In Wednesday’s webinar we covered the somewhat boring but incredibly necessary task of documenting your computer hardware and software. These items are business assets just as surely as your desk, chair, and filing cabinets are. There are a number of good reasons for tracking these assets:

• Amortization: the process of taking a tax deduction over time for these purchased items. I’m not a tax preparer — you should consult yours to find out what you can deduct and how much based on the structure of your company.
• Data recovery: when disaster strikes, do you know where your installation disks are? More than that, do you know where your license keys are?

In the webinar I enumerated the items you should track for both hardware and software, and those who attended received a copy of my sample asset tracking sheets.

We also talked about “box” software and downloadable software. Downloaded software should be stored in a central “Downloads” directory somewhere on your hard drive so that you can return to it easily. You should also back up these program downloads to a CD for safekeeping. I also like to store in a Notepad file a copy of the license key so that if I have to quickly reinstall, I have everything at my fingertips.

When it comes to storing your “box” software, I suggested that you throw away the outer box (except the flap with the version number and barcode), and store the documentation with the discs in some kind of container. I have tried 4 or 5 different containers for my box software, but have settled on storing the software in a file cabinet. I use a plastic envelope with a “landscape” orientation, and a top flap with a Velcro closure.

I also use my Dymo labelmaker to print a nice label that I affix along the top edge of the envelope. That lets me find the folder and open it without removing it from the file cabinet.

I found these plastic envelopes at Jam Paper (http://www.jampaper.com). They’re not cheap, but they wear well, and they are by far the best solution I’ve found. I also use multimedia storage drawers for CDs that don’t have any other paperwork with them. These drawers I found at OfficeDepot.com, also not inexpensive, but very durable.

P.S: There will be no webinars on February 6th or the 13th due to prior commitments. I’ll see you again on Feb. 20th.

Webinar Date: January 30, 2008

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