Did you know that a single business laptop can set you back between $300 and $3,000 on average? If you go for desktop computers, expect to pay even more. If you recently started your business, saving money on business computers and accessories should be your top priority.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways you can reduce your costs on tech and gadgets. Keep reading to learn a few pieces of advice that might help you spend your IT budget better. These tips can save you hundreds or even thousands of money in total!

Don’t Be Afraid to Buy Used or Refurbished

It’s nice to have a collection of shiny and new business computers, but sometimes you need to cut corners. Some portions of your IT budget would be better spent on marketing campaigns and business partnerships. 

Instead of spending all your money on new computers, buy some of them already used. The market is full of decent, fully-functional business laptops, and desktop computers. If some of these used or refurbished machines are half the price of a new one, you’re already saving hundreds of dollars.

On top of that, you can use these business laptops for basic tasks that don’t require a lot of processing power. For example, some of these machines can be used for email checking, monitoring a few clients, light internet browsing, and so on. 

This should be an ongoing habit for you. As you expand your business, you’ll be in constant need of new IT equipment. Before spending your entire IT budget on the newest devices, see if you can do just fine with their older counterparts. If you get a better deal from a refurbished product, go for it!

Hunt for Online Discounts and Coupons

Believe it or not, you can save a lot of money by shopping for your business computers and accessories online. First of all, many retailers on the internet offer free shipping. You can also get bonus points with each purchase and some of these can be converted into real money.

Popular online retailers also run discount campaigns and offer vouchers for various accessories. Even if you save just 5% with each laptop or computer mouse purchased, that’s still a decent sum of money that remains in your IT budget.

To take advantage of these offers and discounts, make a habit of visiting your favorite online retailers often. Bookmark products you like and wait until they go on sale. Try to negotiate better deals if you buy in bulk or take advantage of “pay for 2, get 3” offers.

On top of that, many smartphone applications are purposely designed to look for discounts and coupons on major retailers and send you notifications. Some apps give you real money back with each online purchase. If you shop for IT products often, these apps can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Check out the www.lenovo.com website to see how to get the best discounts on new business computers and laptops.

Reduce Paper and Printing Supplies

Printing paper and toner doesn’t get any cheaper nowadays. In fact, prices for such products will slowly go up because more resources are needed to manufacture them. If you want to save money and protect the environment, consider reducing your consumption of paper and printing supplies.

For example, switch to electronic bills instead of physical ones printed on paper. If you need to teach your employees something, use PowerPoint presentations and let them take notes on Word documents on laptops. Using paper and pens is so old-school anyway.

If you have a multifunction printer, leave just a hundred sheets of paper in the tray. Cooperate with your employees to use those papers economically and make them last for one day or one week. Don’t print anything unless it’s absolutely necessary to do so.

If you need to print something, keep in mind that there are computer programs designed to save printer ink or toner. For example, these programs deliberately leave small holes in the printed text. You can still read the paper, but the tiny holes save a noticeable amount of ink or toner, so you don’t spend that much on printing supplies.

Buy Multiple Licenses at Once and Save Money on a Bulk Order

Most companies that create popular applications for computers have a few buying options available for clients. For example, you can buy a standard license for personal use, a standard license for business use, or a pack of multiple licenses for many computers in your company.

In this case, a package containing multiple licenses at a reduced price is probably the best option for you. This applies to operating systems, word processors, applications that edit .pdf files, etc. If your business deals with photo and video editing, you can obtain the same type of package for editing software.

The good news is that some of these packages can be customized according to your business needs. For example, if you have 10 business laptops that need a license, you can buy a pack of 10 such licenses at a reduced price. 

Similar to online shopping, you need to be aware of such deals and negotiate for some of them. Start by understanding the needs of your business. Write down what types of applications and software programs you need. Then contact the developers/manufacturers and see how they can help you.

Not All Peripherals Need to Be Wireless

Most computer accessories and peripherals you can buy today can be wired as well as wireless. This is the case for computer mice, keyboards, headsets, microphones, controllers, you name it. However, it’s a well-known fact that the wireless version is usually more expensive than the wired version.

What to do to save money in this case? Just buy the wired version. Not only that you’ll save money, but wired peripherals offer uninterrupted connectivity and no lag, so your productivity will not be affected.

Just as you have been advised to go with used or refurbished computers, the wired peripherals are ideal for applications or programs that don’t usually consume a lot of resources. Chances are that most of your work personnel will do just fine with wired accessories and this will save you a decent amount of money.

Go With SSD Only for the Most Important Computers

SSD stands for solid-state drive and it refers to a new type of physical storage for computers. It’s the faster and more reliable version of HDD. Many business computers and laptops are equipped with SSD, but this feature also comes with a higher price tag.

Take a look around your offices and decide if all business computers should feature SSD. Do you need insanely-fast data transfer speeds for all your laptops? If the answer is no, you have a chance to save money here.

Just go for SSD storage for some of your most important computers such as servers or machines where sensitive data is stored. For the rest of your business computers, you can opt for a combination of SSD and HDD. 

These combinations are ideal because they offer a better speed than just HDD, but their price is relatively small and you can also get 1TB or more of HDD for storing large files. Making calculated decisions like these won’t disrupt your productivity and will save more money.

Store Your Files in the Cloud Instead of Using Dvds and External Drives

Even if your business is relatively small now, chances are that you still need to store a substantial amount of data. This data could involve information from your clients, databases, employer information, general files, and more.

Back in the days, the gold standard was to store this data on integrated hard drives, external hard drives, and DVDs. Nowadays, things have changed a lot. Not only that these old-school storage methods are quite expensive, but they also occupy a lot of space.

Instead, you should simply store your files in the cloud. For a ridiculously low price per month, you can rent hundreds of GBs of space online. There are numerous providers that can offer you such unbeatable offers including Google and Yahoo!.

Not only that storing data in the cloud is better and easier, but it’s also safer. These servers are protected with layers upon layers of digital security. It’s virtually impossible to have these files stolen or hacked. This should give you more peace of mind because it means that the continuity of your business is ensured.

Saving on Business Computers Has Never Been Easier Than Today!

As you can see, buying business computers and accessories doesn’t necessarily mean blowing out your entire IT budget. It’s all about making smart financial decisions, hunting for discounts, and having a little bit of patience for your favorite products to go on sale.

The next step would be to analyze your company’s needs for business laptops and peripherals. Note them down and order them according to importance. Then set a deadline and find the best deals online.

If you need more tips and tricks when it comes to saving money on IT equipment, check out the other articles on our website to learn more.