There comes a time with all technology when it fails. A computer hard drive crashes, giving you nothing but a blank screen with a cursor blinking unhappily at you, or the fax machine jams irretrievably. At that point, you have a decision to make: You can do the repair yourself, or you can call in an expert.

Of course, if the machine is on warranty, then you call the experts. If you're lucky, they'll come to you; otherwise, you'll be trucking the machine into the nearest repair location. Try to get an estimate on how long it will take for the repair — renting a loaner might be worthwhile if it means that your business is up and running while the machine is being fixed. Also check the terms of the warranty and ask for a cost estimate if it's not fully covered — if it's going to cost hundreds of dollars to fix a machine that can be purchased for only a little more than the repair bill, opting for a new machine might make sense.

If it's not on warranty, and you're familiar with the technology and happy to tinker, then go for it. But if you're not familiar with the technology, consider picking up the phone and speed dialing the experts. Sure, you may be facing a repair bill of $50 an hour or more, but consider how long it's going to take you to (a) learn what you need to know to fix the problem, and (b) actually fix it. And that assumes that you don't compound the problem while you're trying to fix it. In the long run, it can be a lot cheaper to have someone else handle the repair.