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Buying a PC - The Finances

By Lasa Information Systems Team

The technical aspects of buying a PC can take up a lot of mental energy, but how you pay for it is also worth considering, especially if you are buying lots of computers at once. This article describes some of the options.

How Much to Spend

It's hard to decide how much to spend when buying a PC. All PCs do the same thing in practically the same way, but spend more and you'll get more capacity and, more importantly, more speed. You will have to make a judgement on the level at which you want to buy, between the slower budget machines and the latest, fastest designs available at a premium price.

There is generally a 'sweet spot' in the market where you can get a modern office machine with good performance at a reasonable price, currently at about £550 plus VAT.  See the knowledgebase article Buying a Computer for an idea of what this will get you.

Leasing

Some voluntary organisations are attracted by the idea of leasing their computer equipment in order to spread the cost over a longer period, with regular payments to help budgeting. Leasing has some attraction in that it usually includes a maintenance contract and it does spread the cost. The downside is that the monthly payments will usually pay off the cost of the machine in the first two years, but you may have to return the PC or go on paying after the lease period ends.  Large PC vendors such as Dell may offer a hire purchase option which allows you to spread the costs out over a given period of time, and own the product at the end of the period.

Write Off the Cost

A very viable alternative for many organisations is to get your auditor to agree to write-off the cost of your capital equipment over three years. This spreads the outlay and means that you can budget to spend a third of the cost of a purchase in each year.