5/28/2020 WORK FROM HOME TOOLS.First of all you should know that everyone will need their own customized solution, but there are two things to think about. First, will you be working at home for two weeks or four months or possibly forever? I share the view that Covid-19 could cause a permanent shift towards home working.
Second, who is paying for homeworking equipment and services: you or your employer?If you’ll only be working at home for a short time, you can probably get away with not buying much new equipment or signing up to remote working services. If you’re in for the long haul, try to match or preferably beat the equipment you would normally use in the office.If you are paying for your own kit, you may want to take an economical approach. But if the company is insisting that you work from home, ask for ergonomic equipment. This often costs more, but is worth it in the long run. With that said here are the tools you will need to work from home. 1.DESKTOP. While there are a few little money-makers that you can do with just a smartphone, you will need a desktop or laptop if you want to make enough money to pay the bills.While you may be able to get started with the computer you have, there will be some jobs that require a certain amount of memory, disk space or screen size.If you are starting from scratch, choose a computer with at least 2 GHz processor, 4-8 GB RAM and a minimum resolution of 1024×768. Most companies also require a Windows operating system and a computer less than 3 years old. If you hope to work with a certain company or two, check their tech requirements before ordering. 2.INTERNET SERVICE. While WiFi will get you by in some cases, hard-wired (ethernet) internet is a good idea. This will help ensure your download and upload capabilities are stable and fast enough for those jobs that require transferring files. It’s also more secure. And, once again, customer service companies will require hard-wired, digital internet . 3.PRINTER/SCANNER. You may be able to make do with using a printer/scanner at your local library or office store, but it can get expensive and inconvenient over time. And chances are you will have quite a bit of printing and scanning to do when you are first starting out with all of that new hire paperwork that needs to be done. 4.A WAY TO TRACK YOUR INCOME. Many companies will hire you as an independent contractor as opposed to an employee. That means you will be responsible for paying in those pesky taxes. Therefore, it’s imperative that you keep good books! Even more so if you will be holding down several gigs over the course of a tax year.This is an area in which you can start with what you have. Many people are perfectly happy using just an Excel or Sheets (Google products are free) spreadsheet.If you would like something a little more robust, I recommend QuickBooks Self-Employed. This online software comes with a smartphone app. It can pull in transactions from your bank or PayPal account saving you time. You can save your receipts in the cloud. It can also estimate those quarterly taxes you owe. 5.ORGANIZATION SYSTEM. It’s so imperative that you find a calendar and organization system that works for you. You are likely going to have deadlines to meet or shifts you need to work. There is a long line of people waiting to replace you, so you don’t want to be late!Choose whatever system you will stick with. For some, that’s Google Calendar. For others, paper planners are the way to go. 6.ERGONOMIC CHAIR. I have tried working from my couch. It kills my back. I highly recommend getting a good chair. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just ergonomic. 7.HEADSET. You will come across two headsets requirements for remote customer service positions, so you will need to pay attention to the job description. Luckily, both of them are very small investments.The two types of headsets are; USB headset and A call center headset. 8.A DEDICATED PHONE LINE. Unless the company will be routing calls through your phone, a landline phone will be required. It’s commonly referred to as a POTS line – plain, old telephone service – with no call waiting or other features. Comments are closed.
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