If you have been growing your startup for some time and are about to purchase or lease your first office, you should be incredibly proud of your achievement. Many startups don’t manage to get their venture to this point, but that does not mean that you can afford to splurge the budget on state of the art technology and high-end furnishings just yet.
Your business office should be functional and efficient, but it’s best to be conservative in your investments in the early stages. If you are about to move into your first office space for your startup, consider investing in these pieces of kit to enable your business to function and thrive.
Telephones
Some tech-lovers might assume that the traditional telephone is no longer necessary in the modern office, but this is simply not true. While instant messaging, email and chatbots have their place, the majority of customers and suppliers want the option to be able to speak to a human on the other end of the telephone.
This is why you need to ensure your office has a telephone system which is reliable and gives a clear connection while being easy to operate. There are lots of office phone systems available with a range of impressive features but look for voice quality over bells and whistles.
Computer technology and internet
While it probably doesn’t need saying, your office needs to have at least one computer or laptop. At the very least, this is for creating documents, email communication, internet research and keeping digital files. Most businesses will also have a website that will need creating and managing regularly (if not daily).
You should also consider backing up your key business data either on a memory drive or via cloud storage services. Your computer system and network also need to be adequately protected from cyberattacks. Make sure that you get a high-speed internet connection as a slow internet connection will hinder your capacity to communicate and function as a business.
A multi-functional printer
A lot of modern offices are reducing or cutting their use of paper for environmental reasons (as well as the fact that they can save money on paper and ink), but it’s still a good idea to have a printer in your office. A multi-functional printer will also photocopy, scan and fax documents which can be essential when managing a business in any sector. If you send paper communications to customers you may want to invest in a better quality printer so you can keep your printing in-house as much as possible and save money.
Mailing equipment
On that topic, if you are intending to send a high volume of correspondence, brochures, samples, catalogues or packages to customers on a regular basis, you may need to invest in mailing equipment and stationery. This includes envelopes, packaging, stamps, scales and a label printer. If you are sending a high volume of mail, you may want to buy a franking machine to save on postage costs and time as you will able to complete the mailing process in-house.