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Matt,

We've heard a lot of community members looking to host their own services (i.e. buying a server or large equipment). How realistic is that for a one-person shop?

SBOC Team

I hate to admit this but with my convenience store we still use a lot of pen and paper to manage our business. Although I am very comfortable exploring and using the internet, thanks to kids, I am less comfortable with excel, and other types of computer applications. My kids are always hounding me to run and record our business information on the computer. Can you recommend any record keeping, invoicing or inventory technologies - that are simple and easy?

Matt,

Great responses!

We have another 45 minutes left in the event. Get those questions in while there's time.

The SBOC Team

Dear Bernoulli,

I have a good news/bad news answer for you. First, consider that all technology solutions have 3 main components - hardware, software, & services.

From a hardware perspective the options best available to your firm would be machine rental which can get pricey if done too often or for extended periods, or financing/leasing to spread costs over a longer period of time.

that's the bad news.

The good news is that with software and services, you have the option as a small business of paying for what you need, when you need it. For example, One of the Microsoft licensing programs is called SPLA (Service Provider License Agreement). This agreement allows an IT provider to pay for and thus charge you for the amount of licenses currently in use and can be adjusted on a monthly basis.

The better news is that such a provider will also likely offer a similar fluctuation option for their support and maintenance related services.

While, your firm will have to incur some sunken or recurring costs for the broader organization, alleviating extra software licensing and/or services costs can be the "magic ticket" you are looking for!

Community,

Remember to refresh your browsers often to view Matt's latest responses.

The SBOC Team

Matt,

Once a small business owner purchases software, there are concerns around ongoing costs such as servicing and maintenancing. What's reasonable to expect?

The SBOC Team

Matt,

On behalf of the SBOC Team and the members of the Small Business Online Community, we wanted to say we truly appreciated your time today and your professional responses to user questions.

Community members, while our session with Matt has now concluded, please feel free to discuss today's session and the questions answered. Again, if you'd like more information about Matt and Microsoft Small Business Specialist, visit:

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness

Thanks again,

The SBOC Team