Business and Legal Information for Computer Repair Businesses
Business and Legal Information for Computer Repair Businesses
Welcome to Call That Girl’s Guide to starting a computer repair and support business blog series. If you found a blog out of order, you can start with the first blog by clicking here How to start a computer repair business. Each blog will lead you to the next one until you reach the final blog.
In this series I will give tips, examples and information about how to start a computer repair business that I learned on my own initially and then later on through the help of online technical resources & friends.
I will also offer advice on what type of computer repair business to start, business and legal information, remote support, products and services you can sell, tools your computer repair business might need, a guide to pricing, a list of resources, and marketing advice.
If you are out starting a new computer repair business, you might have questions such as…How much will this cost? How fast will I recoup my investment? Will I get enough clients to make it worth it? How long will this take!?!?
Welcome to the world of “Who the heck knows?!” Our industry has no real metrics on this and it’s a crap shoot. Are you ready to go gambling? Because you are going to be doing a bit of gambling… and those of us that are still in the business are the real hustlers. Well not really I just like saying that and thinking I beat the dealer. I have made it and it took a lot of hours of sitting at the table to figure out how to beat the house.
So you’re ready to gamble? or play at least? I have some advice for you about business and legal for the computer repair industry. Remember, if you have other questions, these might be covered in Matt Rodela’s eBook How to Quit Your Job and Start a Computer
- SCORE https://www.score.org/
- Before you do any of the below, you should really start by working with your local SCORE office. These folks are all retired executives who have the experience to help you and guide you for free. They may have the answers you need about bookkeeping and the legal considerations, saving you time and money. If you work with them, they might also have local recommendations for you or have great contacts. If you want to print out this list and take it to your first appointment to ensure you covered the basics, they will appreciate it. They might also have information that I do not cover here.
- Do you need a budget?
- You might. Depending on how you want to service your clients. If you dream of having a store, then for sure you will need a budget and maybe financing. There is a lot that can go on with leasing a store front. Not only will you need to negotiate a lease, but you will need insurance and signage, etc. If you want an office, then you will need to have the down payment for the lease deposit, first & last months rent and maybe even utilities. I love the “All inclusive” offices! The ones that pay for everything. If you plan on being mobile, then your budget might include a good vehicle and your toolkits. Remote support, just a house office or rented office and your remote support tools. Remote and mobile are probably the cheapest way to get started.
- Do you need a lawyer?
- Maybe not on day one. I was recommended to get a lawyer after my second year because I needed to LLC my company because of growth. Basically to start a businesses is not a legal issue, just follow the guidelines of your city and state and you are fine (from what I know, you can always call your city and state and ask them!)
- Do you need a bookkeeper?
- Again, maybe not on day one. I recommend that you keep all of your receipts and at least keep a spreadsheet for your sales. If you are a QuickBooks person and know how to do it all yourself, great! If not…I don’t think a bookkeeper is necessary for you to start out. You will need records of everything you take in, spend and all of that for taxes.
- Do you need to be licensed in your city? State/Fed?
- Another good question! Since I don’t know where you live, I recommend you call your city office or state offices and find out what is required by law for you to officially run your company.
- Taxes!
- You might want to consider spending an hour with a tax accountant or bookkeeper to discuss how you should file your taxes. You might have to pay in quarterly self employment tax or just year end, depending on your situation. If you sell parts, you will have sales tax to deal with. This consulting may include recommending if you stay sole proprietor or to move to LLC or C/S Corp. TIP: Only do what you need to do, many entrepreneurs get into the hype of needing to be C/S Corp to feel “official” and “big” and until you need it, don’t do it. You can always go up in the world of taxes (my opinion, but talk to your tax accountant!)
- Insurance
- You will need to contact a local insurance firm to find out what insurance you should carry. Every city and state carries different requirements for your services and locations. SCORE will also have some information for you about this.
To read the next blog, click here –> Products and Services Your Computer Repair Business Can Sell
Call That Girl’s eBooks and Training Videos
Welcome to my eBooks and Videos sales page. Below you will find everything I sell and support as well as some free information at the bottom.
Lisa’s eBooks, all 5 eBooks $39
The Remote Support Guide (Best seller!)
- A step by step guide to setting up your business to have a successful remote support business
- Tips and information on how to service your clients remotely
- How to increase your daily sales with new services, prepay tickets and daily monitoring plans
- Includes templates for email booking appointments, client & project agreement forms, terms and conditions, small business proposal, pricing guidelines and scheduling appointment forms.
The Manual of Operations
- This is an old document but many still like using it for a template
- 40 page Word document
- Delivered as a Microsoft Word Template, easy for “cut and pasting” your business name into the document
- Standard operating procedures
- Employee conditions for employment
- Job descriptions
- Human Resources policies
- Much more…
The Social Media Guide
- 29 page workbook style (outdated but have valuable info!)
- Great tips and tricks that I learned the hard way
- Easy to understand steps on how to push out social media messages
- Newsletters, blogging and WordPress information
- Toolkit information you will need and other things you will need to use social media
- A social media to do list
- How to do a social media blast
The Guide to Microsoft Exchange Migrations
- 22 page PDF
- Step by step instructions on how to do a migration without tools with screenshots
- Learning how to back up current mailboxes, calendars and contacts
- Learn how to update the DNS for migration
- Importing mail/calendars and contacts into new server
- Aftercare lists
- How to sell administrative support tickets
How to Start a Computer Repair Business
- Get all the free blogs in a 48 page PDF
- Conversational Style Guide
$199
Created just for technicians! Outlook is a program that contains a lot of data, lots of moving parts and offers 100’s of features which are all guaranteed to break at some point. As well, it’s the program most used with the Office 365 Business Plans. These videos will train you how to properly prepare, repair and learn Outlook in a 360 view.
What you get with your purchase
- 7 videos
- 4 hours of intense training ~each made in short videos so you can stop & practice
- Access to Lisa’s private Facebook group
SEO/Google Ranking Services
Get found today! So many technician friends I know have great websites up, but not many have good SEO to help them get found. My services help you get found by creating content in your website using your location and your services. I have a starter set for $450 and buy as you like “next level” for $175. No contracts, no monthly fees, just buy as you want.
Click here to learn more and get found on the internet! If you can’t be found, you can’t be called right?
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Need to Hire Me? Below is a list of tech to tech services I provide. Contact me below.
- Outlook Expert
- Exchange Migration Coaching
- Exchange Migration Management
- Client Outlook Training
- OST recovery
- Email investigation
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Category: How to Start a Computer Repair Business
About the Author (Author Profile)
Lisa Hendrickson is the owner of Call That Girl. She is an Outlook Expert and Microsoft 365 Consultant.Subscribe
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