Whether you’re starting a business, renovating, or moving to a bigger office, there are plenty of things you need to make any space a working space.
But it all starts with knowing your needs. Depending on what business you’re in, you may have specific requirements for your office. But other than that, the number of employees, the space you have, and your budget will be major determining factors.
To give you an idea, here is a list of the basic office equipment your office may need.
Décor and Furniture
The décor and furniture set the tone for your office. Everyone from the employees to the customers will instantly get a feeling of the building blocks of your business when they step into the office.
You can always go with the basic office setting, or boost your employees’ morale by adding some color, bringing in some green life, and having plenty of natural light, among other things.
The number of your employees and the space will be the determining factors for the furniture. But remember, investing in quality furniture will show the employees that they are valued.
Computers and Internet Connection
Offices can’t function without computers and a quality internet connection.
Getting personal computers on every desk doesn’t seem like a good idea these days. Instead, you can give your employees laptops to give them more flexibility and allow them to move around in their workspace.
For the internet connection, find a reputable service that offers quality and very less downtime. Depending on the number of computers and their usage requirements, you can look into different internet speeds.
Computer Software
Computers, unfortunately, are nothing without the right pieces of software.
Since every business has different needs, you need to assess what software your employees need to carry out their duties.
Generally, businesses need word processing software, PDF editors, and customer relationship management tools, and communication software, collaborative tools for the team, cloud storage, and security software, among others
Printers, Photocopiers, and Scanners
Unless you’re planning to go 100% paperless, you will need to have some equipment to process the paper.
The size and the number of equipment depend on the space you have and how many employees will be using it.
For instance, many offices have a specific room dedicated to these kinds of equipment and all the employees can go in there, enter their unique codes, and use them. Giving each employee their own equipment seems a little over the top.
You should get the basics, the printers, photocopies, and scanners. You can buy Canon Toner Cartridges at great prices by buying in bulk.
Storage Equipment
If you’re working with paper, your employees will need a space to store and organize all of their files. If your employees store everything on the company server, then you will need a space to store all equipment for the servers.
Either way, you will need a separate secure space for your storage needs especially if there are plenty of sensitive files.
Conclusion
Only you can know what your business exactly needs and there is no one-size-fits-all in this case. You can use the categories above and create a list of items you need in each category to satisfy the needs of your employees and your business.