Our everyday lives are dominated by various machines and devices that we rely on for everything from communicating to cooking and cleaning. So it goes without saying that a business will run more smoothly with the help of several different machines. Here are the top 5 machines that every business should have:
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Photocopier – Every business, whether based in a busy city centre like Manchester or in a quiet rural town, should invest in a decent photocopier. Despite the fact that we’re now in the digital age and many people believed photocopiers would become obsolete, they’re still going strong. They’re still the easiest and most cost-effective way to copy documents for distribution i.e. for mailing out to clients or handing out at meetings.
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Printer – Although most aspects of our daily and working lives have gone digital, we do still need to print things out on occasion. Many people find it difficult to read extensive bodies of writing from a screen and prefer to print them out to review and make notes on. Printer ink doesn’t have to be expensive; there are plenty of companies that specialise in refilling ink cartridges which enables you to keep your costs down.
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Fax machines – Despite the fact that almost any kind of attachment can be sent with an email, many businesses still rely on the good old fax machine to send some types of data. If sensitive data is sent unencrypted via email it could be easily intercepted. To get around this problem, many businesses use fax machines to send sensitive data as it is much safer. There are a variety of machines on the market which incorporate photocopiers, printers and fax machines into one device in order to save space within the office.
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Franking machine – Most businesses have a great deal of outgoing mail to process, i.e. letters to customers, employee wage slips etc. It would be both time consuming and costly to the company to take mail to the post office every day. A franking machine enables a business to calculate the postage for a letter or parcel, apply it to the package, and pay for it either online or via a prepayment card. Businesses can arrange with the mail service provider to collect from their premises at certain times or on certain days.
Computers – It may seem obvious but it’s still worth mentioning how important computers are in all types of business. Good quality base units and monitors, as well as laptops or tablets will allow your employees to do their job to the best of their ability. It’s not just the hardware that you need to focus on, the software is very important too. For example it’s advisable for a business to be running an up-to-date version of Windows or other operating system. CRM software can help a business to easily manage their customer database, and retail outlets will find POS software useful in running all aspects of their business.
