Posted by Sharon Taylor on 8/30/07 7:53pm
Msg #208778

Newbies - consider "hidden" expenses when setting fees!

Consider the "hidden" expenses of doing business as well as the more obvious ones. Here's a couple of examples. So far this year my car needed two new tires on the back and I've had to replace tires a couple of times as well because they got nails in them or gouges from driving on rough country roads and backcountry goat-track driveways. Tires are not cheap! The more you drive, the more chance you'll have parts wear out, break down, need maintenance. What is a major part of our service - driving lots of miles to and from the borrowers.
Second "hidden" expense. Oh, you can't imagine what we've had so far this month for computer problems. First the motherboard on our eMachine (the main computer) went out. Bought a new motherboard and processor for $150 from Tiger Direct. Just got that going, and the motherboard on the second computer (a Compaq Presario 6000) went out. Can't get a replacement at a reasonable cost, so we just paid $225 for a used eMachine. The modem from our provider (the local phone company) got fried in a thunder-and-lightning storm the other night. Two days of fussing with tech support, and finally they come out and replace it. Do you all remember the days of downloading huge email attachments by dial-up? Big shudder!
And our HP 7310 all-in-one apparently also got fried in the same storm when the surge came down the fax line as it keeps saying there is a paper jam when there isn't.
Yes, we keep all of our equipment on high joules Belkin surge protectors. But not the phone lines. (Can I swear here????)
So a big overhead expense consideration in setting fees is that your equipment is absolutely essential to this work, and not only does it need upgrading from time to time, but the unexpected can and does happen....suddenly, with attendant heavy expense, and needing to be taken care of immediately or you'll be out of business.
Speaking of upgrading, the laptop I'm using is new, has Vista Ultimate on it, and of course the Microsoft Office Professional 2003 I use on our desktop computers won't work with Vista. At the moment I have the free software OpenOffice.org installed, but eventually I'll have to decide whether to (a) keep the laptop on Vista and the desktop computers on XP, buy MS Office 2007 at around $150+ and put up with the hassle of having to save do*****ents in both MS Office 2007 format AND MS Office 2003 so they can be read and used on both laptop and desktops, or (b) wipe the Vista off the laptop and buy XP (at around $150) to put on it so all 3 machines are on the same operating system and can use Office 2003, or (c) buy Vista for the two desktop machines along with a 3-user license edition of MS Office 2007 for all three machines - way expensive.
I'm not raising my rates because of these unexpected expenses. I've already considered this type of issue when setting my fair and reasonable rates in the first place.
Oh, and if anyone has a good AM37 motherboard and processor for a Compaq Presario 6000, I'm in the market.

Reply by Philip Johnson on 8/30/07 8:14pm
Msg #208783

I just bought a new E-machine t5088 for 225.00 after rebates

it came with a canon printer that I sold on Craigs for $60.00, total cost $165.00. One can do this business quite reasonably, if you purchase what you need and not get caught up in the "newest,bestest now" theory. I saw someone earlier wondering about E-notarizations and what they needed, in my opinion they need to slow down and not get caught up in the theory listed above.
Have you talked to your power company about a whole house protector? I have one and it protects everything in the house and also comes with a pretty good guarantee on all your appliances. As for your car, buying tires, changing oil, etc is just part of this and that is why you get to choose on your taxes, mileage or actual costs. Every business has costs and hopefully everyone in our business understands the costs and factors that in.

Reply by Sharon Taylor on 8/30/07 8:19pm
Msg #208785

Whole house protector? Thanks for info

I'll ask our electric company about it and how much it costs. I hadn't heard of that before.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/30/07 8:22pm
Msg #208786

Re: Whole house protector? Thanks for info

I never heard of that either and that's great info - we had a DirecTV box fried during a storm - think I'll look into it too..

On second thought - that's hubby's assignment..<G>

Reply by Sharon Taylor on 8/30/07 8:31pm
Msg #208789

Yea, should have bought new but didn't want Vista either

I was hoping to just fix the Compaq but finding a reasonable-cost motherboard and processor will take time.
It was going to take time to shop around for a new system, and I grabbed the used eMachine so that I could just move the two hard drives out of my Compaq into the new case, keeping the data intact. The used one has XP and Office 2003 on it, which I prefer, instead of the new Vista that is the only choice on an off-the-shelf new machine unless you do a custom order from someplace like Dell.
Normally I'm a very savvy shopper, but the computer problems have been exhausting, and when my computer repair guy offered me the eMachine, I knew he'd been through it and vetted it, so I just bit the bullet and paid the money.
Now my new laptop is a different story. I bought it from Staples with 16 different anti-virus type softwares that all have lots of rebates. The laptop came with an Epson printer (free after Staples Easy Rebate), which I'll fleabay, and the 16 softwares come with 55 rebates (multiple rebates on each software) which will ultimately pay for all the software, AND the laptop, AND about $300 extra pure profit once they all arrive over the next couple of months. The rebates are timeconsuming, and you have to stay on top of them, but it's a great deal for anyone who is not rebate-phobic. LOL

Reply by Philip Johnson on 8/30/07 8:48pm
Msg #208794

This site gives you an idea what a protector looks like.

http://www.smarthome.com/4860.html

Reply by Templin on 8/30/07 9:20pm
Msg #208798

Re: I just bought a new E-machine t5088 for 225.00 after rebates

That would have been me wondering about enotarization and no I was not getting tired up in "newest, bestest now" theory. I just wanted the facts...

Reply by Philip Johnson on 8/30/07 9:29pm
Msg #208799

It sounds overly expensive to me and I'm not sure the

counties I service are that advanced. Good luck on whatever you decide.

Reply by Templin on 8/30/07 9:39pm
Msg #208801

Re: It sounds overly expensive to me and I'm not sure the

Honestly, what I have seen so far doesn't look overly expensive, $40 application fee, $25.00 ENS. The most expensive would be the digital pen signature pad if you went that direction, they were $100+. Other than that, there really is no other expense. Maybe an increase in E&O would be wise!!!