Making virtual personal

No matter what the nature of your business, you use technology every single day. From sending email to entering receipts into accounting software, even a successful lemonade stand today would need some sort of computerisation behind it to help it run smoothly.

This need for technology makes it very difficult for the business owner without IT knowledge to determine what they need to ensure their business will run well. And with everything available on the market today, we could all be streamlining areas of our businesses with better technology.

If you’re not technologically savvy, the best way to get what you need and to spare yourself a very daunting experience, is to write a brief, create a matrix and then test drive it.

Start by brainstorming what you need. What do you need this item to do for your business? What are the goals you have for the hardware or software? How will you track whether or not it’s pulling its weight and doing its job? For example, if you’re looking for bookkeeping software, a sure sign that you’re using the right program is when your accounts are all up to date and reconciled. Another example is if you use your printer for hours out of the day and it doesn’t overheat by lunchtime then it’s doing its job.

Even if you’re not sure whether this item you’re in the market for is able to perform a certain function, write it down anyway. When you’re brainstorming your needs and your tech wish list, everything goes.

Take your brainstorm notes and turn them into a brief to describe to your IT consultant, website designer or Virtual Assistant what it is you want them to quote you on.

If you have a brief then each person you go to will be quoting you on the same thing. You’re going to be able to compare apples to apples.

Once you’ve discussed your needs with a few different service providers who can help you, create a matrix in a spreadsheet or on a piece of paper. To do this, list the key functions you need from your new piece of technology across the top. Down the side, write the names of the consultants who will be providing the quote. If their quote meets a key function, add a check mark and if not then add a cross. It’s simple, really, but it will give you a visual aid and help you to see who is quoting what.

At the bottom of your matrix, include the service providers’ price and leave room for your notes or comments. Now, find out if you can have a test drive of the software you’re looking for and use it actively in your business for two weeks. In that amount of time you’ll know if it’s right for you. It will be trickier to be permitted a test drive of certain hardware, so make sure you take plenty of time to play with it in the showroom and be sure the consultant guides you through how to use it at that time.

After testing the product you’re looking for, with matrix in hand you’ll be in great shape to make a sound decision and a smart purchase.

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