Five things to do when setting up a SOHO business

01 Mar 2019 | SMB, Internet, Single Office, Mobility, Software as a Service, Voice and Collaboration, Digitalisation | 5-min read

Setting up a SOHO offers startup owners many benefits. It can help save on rental and overhead costs. More importantly, embracing digital technologies such as the cloud, ICT and collaboration solutions means you can work more efficiently regardless of location.

Apart from equipping your office with a reliable, fast broadband connection, here are five things to do when setting up your digital SOHO business operations.

Backing up and sharing data on the cloud makes operations more efficient across an organisation, regardless of its size. With cloud storage, business owners are able to store data online and make it accessible to others in the company. Employees are then able to retrieve and edit the necessary files on their laptops or smart devices, while on the go.

Cloud storage services, such as Microsoft 365's OneDrive, also have file access settings and security standards in place so you don't have to worry about your data being compromised or hacked.

Effective collaboration brings about increased business productivity and efficiency. Microsoft 365 makes collaboration easy by allowing team members to edit documents together in real time. All contributions are recorded, making it easier to track workflows and rollback any changes if necessary.

The cloud-based applications essentially create a virtual office for your employees. They are able to access all their files through Word, Excel, PowerPoint as well as email on Outlook anywhere and on any device. 

Digital solutions can help automate time-consuming tasks so that you and your employees can focus on growing the business. For small businesses, automating human resource (HR) processes can save a lot of time, especially when your business has no dedicated HR manager.

With HR apps such as Deskera many vital HR tasks can be completed within clicks. Ensuring these processes run smoothly and are error free is vital. Additionally, the time saved by automating can be better spent on improving your products and services or addressing customer needs.

Instead of shelling out money for an elaborate traditional PBX phone system, you can try out Singtel BizVoice Unified Communications — a cloud-based solution that is a more flexible cost option. If you have multiple staff operating out of different home offices, they can answer calls made to the office number from their mobile phones, and even make free intra-company calls.

As Singtel BizVoice UC leverages WiFi, you can make calls to Singapore while roaming, without incurring hefty roaming bills.

Fast and reliable fibre-based broadband services are readily available to businesses today. It is a vital part of office operations as more and more applications and transactions work with the cloud..

Apart from your broadband connection in the office, a mobile broadband plan or SIM only plan with generous local data allowances ensures that you stay connected no matter where you are.

Being connected means you can address your customer needs all the time. Your happy customers will be better looked after and are more likely to return.