Make Your IT Costs Predictable and Save Your Budget

There are many challenging aspects that come with running a business, but which aspect is the most difficult? According to a 2012 survey of small business owners by The National Federation of Independent Businesses, managing costs is the most difficult responsibility. We can help; our managed IT services turn technology into a predictable expense.

The ability of controlling costs factors in greatly to the health of a business. If a major expense comes out of nowhere during a season of low revenue, then it can derail your progress and make everything more difficult. Making and sticking with a budget is the best action a business can take to manage costs. The more expenses that you can include in your budget, the more predictable your costs will be. Here is a list of typical expenses every business should budget for:

• Building costs and utilities.
• Consultant fees and other third-party services.
• Employee health insurance.
• Employee salaries.
• Marketing and advertising.
• Memberships and subscriptions.
• Taxes.

These expenses are easy to budget around because, for the most part, they are considered "static expenses," which means that they will not change too much. Then there are other expenses called "budget busters." These expenses happen unexpectedly and can add up. Technology is a budget buster because it can break down suddenly. Broken technology must be repaired, and it's difficult to budget for a technician visit because you may have no idea how long the job will take and what the charge will add up to.

At Preferred, we have discovered a way to turn unpredictable IT costs into a static expense that can be budgeted around. We make IT repair affordable by turning it into a subscription-style service where you pay a monthly fee. This will eliminate the budget-busting surprise of a major repair bill. With our managed IT service, we will fix your technology for a flat-rate that you can budget around; this way, if a piece of equipment goes down, you can contact us for a repair and not have to worry about going over budget.

Making IT costs predictable will save your company money, save your budget from imploding, and by extension, make your business much easier to manage. To learn about more ways that Preferred can make technology affordable for your business, give us a call at 708-781-7110.