Keep Your PC In Tip Top Shape For Years!
Last month I wrote about Spring cleaning for your PC. Since computers are something most people ‘set up and forget’, I figured I’d continue giving you tips on some more of what I consider the basics.
This is very important for restaurant owners and other retail business owners out there. whether you are using the latest restaurant POS equipment or not, computer problems can greatly affect your business’ performance. By following these few simple tips, you’ll be able to keep your business running perfectly all the time.
1. Computers Needs Maintenance. As you change the oil of your car, your computer also needs regular maintenance to keep it up and running in top form and extend the usable life. Tools like disk cleanup, defragmentation, and updating your virus protection files are vital to keep your machine running at its’ best and to avoid small problems before they become huge.
2. An Anti-virus Software is A Must. As what I’ve been mentioning on my past articles, an antivirus software is a very important piece of software you must have. By now you should probably be aware of the attacks coming from the internet and sneaky virus-infected emails. An anti-virus software will warn you first before you open or run an infected file. One key point to remember is anti-virus software will not repair damage a virus has already done. The anti-virus software requires updates and you can do this once or twice a month so it is “up-to-date” to search for lurking viruses that threaten your system.
3. Never Forget To Backup! Creating a backup keeps you from loosing any important office data that you may need in the future. CDs and DVDs, memory sticks and external USB hard drives are are all good medias to use for backing up your data. And once your backup plan is ready, use it regularly!
Your computer will die someday. I don’t want to disappoint you, but it doesn’t really matter how new or old your computer is, it will eventually retire one day. Your computer is a machine that’s expert in calculating, storing and processing data. But sadly, no machine in the world lasts a lifetime.
Files your computer holds can be priceless to replace. Think of all those financial data, addresses in your email address book, pictures, recipes, and so on. There will come a day you’ll open your computer wait for it to load and get disappointed because it has already retired! At that moment you’ll begin to realize how important it is to have a BACKUP. What are you going to do to backup all of your computer data? Surprising, most people don’t even have a backup plan. You will never realize just how much you have until you loose it! So if you don’t have a backup yet, better start planning on it.
In the retail industry, like in restaraunts and fast food chains, having a backup is gravely important. Why? Because there are so many data that needs to be kept for future references, just like your employee and customer information, products and services data of the retail establishment, and so on. To be able to effectively track down sales and inventories, a reliable restaurant POS system must be used. One good way to protect your POS systems is to maintain it in good condition.
4. Letting An Expert Do The Job. If your computer needs service, seek out a trained, qualified technician. Your friends’ son may mean well when he offers to “fix” your problems, but many times the problems even worsen. This can cost you time and money in the end. Remember, your computer system is the ‘center’ of your business. Trained, qualified technician’s are experts in their field and will have the necessary skills and resources to properly fix your problems in no time and in a low-cost way.
The author of this article is the VP of Customer Relations at POS-for-Restaurants.com. With over 20 years of restaurant experience, POS-for-Restaurants.com helps you use your technology to be more efficient and more profitable.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Great advice. I dont know how many times I have to tell people the very same things. Glad I’m not the only one.