Getting The Technology Sorted For Your Startup

New businesses often have to deal with myriad administrative tasks, especially in the early days following their formation (perhaps as a company) and during the initial period of setting up systems, for everything from telephone answering to invoicing or stock control and logistics. Luckily, these days there are many technological advances that have resulted in software programmes that can be beneficial, thus lightening the load. Here are a few things to think about when getting started:

Basic technology 

It can be difficult to accomplish business tasks these days without a working computer. Some people favour desktops because of their memory capacity and dependability, their ability to handle spreadsheets and word processing and provide access to the internet. Having said that, laptops and tablets have increased in popularity due to their portability, and ultimately may be preferable if home working and/or travel are likely to be necessary. A smartphone will additionally help staff members keep in touch with business developments.

Marketing

If a business plan stacks up then new entrepreneurs will already know the focus of their startup in terms of what they will be producing (goods or services) and how. This is the ‘core business’ and the raison d’être of the new enterprise. The next step is to ensure all necessary licences are in place and to consider how the service will be marketed. Increasingly, this is being done electronically via a range of media rather than by the traditional methods of publishing literature (posters, brochures, flyers), although for some types of business, for example local service delivery, this might still be appropriate.

Every business should have an interactive website that can be used by prospective customers to make enquiries, place orders or simply communicate with the business. It can be useful to engage an IT expert to help set this up and maintain it on behalf of the startup, unless someone in-house has the appropriate skills.

Finance 

Most people set up a new business to explore commercial opportunities and make money. As an entrepreneur’s skillset will likely be concerned with the core business, managing the money side of things may be another good candidate for outsourcing, just like marketing or IT. Choosing the right bank account, managing a payroll, registering for and handling VAT, and undertaking bookkeeping and accountancy services, including corporate taxation, can all be done quickly and easily these days using software programs – as long as the person operating the system is familiar with the capability and the scope of the technology involved. If this is not the case, it is worth considering using a friendly, expert professional accountancy service, such as pocketaccounts.co.uk, to take some of the strain.

Insurance

Finally, it’s best to remember the importance of business insurance for a new enterprise. There are useful online comparison tools to help new organisations select the kind of cover that is appropriate to their core business, their location and the scale of their operation. Don’t skimp on the extent of cover, as it’s not possible to know in advance what might be needed in the future.