When starting a home office don’t be afraid to buy the technology you need. Spending more at the beginning for the technology you will be using over the long term is better for business.

Many advisors “take the cheap route” when buying software and hardware, says David J. Drucker, a certified financial planner and principal with Virtual Office News LLC in Albuquerque, N.M. “It’s better to envision where you want your business to go,” he says, “and develop technology that will serve that end purpose.”

With that advice in mind, here are some of the things you’ll need to get your home office up and running:

> A computer – and a fast one
Ensure your computer can handle your day-to-day business operations.

Buy the fastest computer you can afford, says Kip Gregory, principal with the Gregory Group in Washington, D.C. It’s also important to make sure the computer has plenty of memory for your files and programs.

If your current computer is more than three years you should give serious consideration to purchasing a new one, Gregory says.

As well, for better mobility, consider a laptop instead of a desktop — or both.

> The right Internet connection
You can’t get anything done without the Internet, so set up the fastest connection possible.

“It will cost you in the long run if you’re twiddling your fingers, even for a couple of seconds, waiting for pages to load,” Gregory says.

To get a better deal and possibly a better connection, Gregory suggests, talk to your provider about bundling services, such as your landline, cellphone and television service, with your Internet service.

> Software
To run your home office properly you will need the software that suits your business model. For the most part, the programs you choose — software for financial planning, portfolio management or client relationship management — will depend on the services you provide, says Drucker. There are many different program options available for each service.

Another important program for a home office is a document management system. This system will help reduce paper and keep your office organized without the use of bulky filing cabinets.

For example, Adobe Acrobat, priced at US$350 to US$400, can be used to scan files and save as PDFs on your computer, Drucker says. Other document management systems include Executive Assistant (ceoimage.com), for US$299 to US$604, DocuXplorer (docuxplorer.com) for US$250 to US$500 and Laserfiche (laserfiche.com), which offers a variety of products at various prices and levels of sophistication.

These programs are valuable business tools because they enable you to scan, tag, archive and retrieve files easily.

> Have a back-up system
You will need a secure storage system for your electronic files.

Drucker suggests using a dual back-up system: one in your office and another in the “cloud.” For his on-site storage, Drucker uses a one-terabyte back-up external hard drive (available at most electronics stores) that plugs into his computer. For back-up, he uses an online storage program called Carbonite (www.carbonite.com).

Gregory also recommends Carbonite for cloud computing because, he says, in a residential setting you can use as much space as you wish for the same price.

A subscription to Carbonite costs US$54.95 for one year, US$99.95 for two years or US$129.95 for three years.

> Call security
There are many well-known programs that offer computer protection, including those offered by McAffee (www.mcaffee.com) and Symantec (www.symantec.com). The anti-virus industry has become quite competitive and most vendors offer similar products and pricing, according to Gregory. When looking for a security program, consider how it will affect your computer’s speed.

“If you go with the wrong program or you put a new program on an old machine,” Gregory says, “you’re going to see a dramatic slowdown in the processing speed.”

IE