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Article summary: A small business IT budget should be built around what your business needs, not the cheapest package on offer. Plan per person, review computers when their warranty ends, and time spending around the Australian financial year and the $20,000 instant asset write-off.
When did choosing IT support become like choosing a phone plan?
Bronze, silver, gold. A price, a list of ticks and crosses, and a button to sign up. It looks simple. It also turns IT into a race to the bottom, where the cheapest tier wins and you find out later what it didn’t include.
Price is what you pay. Value is what you get. If you’re setting your small business IT budget for 2027, start with what your business actually needs, and where technology can help it do better.
What packages don’t tell you
A package is built for an average business. Yours isn’t one.
A 12-person accounting practice in Parramatta and a 12-person builder in the Sutherland Shire both need IT support. They don’t need the same things. One lives in its practice software and client files. The other runs on phones, tablets and job sites.
Cheap tiers tend to cut the things you don’t notice until you need them: security monitoring, tested backups, quick response times and someone planning ahead. The real cost shows up as a team sitting idle during an outage, or a week lost to a cyber attack.
Then there’s the catch. Anything outside the package usually comes with an extra invoice: a new starter, an office move, a problem that doesn’t fit the fine print. The low monthly price is rarely what you end up paying.
According to the Australian Signals Directorate, the average self-reported cost of cybercrime for a small business was $56,600 per report in 2024–25, up 14% on the year before (ASD). That’s a lot of “savings” gone in one bad week.
Good IT pays its way
Avoiding disasters is only half the story. Done well, technology is one of the best tools you have for improving your bottom line.
Fast, reliable computers and systems that just work give your team hours back every week. Less time fighting technology means more time with customers and on billable work.
It shows in morale too. Nobody enjoys a laptop that takes ten minutes to start or a system that crashes mid-quote. Good people stay where the tools let them do their best work.
The right setup also lets you grow without adding overheads: secure work from anywhere, automation of the boring jobs, and information your team can find in seconds.
So the real budget question isn’t “how little can we spend?” It’s “what will help us work better and grow?”
Build your budget around your people
Most IT costs grow with headcount, so plan per person. For each one, allow for:
- IT support and security
- a Microsoft 365 licence
- their computer, spread over its working life
- backup of their email and files
- the software they use every day
Then add what doesn’t change with headcount: internet and a backup connection, phones, firewall and Wi-Fi, your website, cyber insurance and any projects.
Two Australian wrinkles to allow for. Several Microsoft 365 plans went up on 1 July 2026 (CCP). And plenty of software bills in US dollars, so your costs rise when the Aussie dollar falls.
Know what you’re already paying for
Pull 12 months of software and IT charges from Xero or MYOB, plus the company credit card. You’ll often find subscriptions nobody uses, licences for people who’ve left, and apps paid on a staff member’s own card.
For each one, note what it costs, when it renews and whose email owns the admin login. If that’s someone who left years ago, fix it now.
Don’t mistake Microsoft 365 for a backup
Microsoft 365 keeps your email and files running. It isn’t a full backup. Deleted files, a departed employee’s mailbox or a ransomware attack can all go beyond what Microsoft will restore.
Budget for a separate backup, and test that you can actually restore from it. That’s why it’s on the list of questions below.
Get more life out of good computers
Buy business-grade laptops. They’re built to last, and the manufacturer’s warranty, often three years, makes a natural check-in point.
When the warranty ends, ask whether the computer still handles today’s work comfortably. If it does, keep it running and pencil its replacement into next year’s budget. If it doesn’t, replace it before it costs your team time. Any computer that can’t run a supported version of Windows should go now.
Replacing a few computers each year keeps spending steady, and avoids the year where everything fails at once.
Time it around the Australian year
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| October–November | Set next year’s IT budget. Get quotes for summer projects. |
| Christmas–January shutdown | Do the disruptive work while the office is quiet. |
| Before 30 June | Equipment must be in use or installed ready for use to count this income year. |
| July | Check what your subscriptions now cost. |
From 1 July 2026, small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million can permanently write off assets costing less than $20,000 each (ATO). Check with your accountant before you buy.
Five questions worth more than a price list
When you talk to an IT provider, ask:
- How fast do you respond, and who actually picks up the phone?
- How often are backups tested, and can you show me?
- What security tools and monitoring are included?
- Will you review our IT with us and plan for what’s coming?
- What happens if our main contact is away?
The answers will tell you more than any bronze, silver or gold table.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a small business spend on IT in Australia?
There’s no single figure, and spending the least isn’t the goal. Work out a cost per person, then weigh it against what it gives back: time saved, happier staff, room to grow and less downtime.
Are IT support and software tax deductible?
Ongoing support and subscriptions are generally deductible business expenses, and equipment may be written off or depreciated. Check your situation with your accountant.
When should a business replace its computers?
Use the end of the warranty as a check-in. Business-grade laptops usually last three to four years, and desktops four to five.
IT built around your business, not a package
Tech is what we do, and we’re very good at it. But at heart, Sydney Technology Solutions is a people company, and we care about your business.
That’s why we don’t sell off-the-shelf packages. We listen to what your business needs, then put together support that suits you, with straight answers and no jargon.
Planning ahead? We can map it out with you in an IT roadmap, or book a chat and bring your budget along.
Adam Rippon, Founder, Sydney Technology Solutions
Adam’s love of tech started the Christmas Santa delivered a Commodore 64 down the chimney. He started working in IT in 1996 and founded Sydney Technology Solutions in 1999. More than 25 years on, he still gets a kick out of finding better ways for technology to help businesses grow.
