The Datamax Thinking Blog

Whether it’s diminishing quality, limited functionalities, or the simple inability to find the right parts, there are certain signs that the office copier needs to be replaced.

Suffice it to say, your employees and your office copier develop a unique, oft-love-hate relationship over time.

From that glimmering first impression as the new device rolls into the office for the first time, to the frustrations with the inevitable paper jams, the employee and the device spend a lot of time together day in and out at the office, developing genuine familiarity. As a core hub for workflow functions, the copier is the consummate multi-tasker by printing, copying, scanning, faxing, and finishing to help move tasks forward in a routine manner.

Essentially, Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income.

As organizations continue to wrestle with workflow challenges and seek ways to expedite routine business processes through technology, Section 179 presents a unique procurement opportunity.

Essentially, Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income.

It’s the end of the year. Businesses are busily reviewing their bottom line and – perhaps – scanning every corner of their organization for any sort of competitive boost as 2020 looms around the corner.

Small business owners or managers may not be aware of an incentive that could forge a huge technology and productivity boost in their immediate future: Section 179 Deduction of the IRS Tax Code.

Just as Sabermetrics is utilized by baseball front offices to gain a competitive advantage, explore just how metric-driven Datamax is; and how we showcase our service responsiveness and strength by constantly measuring powerful metrics.

America’s national pastime today is a game more and more driven by analytics.

Sabermetrics is described as the empirical analysis of baseball through statistics, used to predict the performance of players. Simple box-score elements like hits, runs and errors have given way to stats like WAR (wins above replacement), BABIP (batting average on balls in play), ISO (isolated power) and DIPS (defense-independent pitching statistics). In today’s “scouts” vs. “stats” era, these exhaustive numbers go beyond what a scout’s gut may say, to actually predicting level of success.

Is your potential copier provider capable of going deeper with relevant questions? Will their level of service handle the technology burden for you, and enable you to focus on your forte?

Martial Arts expert and movie star Bruce Lee is an unequivocal legend for his physical feats on the big screen. But he also possessed a few philosophical nuggets that packed a real punch.

One example from the former philosophy major turned Hollywood icon? “A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”

The top 10 questions a sales rep should ask you before they EVER give you a price – or recommendation.

There is nothing more unsatisfying than a salesperson who cannot give you a price when you ask them how much something is going to cost. Their reluctance may even cause you to doubt them. Believe me when I say it, they are actually doing you a favor.

Sure, any salesperson can throw out a number just to make you happy, but in the long run, the true cost of office equipment depends on many things. Sure, you can:

You have a lot of options on the market when you make a technology purchase. The best solution for your business isn't determined solely by the price, the feature set, or how fast the vendor gets it to your doorstep.

Every year, I learn more about copiers, document management, workflow, and, increasingly, managed IT topics.

I do my best to pass on what I learn to you.

Here are the 11 most popular posts in 2017. They cover a range of topics:

• Why you should update old equipment (while I didn’t get into it, this goes for most office technology – not just your copiers!)
• HIPAA compliance issues
• The value of PDF and automated Bates Stamping for law firms
• And some thoughts on costs

Read on for insights into those topics – and more – to get yourself ready for 2018! 

While it’s annoying to hear “it depends” when you ask us how much a copier is, it’s also the truth. Here’s why.

One of the most common questions (if not THE most common question) every copier dealership is asked is some variation of “How much is a copy machine going to cost me?”

Our sales team is asked that all the time.

The answer is (really!): it depends.

I’ll explain why.

Your 15 year old copier still works. Great. Is that costing your office productivity benefits that newer equipment could deliver?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In many cases, that's not a bad rule to follow.

On the other hand, the copiers, printers, and other office equipment you use now might not be broken (they still work), but could do with some fixing anyway.

Winning copier service doesn't just happen. You have to practice and train for it. That's what we do.

Every vendor promises speedy and reliable service, but until you have a problem with your office equipment, you really can’t be sure. Sadly for their customers, many of our competitors are also unsure - sending rookie technicians out in the field with little or no training at all. Or, maybe they’ve had training, but it’s basic training, at best, inside their dealer’s four walls.

This kind of approach is like putting in a quarterback who can’t throw the distance, let alone a spiral. You just can’t win with this scenario.

Not at Datamax - we believe in training all of our employees to help our customers WIN. We get you back in the game as soon as humanly possibly with services delivery approach hyper-focused on response, resolution, and first call completion.