s you begin the new year or get ready to start a new business, office setup is paramount. Getting your gear wired and ready to go will enhance efficiency dramatically. Delays in setting up e-mail or phone providers, for example, can cause days of lost productivity.

Over the last two years, we have made recommendations on setting up much of the basic technology your business will need. We have compiled our recommendations into two checklists - office technology and company security - to help make sure you have all the bases covered going into the new year.

Office technology

Here are seven tips for addressing your office technology needs.

1. Register a domain. After you select a business name, secure a comparable Internet domain name. Not only is a domain an ideal location for your company Web site, it enables you to create a professional e-mail address. Addresses such as yourname@yahoo.com or yourname@gmail.com are for dabblers, not stakeholders.

We use the Web hosting services of 1&1 Internet Inc. (www.1and1.com) because it has good prices (one domain costs $5.99 per year), and it has a good management interface.

2. Invest in reliable computers. Ultimately, you want computers that will give you a certain level of comfort while meeting your needs.

Rather than buying based on looks and price, we recommend cataloguing your needs to find the best solution. Support duration (we recommend three years) and turnaround (next-day on-site) equate to real money when we're talking about business machines.

Think a few years ahead to make sure you are covering both your long-term and most immediate needs. Then hit the stores to compare look and feel as well as features of a number of alternatives.

We've stayed with Dell Inc., HP and Lenovo Group Ltd. computers and had reasonably good experiences. (Lenovo acquired IBM's PC division in 2005.)

3. Use a reliable e-mail service. Don't settle for the $3-per-month option simply because it's cheap. Get something with easy access and management ability, as well as solid virus and spam protection.

Hosted Microsoft Exchange solutions are very scalable (from one to 50 employees) and provide multiple means of accessing your e-mail, including Outlook, Outlook Web Access, Outlook Mobile Access, BlackBerry Enterprise Server and GoodLink (for Palm Treo users).

Many providers, such as 1&1 and AppRiver ( www.appriver.com), provide hosted solutions with spam filtering. When it makes sense, you can move to your own Microsoft Small Business Server or Microsoft Exchange Server.

4. Buy high-quality phone equipment. It is highly likely that your office staff will be doing extensive phone calling. Make sure you are using the most affordable and dependable phone company.

We found the voice over Internet protocol to be the most cost effective and flexible for our needs. We use VoIP Packet8. However, BroadVoice, AT&T CallVantage and Speakeasy are great solutions as well.

5. Keep your office mobile. Customers are your priority. Being able to resolve their issues when you are away from your office is important.

Look into personal digital assistant devices that receive e-mail (the BlackBerry, Palm Treo or Pocket PC, for example); laptops with Internet cards or a remote desktop setup; voicemail forwarding; and Web-based tools you can access from anywhere.

If you use all these tools, you will be able to work anywhere at any time. However, this requires a juggling act to avoid working everywhere, all the time.

6. Buy Microsoft Office. At a minimum, make sure you have a license for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. If you want a cheaper solution and can make a few accommodations, Open Office ( www.openoffice.org) provides a viable solution.

But try it before you switch over everyone in your office. From time to time, you'll have compatibility issues, but overall you should be fine.

7. Consider a lead and customer management solution. When you grow past two or three reps, you'll want to start leveraging customer relationship management systems to keep track of your customers and the piles of details, support requests and lead files that you'll have. There are several that do an outstanding job. Nubrek's system, eISO, is industry-specific.

Company security

Following are four actions you can take to beef up your company's security.

1. Put a firewall between you and the Internet. Most of us already have one in our office. Even a simple Linksys router is adequate ( www.linksys.com).

When you're on the road, your laptop needs to be protected, too. If you use Microsoft Windows, you can turn on your laptop's firewall by using the network-connection settings accessed through its control panel. Using a firewall will provide you worry-free access to the Internet and enable you to exchange data with other people while blocking access to outsiders.

A secure network will help you ensure your data and resources are safe, extending your confidence.

As the merchant services industry increasingly enjoys the competitive advantages of the Internet, you'll be able to provide additional value by advising your clients on their technology solutions for terminals and workstations.

2. Upgrade your paper shredder. We shred any documents containing information a mal-intentioned person could use to harm our company.

We suggest you splurge a little and purchase a crosscut shredder for added security. Some models will even shred credit cards. In our office we require that all papers with sensitive information be shred.

3. Use good locks. Though this may go without saying, all your added security won't amount to much if you don't have a well-locked office.

For added precaution, purchase file cabinets that lock as well. But remember, good locks won't make much difference if your computers aren't password-protected.

4. Be vigilant about internal computer security. Keep computers patched (http://update.microsoft.com for Windows users) and scan computers for spyware and viruses regularly. Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal is a great free anti-spyware tool (www.lavasoftusa.com). ClamWin is an open source, free anti-virus tool. However, we haven't used it much, so we can't rate it for you. Trend Micro Inc., Symantec Corp., and McAfee Inc. also sell anti-virus and anti-spyware tools.

We wish you the best in 2007. Continue to invest strategically in technology; it can save you time.

Joel Rydbeck, Chief Technology Officer of Nubrek Inc., brings his strong background in e-commerce and business process automation to the merchant services industry. Rachael Rydbeck, President of the company, has a background in product management and technical writing. Nubrek offers eISO, a Web application for ISOs that tracks leads and provides automated residual and commission reports. For more information on eISO or to view a free demo, visit www.nubrek.com/eiso.html E-mail Joel at joel@nubrek.com or Rachael at rachael@nubrek.com