You have to properly advise clients when dealing with their IT spending.  Many clients will feel they have to make all PC purchases within a small period of time and follow a “use it or lose it” policy when it comes to their budgets.  You need to get owners when they are approachable to advise them against this mentality. 

Discourage Frivolous Spending

Those experienced in the IT consulting world and with giving advice about IT spending know that small business technology purchases are most successful when planned carefully.  You don’t want your clients to go to the warehouse club or local office supply store and buy $20,000 worth of equipment with a corporate credit card. 

When IT spending is unplanned, your clients’ support costs can actually go up.  They also might be sabotaging a progressive technology plan that helps them keep their systems more secure and dependable. 

Discuss IT Spending Before it Gets out of Hand:  Discussion Points

1.  Do your clients have written technology budgets for the year?

2. What happens if their budgets are not used up during the year?

3. What kind of planning needs to be done in order to spend on PC-related items?

4. Should you discuss anticipated support costs before recommending PC purchases?

5. Do clients’ major tech purchases typically happen after a great year or quarter?

6. Have your clients regretted hasty IT spending because it turned out to be on a really unreliable, difficult-to-support piece of hardware?

Created By:  Computer Consulting Kit