How to Negotiate Telecommuting Expenses With a Boss
You have managed to get your boss to let you work from home a couple of days a week. Your schedule and responsibilities are arranged, and you have even agreed to sign in to an instant messenger a few times a day to check in. Now it is time to talk money. Although the boss knows the company is going to save money with you working from home, the initial and ongoing costs of working from home may have him a little on edge.
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Instructions
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Write a list of all of the products and services you are going to need to work from home. This may include a data-secure, anti-virus protected computer, a dedicated phone line, fax machine, fax line, copier, printer, paper, ink, high speed Internet and special software required for your job. Do some market research to find out how much these items and services cost, and list the costs next to each item.
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Approximate how much your company can save by having you work from home. This might include being able to consolidate office space since you do not require your own office anymore, for example. Write these amounts in a separate list.
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Meet with your boss to discuss the expenses of telecommuting. Set aside enough time to go through each item on your list. Present your list of costs to your boss, item by item. If objections arise to the costs of a certain item, offer cost-saving alternatives or bring out your list of how much the company can save by having you work from home to calm your boss' nerves.
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Offer to cover some of the smaller costs, such as paper or pens for your home office. Use your own office furniture. If you already have high-speed Internet at your house, tell the boss that you will cover that expense.
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Stand firm on items that you cannot personally afford, which may include larger office equipment items such as a work computer or copier.
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Offer to forgo a full raise at the next performance review or promotion that comes your way. The money saved in paying you a higher salary can be put toward covering your work-at-home costs, and it is likely the company will still come out ahead.
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Tips & Warnings
Suggest to your boss that you both use Skype or a similar instant messaging program to call each other a few times a day to check in. Computer-to-computer calls are free, so this eliminates the need for long distance phone charges. If you need a phone line, consider using Skype to make your long distance calls from your computer. Skype enables you to call land or mobile phone lines for a fraction of the cost of long distance. Other Voice-over Internet Protocol service providers also offer similar phone services.
Look into software such as Acrobat and WinZip that allows you to annotate and downsize digital documents. This will help you build an electronic work flow to avoid the use of a fax machine.
If you must use faxes, look into online fax services that charge a flat rate each month for unlimited faxing straight from your computer. This cuts out the cost of a fax line. If you do not fax that often, look into fax services that charge you per fax you send instead.
