Hardware Budgeting For The New Year – Make A List And Check It Twice!

Ok, so it looks like you’re going to make it through Christmas for one more year, so soon it will be time to relax, breathe and budget for next year.

Hardware budgets seem set to stay flat for 2014, so what can you do to make your budget go further?

Extend the working life of existing hardware

Maximizing the technology that you already have can allow you to channel funds into the latest features, like tablet integration and mobile POS for example. Taking a structured approach to out-of-warranty repair and maintenance can mean that the return on investment for the existing infrastructure can extend way beyond the end of manufacturer warranties.

Analyze the hardware that you have which may not need to be refreshed for aesthetic reasons and coordinate a schedule of maintenance and repair to maintain optimal performance. For example, the functionality of a typical receipt printer does not change much over time but its casing could be replaced or enhanced. This means it will still match if the other elements of a modern POS station are upgraded.

If investing in new hardware…

If you have budgeted for a POS hardware refresh, or are implementing new additions to the current infrastructure, you can help stretch the return on investment that they provide –

Talk to an independent repair depot at the outset.

Ask them about the equipment they see. Who tends to produce the most robust POS hardware? Are there any particular manufacturers whose hardware they see on a more frequent basis.

Negotiate longer warranties.

See if the POS manufacturers will go beyond the standard warranty as part of the initial deal. However, this comes with a warning. Do not be swayed into paying for an extended warranty from the manufacturer. These are often charged at a premium.

Find out about repair costs, even at this early stage.

Ask a repair depot or fellow professionals in the industry about the cost of repairing POS hardware once the manufacturer warranty has expired. Are products from certain manufacturers more costly to repair than their rivals because of the components used? Are spare parts hard to come by for a particular POS device?

So as these economic times remain slow, both in retail and hospitality, making some savings from savvy hardware management is never a bad thing. Optimally caring for your existing devices, along with diligent purchases of any new additions, provides the best optimization of your budget.