A problem can also arise when you need to send a completed form not generated within your PC to someone - this will require a scanner. These days, a combined fax, scanner, photocopier, and printer is a very cost-effective and simple way of solving this part of your mail order management process. If you are sending out mailings a duplex printer which will print on the back can cut weeks out of the time it takes to prepare mailings to your customers. If this is also a colour printer (remember laser printers are often black and white) then you have all aspects covered! A second printer would be a wise precaution to cover the possible breakdown of your 'all in one' machine. Of course the price of buying a printer can be very reasonable, but the catch can be the cost of ink cartridges and/or other parts - again check this out first.
Now, we realise we are assuming that your mail order business already has a computer - we suppose it has got to the position that no-one can be in any business without one these days! This is how we got to be doing what we are doing now - computerising an existing mail order business in order to make it capable of processing more orders. So you will appreciate that we have been there! If you are in the position of having to choose computer equipment, and you are new to the mail order management field, it can be very hard to make the right choices when you have not yet got the business to know what the parameters might be. We are able to offer friendly help and advice on purchasing and setting up your computer and associated equipment - including also how to ensure that your data is kept secure - we might as well mention this here as it is so vital from the beginning:
It cannot be stressed more forcibly than this - ...
Before you consider anything if you do not currently have a reliable backup system you must install one. Microsoft Windows has built-in backup software which you can choose to employ, but where are you going to place the backed- up data?
Your backed-up data ought to be on hardware which is both independent and removable (so that once backed-up, can be placed outside your current premises). We originally backed up our office data onto Travan tapes and then moved onto removable hard drives - all our office data went on these so all we would need to do is reinstall our software in the event of a failure. You might back-up onto CDRs if you only have a small amount of data, or DVDRs for larger amounts - but apart from the hardware you must have the routine. My system is set to back-up every night at midnight, incremental during the week and a full one at the weekend. I have set Outlook to remind me to change the drive in anticipation. So you do not need to rely on your poor old overworked memory!
There is also the option to back-up your entire drive using disk imaging software. However, bear in mind that there is a caveat here. A disk image can normally only be restored properly to a disk which is identical to the one which failed and to a computer with an identical hardware configuration. This is because a disk image will contain absolutely everything on it about your computer - such as the motherboard drivers, and drivers for all the system components, etc. Some disk imaging software enables some leeway here, but broadly speaking disk imaging is only viable as a means of backup when you have, say, a set of identical computers in your office such that you can restore the image on one of your other machines when one of them fails. You can of course restore the image to the disk on the self-same machine, but this of course depends on whether that machine is still useable.
Another option is to use an online backup service such as OctEbackup which is ideal for small businesses. It backs up over the Internet at a convenient time and ensures that you have multiple copies of your critical business data at an off-site location. It is a genuine "set it and forget it" service that does not need tape streamers, CDs or second hard disks.
Par for the course I suppose - our office has had a number of power failures so we now have a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply - like a giant battery which provides an even supply of current) taking into consideration the electricity supply and the not uncommon power cuts in the Highlands! We have mirror drives (two hard drives, one 'mirroring' the other) on our server and finally as mentioned above we back up onto a removable hard drive (you need 3 - one in use, one for off-premises storage, and one to go in next). It is also important that you ensure that you replace your UPS battery periodically in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. You need to sort this out before you start to put all your valuable data into ANY system. It takes time to put that data in and you have to pay for that and you cannot afford to lose any part of it!
Viruses and Other Security Risks
Apart from the vital piece of advice above it is of course equally important to have good virus protection and a firewall - not only that, automate its updating - once again no good unless you keep it up to date, and in the case of anti-virus software, that means practically every day! If you only have one computer this does not have to be a costly business, but grows a bit more complicated if you have several computers and are networking. Your IT chap will, I am sure, give you good advice. Many internet security packages contain integrated anti-virus, firewall and anti-spyware software, plus protection against phishing, and we suggest you use one of these packages. Particularly important is the need to use reputable software. Unfortunately there is a lot of spyware software available mimicking real anti-spyware software! Again, make sure that you obtain your software from a known reliable resource.
Phishing and identity theft is one of the big issues these days - as a rule, avoid clicking on links in emails from your bank. Instead go to your browser and enter the web address manually. It is all too easy for emails from your bank to be mimicked.
Hoaxes are another major issue. There are numerous hoax emails circulating that inform you that if you do not delete this or that file, or download this or that software, your computer will lose all it's data. Be careful regarding these emails. There is often information about such hoaxes on the websites of large internet security companies such as Kapersky, ESET, Symantec and McAfee.
There are many well-known integrated internet security packages, suitable for a home office. You may need to browse around their websites to find the package which is most suitable for your size of business. We would not advise which particular internet security you should deploy. We can only cite an example such as NOD32 from Eset (the version here is a 4 user version for small businesses).