Computers (Hardware and Software)

This has become a vital and expensive category for photographers. Most digital photographers need two systems: a desktop machine with a good-quality display, lots of power, memory and storage; and a laptop computer for working in the field. Some get by with a laptop and external storage. Remember to include software, printers, scanners, CD burners, storage, and other peripherals, which can add up quickly and also need to be replaced regularly. To compute your annual computer costs, consider the following:

• Figure out how quickly you need to replace a piece of hardware and annualize it. Try the following steps:
  1. Add up the cost of a new system or individual tool.
  2. Figure how many years it will work or prove useful (usually 2-4 years for computer systems and components).
  3. Divide the total by that number to come up with your annual costs.
• Software has a useful life, too, often tied to your computer system. Few programs, even with upgrades, prove useful for more than 5-10 years. (Photoshop is a notable exception.) Try following these steps (Note this assumes the average software title has a useful life of five years.):
  1. Figure the initial cost of your software license.
  2. Come up with the annual cost of upgrades (if upgrades average every 18 months, divide by 1.5) and the level of support you require (most publishers have different options with different fees) and multiply by five.
  3. Add the above two items together and divide by five.
• As with Photography Equipment, estimate the cost of new equipment and capabilities you expect to add as your business grows over the next five years, then divide that total by five to get what you need to tack on to your annual Computer costs to keep your business growing.