Networking Your Service Business

If you use a computer to run your service business, or even if you're just thinking about it, networking two or more computers together can offer some significant advantages. Now that the prices of PCs have come down significantly, it becomes a more reasonable proposition to have two, three, or even more computers in your office and/or home. If all the PCs in your office are connected with a local area network (LAN), they can all use the same printer, share an internet connection, share a device such as a Zip drive to store and back up data, easily transfer files between computers, and access the same client database.

Most service businesses that are currently networked have a computer in each treatment room, so all practitioners can access the same client and appointment database throughout the day. Any changes or updates that are input by either a receptionist or other practitioners will display immediately. This allows each practitioner to quickly see exactly who is scheduled in each treatment room throughout the day, and if there are any changes or additions they need to know about.

If you're considering networking your service business, the first step is to analyze your office setup so that you can define the best network configuration. There are two types of networking that a small service business should consider. The first is a LAN, where computers are networked together in a single facility, and the second is a Wide Area Network (WAN), where multiple offices in separate geographic locations are linked together via a telephone line or broadband connection (cable or DSL modem) and share the same database.

There are essentially five major office situations, and we'll discuss the best networking scenario for each one:

Scenario #1

There is a very easy solution to this type of office, as no network is really required. Since there is only one person working in the office, he or she has full control of the office appointments, and there is no confusion about sharing space or a computer with another practitioner. For this office, a laptop would be ideal, giving the practitioner lots of flexibility as to when and where he or she would like to work.

Scenario #2

This is also a very uncomplicated situation. Because there is only one treatment room, each practitioner must schedule his or her appointments at separate times. As only one practitioner would be in the office at a particular time, there would not be a problem maintaining each practitioner's appointment schedule on a single computer. The only need to network in this scenario would be to establish a telephone connection to link the computer in the office with a computer in the owner's home. This would be especially convenient if the owner wants to book appointments for clients when he or she is not in the office. It also allows them to document visit information after leaving the office, and to perform other business tasks on the computer. This could be accommodated with a Wide Area Network (WAN), where the office and home are connected via telephone or broadband connections.

Scenario #3

This is a more complex situation, as there is no receptionist. With a manual system, if one practitioner needs to book a client with another practitioner, he or she must go to that other practitioner's treatment room and check their appointment book. Networked computers located in each treatment room would be extremely helpful in this situation. Each practitioner would be able to quickly access each others' appointment schedule on their own computer, and book appointments for anyone in the office. The owner may still want to have a WAN connection to the office so that they can oversee what is going on and book appointments for practitioner when the office is closed.

Scenario #4

This office scenario is by far the most complicated, especially for scheduling client appointments. With manual methods, it is very difficult to keep track of appointments in two different locations without picking up the phone and calling the other office every time an appointment is booked. Also, if a client frequently visits both locations, it makes it difficult to have the client's file always available in the same place where the client is being treated. The best solution in this case to have a computer in each treatment room connected with a LAN, and to also connect each office with a WAN. This way, all client and visit data is managed in one location, and all changes and updates are immediately available to everyone that needs to know it.

Scenario #5

Everyone deserves to have a receptionist, but we can't always afford it. Having a receptionist that can book client appointments and document visit information is a really nice situation, providing more time for the practitioners to spend on their clients. In this scenario, the receptionist's computer would be the central server on the LAN, and all other computers would connect to this computer for up to date client and appointment information.

If you're ready to put a network in place, it's a very good idea to select a knowledgeable networking consultant to help you network your business. There are usually many different hardware and software issues to resolve before you can get the network up and running, and the money spent on expert advice will pay off in the long run. The consultant will want to know what you want to accomplish with the network, the types of computers you currently have, the operating systems on each of these computers, and the software applications you're trying to share over the network. Things you should ask the consultantant include their experience networking similar operations, their hourly rate, what type of technical support they offer after installing the network, whether or not they sell the networking components, and the warrantee on these components.

Although making the initial investment to computerize and network your office can be expensive, it can provide a significant payback in terms of increasing the efficiency and professionalism of your service business.