Financing Your Office Furniture – Good Or Bad?
Well we all know that if you are running an office business that office furniture is one of the most important aspects of setting up a good working environment. Whether you are upgrading or completely moving to a new location. State of the art office furniture is a must.
If I was to walk into an office and somebody told me to take a seat while I waited and directed me to an old ripped sofa at the end of the room, I would not be very impressed. But if on the other hand the room was full of elegancy and luxury it would give me a great first impression and would defiantly have set me up on the good side of things rather than the bad.
Although buying this type of furniture may set you back slightly it is well worth it. If you cannot afford to buy the furniture outright there are many companies available that will be able to offer you some sort of finance deal depending on the quantity of products that you want. We all know that financing companies have there bad sides, so there are a few things that you should look out for when entering into an agreement. Firstly how much will your premium be, this indicates that if your furniture cost you 10 thousand for arguments sake, how much would you actually be paying back. More importantly how much are you willing to pay back?
Another important fact to take into account is whether or not your furniture finance will be based on the furniture itself. Meaning that if you cannot meet your monthly payments is the furniture secured or unsecured? In all honestly I do feel that getting finance can be a great idea, because although it is like renting out the items, you actually get to keep them after paying off your bill. This cannot be said for leasing, I feel leasing office furniture is quite a risky way to actually get hold of any sort of furniture because if you miss your payments you will end up having a practically empty office.
So to sum up I feel that getting finance to redecorate your office is a great idea, but take it at a pace that you know you can afford. There is nothing wrong with purchasing a few items here and there. Just do not be fooled to believe you can afford the world otherwise things may take a deep downfall.
Office Furniture For Comfort and Function
I have always considered comfort to be one of the most important aspects when choosing furniture. It doesn’t matter how expensive your desk is if you have a hard wood chair that leaves your back in knots at the end of the day. There is a lot to getting a good office space going. It doesn’t matter whether you are an individual or a businessperson planning a full office. You need to make good choices.
Let’s start with one of the earliest choices. You will need to have good computer desks if you want to have a productive office. That should really be fairly obvious. You can’t just randomly buy a desk either. You need to really look around and get a good desk. You need a desk that will work like you want it to work. This means that there is plenty of holes and spaces for the wires to run through. Then you need to ensure that there is enough additional space for their files and paperwork. Otherwise things will just get cluttered and confusing. Finally, ensure that there is plenty of room around the tower. It might seem logical at first to have the tower be a tight fit in the desk. This will severely limit the air flow though and could cause key components to burn out.
Once the desk is picked, you will need to have good office chairs selected. This is a little more difficult in an office setting since space will likely be an issue. You will probably have to stop short of providing them all with the top of the line chair and give them a practical one that matches the setup. This doesn’t mean that they have to be uncomfortable though. It is perfectly possible to shoot the margin and get a nice, practical chair that they can sit in without any pain or discomfort.
There is one more style choice that could be made. This is if you want to have a really nice break room with recliners. Recliners are just amazing. It is a huge, luxurious chair that offers just about everything that you could want. It’s the ultimate in comfort and your employees will love you if you put one in. Unfortunately, few offices can have the room or ability to put in such a luxury. The home office isn’t limited as such though and it is perfectly possible for you to have a comfy recliner right out the door to your office so that you can make your breaks just that much better. If you want a good recliner though, make sure you put some money into one that will last. You don’t want the reclining mechanism to fail in a year.
Modular Office Furniture – Versatile For Your Workplace or Home Office
Freestanding modular office furniture (also referred to as contemporary office furniture) is different from workstation or cubicle furniture. The difference is that freestanding furniture is not panel-mounted (attached to panels). However, this type of freestanding furniture can be used in a “bullpen” situation, which is a workspace for several people surrounded by panels for privacy.
New office furniture can be a major purchase for your company, and you should consider all options before making a final decision.
Some of the advantages of modular office furniture are:
Cost Savings – The obvious savings is in the cost of the panels. However, there will also be a substantial savings on installation charges.
Easily Moved/Reconfigured – If you have a maintenance staff, they can handle moving modular office furniture around as little, if any, knockdown and reassembly is required. Think about this when you are in the early decision-making stages.
Additional Pieces – If you think you may want to add additional furniture or accessory pieces, find out what pieces can be ordered later. Ask if there is any chance of that particular furniture line being discontinued.
Many Choices – There are so many options available in style, materials, finishes, etc. Every major furniture manufacturer has their own version of modular office furniture. If you are shopping for a few pieces and know what you want, you can shop at your local office supply store or catalog. However, if you are considering a major purchase I suggest that you go directly to your local office furniture dealership. If you are using an architectural or design firm, they can make suggestions also.
Flexibility – Since flexibility is usually a consideration when using modular furniture, you may want to consider incorporating some mobile furniture pieces into your configuration.
This type of office furniture encourages team work and is particularly effective when staff shares equipment, files, or other office essentials.
Making Smart Home Office Furniture Choices
Choosing the right computer desk for use in your home office is a more important decision than a lot of folks who work from home realize. This is especially true for those of us who run online businesses from home. Why? Because we tend to spend more hours at our desks than those who are self-employed in offline ventures. Any business person who relies heavily on computers should pick a desk (and desk chair) carefully.
You might be asking, ‘what’s the big fuss? It’s just a desk.’ The fuss is your bottom line! Several studies in recent years have proven conclusively that the furniture we use in office settings (desks, chairs, etc.) has a direct impact on work productivity. And that has a huge effect on your earnings!
Ergonomics is one part of the equation. What is ergonomics? The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines it as: “the applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.” The idea is to choose office furniture that allows your body to be in the proper positions as you perform your duties. This reduces negative physical effects, such as sitting without the proper back and leg support, typing in an awkward position because your desk is not at the correct distance or height, and other considerations.
Beyond merely being annoying, an uncomfortable desk and desk chair combination might just be causing you to get less work done. After all, who wants to work in such an environment? Even when you know the work needs doing, most people find convenient excuses to do other things when their bodies are being stressed by poorly designed furniture. The end result of all of this is, of course, low productivity.
The other major factor involving your choice of a computer desk and your work productivity is organization. Now, I’m not exactly the world’s most organized person in my home office, but one thing I’ve learned is that a bad desk choice makes it a lot harder to stay organized.
There’s more to this decision than you might think. Probably the biggest consideration is surface area. Smaller desktops are usually a ‘no-no,’ because they either tempt you to pile up important papers in an unorganized fashion, or to put them somewhere out of the way (and thus, easily forgotten). Unless you are severely limited in terms of office space, investing in a desk with a large desktop will pay for itself many times over in the ensuing years.
There’s another good reason to go with a larger desk: your computer. Small office desks just don’t give ample room for the monitor, keyboard, mousepad, etc. Add a printer, a fax machine, and a phone, and you’ll find that there isn’t room for anything else. That just isn’t practical. Skip the small desks that look nice and match your other furniture. Go with a larger one, even if it isn’t as visually appealing. Your home office, while it is in your home and you want it to look nice, is ultimately about you making money.
If you look hard enough, you can find a computer desk that fits both criteria: ergonomically designed and large enough to help you organize the important stuff. At the end of the day, you want your furniture to be an ally in your home office, not the enemy. Pick pieces that help you work more comfortably. That will put more money in your bank account.
