, having an Internet connection becomes a necessary requirement even in a small office set-up, allowing you to send and receive e-mails, gather information about any topic, download antivirus software for free, make online purchases, save your data online, etc.

Other important applications to manage your business Google Docs: It is a free Web-based office suite, which allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users. It enables you to prepare and share documents, presentations and spreadsheets with colleagues, quickly and easily. DropBox: The application offers online storage of files, and hence, enables users to store, share or sync files with others across the Internet. Zoho: It offers a comprehensive suite of Web-based tools and applications that cater to the needs of small businesses, such as emailing facilities, online spreadsheets, documentation controls, project management tools and so on. Apart from the devices mentioned, there are numerous other apps for professionals to streamline their work. Besides, executives can also make use of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc, to establish and market their brand, or to find vendors and customers, in a cost-effective way..

An all-in-one printer: Today, although almost everything is available, online, you still do need a printer in your office—especially to print invoices, receipts and other documents. Besides, many a time you have to scan or photocopy certain documents. Thus, it would make sense to buy an all-in-one printer that serves the purpose of printing, scanning and photocopying. There are many all-in-one printers available in the market from HP, Brother, Lexmark, Canon, etc. A good model is available for around Rs 3,000.

Besides, all-in-one printers are also available with the Wi-Fi feature. These are easy to set up with minimal cabling and hence offer a hassle-free experience. The price range for all-in-one Wi-Fi printers start from Rs 5,000.

A portable hard drive: In today’s technological world, almost all data is generated digitally. But it is hard to save all this proliferating data on your PC. This is because your desktop has a limited storage capacity, and if there is an overload of data on your PC, there are chances that its hard disk could crash while trying to accommodate all your data. Herein lies the usefulness of the portable hard disk drive.
A portable (external) hard disk drive is a compact device that allows users to store or back up their sensitive data. Important documents, large files, and even a back-up of the contents of your PC, can all be kept safely on your external hard drive. Moreover, data stored in your portable drive can be carried along with you, anywhere.

More commonly, these hard drives come bundled with an interface cable that allows you to connect your external hard drive to your computer to transfer data back and forth. These drives are USB powered and hence do not need additional cables and a separate power source to operate.

There are many companies like Seagate, Western Digital, Iomega, etc, which offer portable hard drives. These drives come in various options—250 GB, 320 GB, 500 GB and so on. Ideally, 250 GB or 320 GB are suitable to meet the storage needs of the average small business and to back up sensitive data. The starting price of these drives is around Rs 2,300. For instance, Seagate’s expansion hard drive with 250 GB of storage space is available for Rs 2,300, approximately.

While buying an all-in-one printer, don’t forget to obtain information about the number of pages it can print, per minute, in both black and colour. Generally, a low-cost all-in-one device can print up to 20 pages per minute in black and 16 pages per minute in colour.

A smartphone: Even if you are setting up an office at your home, you need to constantly stay connected with your clients, vendors, customers, employees on the field, etc. So you do require a phone to contact them. However, it is advisable that you go in for a smartphone rather than a landline phone. This is because, a landline phone would only serve your calling needs, while a smartphone, apart from making and receiving calls at nominal rates, will also enable you to perform functions like sending and receiving emails and messages, capture photographs of your products and upload them on to the Internet, record presentations, etc. Thus, it is important that, as a business professional, you own a decent smartphone, which are available these days for a price of Rs 5000 and above.

Alternatively, if you are cash-strapped and don’t want to invest in a fax machine, there are many online faxing services like efax, rapidfax, faxzero, etc, which let you send and receive faxes via e-mail from any Internet-enabled device, like a laptop or smartphone. Some of these services are free while others are paid for. To know more about this service, visit http://bit.ly/pHJC6i

A fax machine: In the course of business transactions, document sharing with clients and associates is required on a daily basis. The best way to send documents is via e-mail, but what if you want to send a signed document to a person or get a document signed by a person sitting miles away from you? Scanning and sending a few documents is fine, but if there is a large chunk of documents to be sent, then the scanning and sending exercise becomes too tedious and a waste of your valuable time. Thus, a fax machine is required to send and receive documents, instantly.

A high-definition webcam: To interact with associates and clients from across the globe, video conferencing has become popular amongst business users. However, this solution cannot work without a webcam. To facilitate video conferencing, almost all laptops nowadays come equipped with a pre-installed webcam. Yet, in workplaces where desktops are still the norm, a separate webcam is still required..

So, if you are planning to buy a webcam, ensure that it produces high quality images. Otherwise, the very purpose of chatting and interacting via video conferencing gets defeated.

Thus, it is recommended that you opt for an HD (high-definition) webcam as normal webcams have a VGA camera, and hence produce inferior quality videos. An HD webcam on the other hand, reproduces smooth video images which appear life-like. The quality could be as good as the professional video-conferencing set up offered by a unified communications vendor.

A good HD webcam could be available for around Rs 1,500. To know more about low-cost HD webcams visit http://bit.ly/pIanJR

Alternatively, you can even spend on a full-fledged video conferencing solution from vendors like Cisco, Lifesize, Business Octane, Polycom, etc, if your budget permits it.

A virtual reception: As a professional entangled in numerous chores, you cannot attend to every call made to your office. Which is why a receptionist is hired to receive all calls. But you may not have the space in case you are running your business from your residence. In which case, you can outsource this work to a ‘virtual reception’ for an affordable price. Super Receptionist is one such service that provides a virtual reception and charges Rs 1500 per month.