Save with reused IT

Jeremy Tauri.

Shiny and new is always tempting, but give ex-lease and second-hand computer gear a chance.

It's cost-effective, good for the environment and you'll still have enough power to run your business apps.

That's the message I got from a friend in the IT hardware industry who called to say hello.

I know a little bit about tech, having built a couple of PCs in my time - however the novelty quickly wore off when the costs to custom build became greater than buying one ready to go.

To make savings on new compared to ex-lease, you really have to watch out for deals.

And you have to have the time, patience and skill, even if you're a PC nerd hobbyist like myself, to get the thing to work properly.

For about $500 you can get some pretty good spec PCs these days - ex-lease, less than a couple years old and good enough to run business apps, some even with warranties from three to 12 months.

Most suppliers offer upgrades depending on your needs.

That's a pretty cheap resource considering brand new they can cost three times that, but you'll get a full tax deduction for the item if it's for your business and under $500.

It's a small investment and useful if you want to familiarise yourself with cloud-based applications such as Xero or MYOB.

Cloud-based business applications don't need hard drive space or even super high specs to run, just a decent internet connection.

This is because the software provider provides the infrastructure to do most of the processing work.

The environment will thank you for reusing preloved IT gear.

It's estimated e-waste is only 2 per cent of our total waste and we recycle about 20 per cent of e-waste.

However, this 80,000 tonnes a year is 70 per cent of the toxic waste found in landfills, so any attempt to reduce what we throw away is worth pursuing.

- Jeremy Tauri is an associate at Plus Chartered Accountants.