
Only add the expenses if you’ll get a good return on your investment. Of course, you shouldn’t feel obligated to fulfill the whims of a few people. If you hear the same requests from a lot of people, consider adding a line to your budget. Take some time to talk to your managers and employees to learn more about what they would like to see in next year’s IT budget. Related: Your Go-to Guide for Total Technology Control After all, they’re the people who use your equipment and applications daily. Your employees and managers may have a better idea than you do about what upgrades you need. If you don’t need any upgrades, then you can reserve your money for when the time comes. If it’s time to upgrade your IT equipment, then you need to create a line for that expense. Other pieces of technology that you might need to update include: Related: What to Look for in a Work Computer Hanging on to old equipment, therefore, could lower the productivity of your employees. A 5-year-old computer may seem to work well, but it probably can’t keep up with the speed of newer models. Most companies purchase new desktop and laptop computers every 3 to 5 years. You have some discretion when it comes to how often you update your IT equipment.

Once you have a completed list, you can decide whether you need to update your equipment. Make a list of your IT equipment and how old the items are. Related: The Countless Benefits of Managed Services 3. Take a close look at how your business spends money so you can identify recurring expenses that you haven’t included in past budgets.

Your recurring costs may differ from those of other companies. Some common recurring IT expenses include: Know the Cost of Your Recurring ExpensesĬertain IT costs won’t change much from year to year. You can also use last year’s budget to find recurring expenses easily.

If you spent money on new equipment, such as desktop computers or a new server, last year, then you probably don’t need to buy those items again. If you made an IT budget last year, review it to determine where you want to make changes.

During other years, though, you may need to drastically increase or decrease the amount of money that you spend on IT.įollow these 5 steps to create the perfect IT budget for your SMB’s short-term and long-term goals. Ideally, you should make a new IT budget each year.ĭuring some years, you may not make any changes to your budget. Like other aspects of your business, your IT infrastructure needs a budget that describes how you will spend money to reach your goals.
