Could Buying A Computer Actually Increase Your Cash Flow?

Buying a new computer isn’t cheap. Sure, the computer itself is pretty inexpensive, but then you have to purchase software and peripherals. Before you know it, you’ve tied up at least $1,200 of your cash on the thing. Then there’s the labor to install it. If you’re not under an all-inclusive type of IT service plan, the labor could run you a few hundred dollars more. Of course, the situation worsens when you have more than one system to replace.

What’s A Business Owner To Do?

Until recently, if you needed a new computer right away, but didn’t want to tie up your cash, your only option was to lease it. Not anymore. The recent credit crunch took the option of leasing new equipment off the table for many businesses. This means that you either have to part with the cash, or forgo the new technology you need.

“Hardware as a service,” otherwise known as “HaaS” is a new way business owners can gain financial benefits and peace of mind when purchasing computers, servers, and network equipment.

Like businesses who lease their computer equipment, HaaS customers also pay monthly for their infrastructure. This allows them to keep more cash in their pocket and gives them the tax advantage of converting a typical capital expense into an operational expense. But unlike leasing, HaaS can also alleviate computer headaches in these 3 ways:

1) No More Expensive Surprise Upgrades. If your computers or server don’t meet the minimum hardware requirements when your line of business software releases an upgrade, you could be forced to lay out thousands of dollars that weren’t in your budget. With HaaS, your computers are automatically replaced with new ones every 3-4 years, ensuring compatibility with almost any software refresh.

2) Dealing With Warranties Are A Thing of The Past. With a HaaS program, you get your equipment AND the service included in the monthly cost. Anything that goes wrong with the computer (like the inevitable computer crash just days after your warranty expires), is the provider’s problem to resolve. Plus, since HaaS computers are replaced regularly by your provider, you don’t have to settle for refurbished parts or old computers for very long.

3) One Easy To Understand Invoice. Simpler is better. Instead of receiving different invoices for hardware and labor, a HaaS plan means you get one invoice for virtually all your IT needs, giving you a truer budget number for IT related expenses.Think of it like this: Purchasing your computers with a HaaS program is like having a condo. You get control of what goes in it, yet you don’t have to worry about maintenance, building code issues, or updating the façade. Plus all your services and amenities are included in just one monthly fee.

Want new computers without the big upfront outlay of cash?

Call us today to learn more about HaaS and find out if it’s right for you. 508-992-2541 or e-mail us at info@thinktechonline.com

Working With PDF Documents

Adobe Acrobat Reader is a common, free download that allows you to open, read, and make comments on any Portable Document Format (PDF) documents you receive. But there are some limitations.

1. It doesn’t allow editing

2. It won’t convert your documents to PDF.

For those functions, there’s Acrobat Pro. It creates PDF’s, organizes them for easy searching, allows multiple people to simultaneously make comments and place sticky notes or highlights on a PDF, and can password protect it so only a select few can edit the actual document.

Don’t need all the bells and whistles? Nitro PDF (www.nitropdf.com) will edit PDF documents and costs about $100. Or, for FREE, you can download PDF995 Suite (www.pdf995.com) to read, edit & create PDF’s. The downside of FREE? With PDF995 you can only read and create PDF’s not edit existing ones.  On that same site you can download PDFedit995 that will allow you to edit.

There’s A Good Chance Over HALF Your Employees Are Wasting 3 Hours A Day On THIS...

A survey of over 2,500 employees found nearly half of the group admitted to wasting 1-3 hours every day on the web doing non-business related activities. Pretty scary, huh?

Just ONE employee in your company spending ONE hour surfing the web instead of doing what they should be doing is impacting your bottom line. Plus, this idle surfing doesn’t just affect that one employee; it could impact the whole team. If your Internet all of a sudden slows to a halt…a time-wasting employee may be the cause.

Watching a YouTube video, for example, can hog up your bandwidth and slow your entire company’s Internet speed way down, including e-mail and online applications.

How To Find Out If This Is Happening In Your Business

No business owner has time to look over their employees’ shoulders every hour of every day...and if Internet usage abuse is going on, how do you stop it? Look to these two tips for help:

1. Determine Your Rules. Unless your admin places company job postings online, you wouldn’t want to give her the opportunity to job search on your dime. So, you’d block career sites. Social media is another example. Typically, you’d block Twitter. But if you use it for marketing, your employees need access to it.

2. Get An Internet Filter. Basically, a piece of hardware is installed on your network and its job is to block any specific websites or categories of websites, like shopping sites. Some of these devices even allow you to assign a hierarchy to your Internet speed, ensuring that your payroll software gets all the Internet juice before the NFL replay does.

FREE Internet Usage Audit (A $297 Value)

As a way to introduce our services in March, we’re offering a FREE Internet Usage Audit that will reveal:

 - What impact employee web browsing is having on your Internet speed

 - How to stop any bad web behaviors without being “Big Brother”

To schedule your FREE Audit NOW, call us at :

508-992-2541

The Shocking Misunderstanding Most Business Owners Have About Their Backup System

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know you should be backing up your computers and server. But here’s something you probably DON’T know that will come back and bite you: simply having a backup of your data is NOT ENOUGH to guarantee you could be back up and running fast in the event of a disaster.

Having a data backup merely means that you have a copy of your company’s data stored somewhere; it does NOT mean you have a way to instantly restore your network back to normal.

For example, if your network crashed because of a hardware failure, your entire company is down, period. No e-mail, printing, accessing the database, customer records, and more. Until whatever caused the problem can be fixed (which might involve ordering replacement parts), your business is closed.

So You Reach For Your Backup Only To Discover...

Your information is there, but without a server, you have nowhere to load that information, and no way to access it. On top of that, a backup only holds your data, not your operating system, settings, or software applications. So even if you can load the data, you can’t actually use it without re-loading all the software applications—no small feat. Even IF you have all the software disks and key codes (most people don’t), it could still take days — possibly weeks— to rebuild, and the costs can run into the thousands.

That’s Not The Half Of It

The three most common causes of server downtime are hardware failure, software corruption and human error. But nearly 20% of businesses suffer damaging downtime from fire, flood, theft, or other natural disasters, and 44% of them never recover—and that’s mostly because they didn’t have a disaster recovery plan in place.

A disaster recovery plan covers more than just backup. It maps out how to get your business restored and running again in every possible scenario. For example, if another company in your office building has a fire, the police may quarantine your building preventing you from even entering your office. Or if a major storm knocks out power, Internet or the phone lines, you need a plan “B” for servicing customers, taking orders and keeping things rolling.

3 Crucial Components To A Disaster Recovery Plan

1. Have One! As the old adage goes, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” When it comes to disaster recovery, nothing could be more accurate.
 
If something happens to your office, will your employees be able to work from home? Do you have an alternate plan for your phones? Where would you temporarily set up shop? How quickly could you get technology equipment you need to function like computers, scanners, or printers? How will you access the Internet? Make a point to document the answers to these questions.

2. Onsite Server “Virtualization.” In a downtime situation, virtualization is basically a business owner’s lifeline to his business. Once only available to big businesses with deep pockets, this now affordable technology can literally get you back up and running just as you were before the disaster... in as little as 24 hours. If the disaster doesn’t take out your whole office, virtualization can have you back in business the same day. Here’s how it works. A second server makes exact copies of everything on your server—operating system, software applications and data—every 15-60 minutes.

This server replica, also known as an “image,” can take over if your main server fails or gets corrupted. No need to re-load software, reconfigure your network, or re-load your data. In as little as 30 minutes, everyone in your company can get back to work, just as they were before the downtime. Compare this to the days or WEEKS it could take without virtualization; the productivity and money savings is staggering. Side Note: If you are still using old tape backups, you NEED to throw them away and virtualize your server with an offsite backup!

3. Offsite Image of Your Server. Fire, flood, theft, natural disasters, or even faulty office sprinkler systems can physically damage your office equipment, including your server and your backup system.

Head this off by having an exact copy (an image) of your server’s operating system, settings, programs, and data sent daily to an offsite location. Also make sure this image can be quickly loaded on to a server and shipped to you. With this in your plan, a tornado could rip open your office and destroy everything, yet you could be back up and running within a few days.

Need Help In Writing Your Company’s Disaster Recovery Plan?

Call Today: 508-992-2541

How To Avoid Hiring The Wrong Computer Consultant To Support Your Network

Finding an honest and capable computer consultant can be tricky…

You never know you’ve hired the wrong consultant until you are halfway into your project and have already invested a considerable amount of time and money.

By then you’re fed up with the failed promises, missed deadlines, and solutions that just don’t seem to work.

This happens because most people hire a computer consultant without checking important facts like…

• What do their customers say about them? (Ask to speak to a few of their current AND long-term customers.)

• What is their experience in working with other companies like yours?

• How fast do they respond to emergencies? (A good technician should be easy to reach and respond within 1 hour or LESS.)

• Will you have a senior technician working on your network or a junior newbie just learning the ropes? (The old bait-n-switch.)

• Do they offer different options to fit your budget or do they push a “one-size-fits-all” approach?

• Are they consistently on time with their projects?

• Will they agree to a fixed price quote? (There is nothing worse than unexpected increases in fees in the middle of a project.)

• What guarantees do they make, if any?

FREE Book Reveals Everything You Need To Know Before Hiring Any Computer Consultant

If you found these quick tips helpful and you are currently considering hiring an outside consultant to support your company’s computer network, then you’ll want to get a FREE copy of our book, “Hassle-Free Computer Support”, which reveals everything you need to know in order to hire a competent, reliable, and honest computer consultant.

To get a copy of our book for FREE, simply give us a call at 508-992-2541 or visit us online to request your free copy at:

www.thinktechonline.com/hassleFree

Who Else Wants New Computers This Year?

When your computers (or other network equipment) start acting slow, when your software company suddenly forces you into an upgrade because they will no longer support the version of software you have, or when you need to add a computer or server for a new employee or new project, you basically have only a few options available to you.

1) Swallow hard, dig into your cash reserves, and plunk down thousands of dollars in new computer and network equipment.

2) Lease the equipment at an astronomical rip-off rate.

3) Suck it up and live with the lack of productivity and daily frustration of incompatible or slow machines.

Thankfully, a fourth, more agreeable option is now available: our Total Care Plan. By incorporating your hardware and software costs into your IT support agreement, you can get new equipment whenever you need it without having to drain your cash flow or put you into a restrictive lease. You get the support and service you need PLUS any new computers, servers, software and other network equipment rolled into one easy monthly investment. It’s sort of like renting your equipment, only it comes with all the support and service too. In addition to freeing up your cash, this new program also provides these benefits:

* You don’t have to keep track of which computers are getting old

* You don’t have to front thousands of dollars to revamp your network

* If something breaks, ThinkTech has to take care of it

* You don’t have to track any warranties

* There may be tax advantages since capital expenses now become operational expenses

* No big surprise hardware or software bills

* Your computers all stay pretty much the same age and performance

* No waiting on parts to be replaced – a free loaner service is included

Want To Find Out If Our Total Care Plan Will Work For Your Business?

FREE 27-Point Network Analysis (A $540 Value) will examine your entire network, review your backup technology, and document the software and hardware you use to determine a game plan for your specific situation. We’ll even tell you how to get the new equipment you need without breaking the bank.

(508) 992-2541

URGENT: “I Have A Perfectly Legal Way For You To Save A Bundle Of Money On Taxes, Computer Hardware, And Support, But You Have To Act FAST…”

Please forgive the headline if it seems a bit “sensational,” but I really needed a way to get your attention about a perfectly legal way to save a LOT of money on taxes, computer hardware and support that is quickly going to pass you by if you don’t act soon.

Let me explain…

Thanks to a tax deduction titled a “Section 179 Election,” you can buy up to $125,000 in new office and computer equipment, and expense—or write off—that entire amount on your 2009 tax return. However, the election has to be made in the year of purchase, which means you cannot buy a computer this year (2009) and then try to expense it next year (2010).

If you want to see how much small businesses love the Section 179 deduction, take a little peek inside any office furniture or equipment store between Christmas and New Year's Day. Chances are you'll see lots of buyers racking up some year-end deductions!

But That’s Not The Only Way You’ll Save Money… Manufacturers and Vendors Are ALSO Giving Year-End Discounts, Rebates and Incentives…

Most IT vendors and manufacturers offer really incredible rebates and discounts on equipment towards the end of the year in a last ditch effort to improve annual sales. After all, they gotta look good to their investors!

So if you are going to need a network upgrade in the near future, you can not only get better deals on software and equipment, but you can also get the tax savings making this a double dip on saving money.

But Here’s How I’m Going To “Sweeten The Pot” And Help You Save Even MORE Money

In the spirit of saving you money, I’ve decided to “sweeten the pot” and make the following offer to anyone who hires us to upgrade their network before December 31, 2009:

1. We will give away 30 DAYS of our Network Headache Eliminator – up to a $1,000 value – absolutely FREE to any new client who upgrades their network with us. All computer networks need regular ongoing maintenance to keep them running problem free, and with our Network Headache Eliminator, you’ll not only enjoy faster and more reliable service from your computer network, but you’ll gain incredible peace of mind knowing that your network and the data it holds is safe from loss, corruption, downtime, viruses, hackers, spyware, and a host of other problems.

2. We’ll allow you to continue the Network Headache Eliminator at a special discounted rate that will easily save you THOUSANDS in IT support. After the 30 days are up, you can continue to receive regular maintenance, critical updates and security patches, fast, remote support, and 24-7 watch over your network and data at a special discounted rate. Of course, you are under no obligation to continue this maintenance, but I’m certain you are going to want to continue after you see how we keep things running.

3. We’ll send you a FREE copy of the book, “Keep Your Hard-Earned Money; Tax Savings For The Self-Employed” as a gift. This is a great book for any entrepreneur to read on how to keep Uncle Sam’s hands out of your pockets.

After all, no one wants to hand over a penny more to the government than is absolutely necessary, and no one wants to pay MORE for services and products than they have to. We all work way too hard for that!

That’s why I’m making this offer to you. As a fellow entrepreneur, I understand that it’s critical to keep every penny of profit that you can.

This Is Absolutely The BEST Way To Save A Lot Of Money On IT Services And Support For 2010; But You Better Act NOW Because This Is Going To Go FAST…

All you have to do is contact us by phone  so we can schedule a time to discuss exactly what type of upgrades and support you will need for 2010. Remember, we don’t have to do the actual installation in December, but you must spend the money before December 31st or the IRS won’t give you the deduction!

CALL US TODAY!

(508) 992-2541