Not every small business has an in-house IT whizz to solve every problem that pops up during the day. But you don’t need to be a tech superstar to get the basics right, writes Theory of Invention managing director and Sunrise tech correspondent Valens Quinn.

As a small business owner, you’re wearing many hats each day. While you might be focused on money in the bank, staffing, customer service and other parts of your daily operations, sometimes you find yourself having to step in and put on the ‘IT hero’ hat too.

So, to help you feel more comfortable when those IT issues do arise, I’ve collected a few tips and tricks to get you started – minimal technical expertise required!

1. Don’t cut corners with equipment and tools

First, don’t cut corners with your equipment. Pick from well-known brands that people are familiar with. While it can be tempting to choose lesser-known products that are cheaper, you may be losing out in terms of support. Bigger brands tend to have extensive online documentation, FAQs and videos to help you out (Dell Technologies’ Small Business Solutions hub, for example). Also, your staff may already be familiar with popular products, meaning less training. For example, your team will likely already know how to use Microsoft Office 365 but may not be proficient with something that’s less widely used.

And to reduce the complexity of your systems, try to use cloud-based software and tools. This means that instead of installing and running software on your computers, you can access them from a web browser instead. This moves the responsibility of installing and updating software on multiple machines off your shoulders, and puts it on your cloud service provider. They’ll also manage important things like security updates and new features. There’s a huge choice of cloud software for any business to choose from including accounting suites, word processors and spreadsheets, design apps, HR, collaboration tools and much more.

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2. Keep records of your basic systems

Next up – documentation, documentation, documentation! Make sure to keep written records with plenty of detail about the systems you have, and how they are configured to support your business’s critical processes. This could be anything from your Wi-Fi settings to how your printers are connected.

Just imagine the impact on a day’s productivity if your office couldn’t connect to the internet and there was no record of where to access your router’s administration console. It’s best to record this information right up front when your systems are first set up.

3. Try a password manager

While you may hold all the keys to the castle, a password manager is a secure place to store and manage them. Plus, you can set up team user accounts to safely share some of your passwords, while keeping the more critical ones secret. This is much better than relying on an Excel spreadsheet to store all of your IT system’s passwords.

A password manager is especially useful when people leave the business, as you can simply remove their account. Bitwarden offers a free tier if you want to try one out, or otherwise, 1Password is a great multi-platform paid option.

4. Plan for problems so you’re always ahead

Don’t forget to build in some redundancies with other people in your business so you’re not sole person who knows about your systems, software and network. Consider adding some IT training in your team’s development plans too.

As problems will inevitably crop up, proactivity is the key to maintaining security, reliability, and performance. Have readily available step-by-step plans for restoring your equipment and software should they go down, and share these with your team.

Put in place a security policy too so everyone knows how to treat private information and passwords. Also, set forward plans for hardware and software updates instead of ad-hoc replacements when something fails. For example, you could set aside an IT budget every two years for computer replacements and equipment upgrades.

5. Know where to go for instant help

Finally, choose a trusted partner with support available. Dell has plenty of online manuals, downloads and videos in its self-service portal, but you can also call or chat online with a Dell Technologies Trusted Advisor. They’ll provide dedicated support for your small business can help guide you on your unique business IT needs.

So, while it may seem intimidating, tackling your business’s technology need not be. By following some proactive tips, including starting with well-known and dependable partners, keeping track of important IT information, and even sharing some of the load with your team, you’ll be back to leaping buildings in a single bound in no time.

For more resources and tips, head to dell.com.au/SmallBiz.

This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Dell.

Feature image: Dell Technologies