3. Hardware

Your Office Hardware Can Make or Break Your Day!

As all else in your practice, you need reliable technology to minimize interruptions and stress.  As we all have learned at one point our lives, technology sense fear and will let you down when you need it the most.  Therefore, building is some redundancies can be of huge help.  While it may sound like a high cost to buy additional printer or laptop, this is a one-time expense.   

I also have a small, inexpensive back up laptop that I can use (because my entire practice is cloud based, I can access all documents and practice management resources from any computer 

Options I Tried and Liked

• Computer:
  • I currently have two laptops – my primary one is Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 ($979), which is a bit costly. My secondary one is Acer Aspire laptop ($359); works great as well and is much cheaper.
  • Again, my recommendation is to have a backup option for your computer; the last thing you want is to be without your computer at a time when you need it the most!
  • As you can see, the prices vary greatly, anywhere from $200 to $2000.
• Monitor:
  • You might not need to get an external monitor, but I highly recommend it. Very helpful when drafting documents!
  • There are some inexpensive options available for around $100. You can get a couple of these and set them up side by side. 
  • Alternatively, you can get an ultrawide option, like LG 34WK650-W 34″ UltraWide Monitor. That’s what I have and love it!  
• Printer:
  • I strongly recommend getting two printers, to have one as a backup when your primary one stops working for no apparent reason (believe me, it’s going to happen!)
  • Decent options start as low as $60.
  • Personally, I use laser printers, but jet printers are fine too. They typically have a slower output speed, but other than that, they work just fine.
  • I currently have the following Brother HL-L2300D as my primary printer and Brother HL-L2350DW as my backup
• Scanner:
  • I recommend that you DO NOT use the all in one scanner/printer.  The cost is typically not significantly lower, while quality of scans will be poor or at best inconsistent. Instead, I recommend investing into a professional grade scanner.
  • I currently use ScanSnap and have been really impressed with it ($400)