When it’s time to upgrade or replace your business equipment, such as computers, vehicles, tools, or anything else your team might use to get work done, it’s quicker and easier to just buy the latest model or renew your subscription instead of No need to think about it. However, careful study and reflection are necessary to truly ensure that you are getting the best return on investment in terms of cost and team productivity.
But what exactly should you consider before buying one? Here, nine members of the Young Entrepreneur Council discuss just that, each offering one factor you should consider first before upgrading or replacing equipment, and why it could ultimately help you do better for your business. good decision.
Members are pictured from left to right.
Photos provided by individual members.
1. What your team really needs
Ask your team what they really need. I can speak from a marketing and software company perspective. We used to buy all kinds of digital tools to make our processes more efficient, but we ended up canceling a lot of subscriptions because a tool is a tool. It’s pretty much useless if people don’t know how to use it or just find it inconvenient. Always check with your team before you decide to upgrade or replace something. What may seem like a good idea to you may not necessarily be a beneficial improvement to others. – Solomon Timothy, OneIMS
2. Your time and energy
Our stance is, if it makes you more productive or less frustrated, buy it. We use accounting software, which is annoying in itself if you keep staring at the spinning wheel while calculating your reports. By upgrading your hardware, especially its speed, it will improve the performance of your most expensive asset: your employees. -Marjorie Adams, Fourlane
3. Support Availability
If you’re considering replacing business equipment, one of the first things you need to consider is support availability. In other words, is support readily available to help you, or do you have to wait until Monday (if it’s the weekend)? If it’s a big question and you have to wait for an answer, you risk losing profits and your audience’s trust. With this example in mind, it’s easy to see why the way your brand provides support can affect many of the decisions you make for your small business. -John Turner, SeedProd LLC
4. Impact on your customers and customers
What is the impact on your clients or customers? In some areas of business, it’s okay if you avoid upgrading equipment because the impact to customers is likely to be minimal. However, in other areas, such as technology or customer service related areas, it is important to consider the customer’s experience. For example, whenever Google makes a core update to its products, it has a powerful and immediate impact on how people interact with search engines and websites. So you have to jump in and upgrade your process or workflow, or you risk being forgotten. Overall, it’s important to consider customer experience when upgrading or replacing business equipment. -Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
5. Costs and Benefits
When it comes time to upgrade or replace business equipment, one of the first factors you should consider is a cost-benefit analysis. This involves weighing the cost of purchasing and maintaining new equipment against its potential benefits to the business. It includes the upfront purchase price of the equipment, any available financing or leasing options, and the expected useful life of the equipment. It is also important to consider the potential impact new equipment may have on the business, including any potential efficiency or productivity gains. By carefully evaluating the costs and benefits of new equipment, you can make an informed decision about whether the investment is worthwhile and whether it meets your business goals. – Candice Georgiadis, Digital Day
6. Scalability
One factor worth considering when you need to upgrade or replace business equipment is scalability. In other words, is it possible to continue growing with new iterations of the tool? Or do you need to upgrade again in a year or two? Knowing how well a new tool or resource will scale is one of the most important things to check when upgrading business equipment. – Chris Christopher, MonsterInsights
7. Security
One factor to consider when upgrading or replacing enterprise equipment is security. No matter what device you use, it’s important to make sure it’s safe for your employees and your business. It is important to ensure that equipment complies with all safety standards and regulations in order to protect your employees from potential harm or to protect your business from any disclosure of confidentiality. – Andrew Munro, AffiliateWP
8. Time to buy
Consider timing. Is now the right time to replace your equipment? This is a huge investment and you must be in good financial shape before you make such a decision. Not only that, but you have to look at the market to see if it can support your large investment. That doesn’t mean you’ll never replace your device—just that you’ll have to wait for the right time. There are also seasonal reasons for the wait, as there may be better times to buy equipment, such as when demand is low and supply is high. You’ll also want to look at the terms of the loan, as upgrading when interest rates are lower is practical. Also, you have to consider whether the device available is the latest model, because if the latest version is less than a year old, you might as well wait. – Bryce Welker, crushing the GRE
9. Payment method
Before investing in expensive equipment or technology upgrades, consider other options. For some equipment, leasing is worth considering. Your upfront costs are lower and certain services, such as repairs, may be included. Leases are also good if you think you might want to upgrade again in the near future. Rental companies can often provide upgrades, and you don’t have outdated equipment to sell or throw away. When it comes to digital services like software, you can also consider subscription services, also known as software as a service (SaaS). This is another situation where you have low upfront costs and can count on the company to provide support. However, in all such agreements, please read the terms carefully so you know exactly what is and is not included. -Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting