Opening a practice is a deadline machine. Technology gets postponed until the week before launch, which is how offices open on a consumer router, a personal Gmail address, and no backup. Use this checklist in the order written. Skip the nice-to-have software until the items above it are done.
Before you sign a lease
- Ask who provides building internet, whether you may install your own firewall, and where a small network cabinet can live with ventilation.
- Confirm cellular coverage in the operatories or conference rooms you will actually use. A dead zone is a phone-system problem.
- If you need a server or imaging closet, write power, cooling, and after-hours access into the deal. Do not assume a coat closet is a data closet.
- Get the landlord’s rules on cabling, cameras, and door access before you buy hardware that cannot be installed.
Network and internet
Order business internet with a stated install date, not a consumer plan in someone’s name. Add a failover path (second wired circuit or a managed cellular failover) if missing phones or records would close you.
Have a professional install a firewall you can support, separate guest Wi-Fi from the office network, and label ports. The aging-network guide is useful even for a new space if the building wiring is old.
Identity and devices
Create the practice’s Microsoft 365 (or equivalent) tenant before you create the website contact form. Unique staff accounts, MFA, and a password manager on day one cost less than migrating off a founder’s personal email in year two.
Standardize laptops and a patching method. A mixed fleet of leftover home computers will become your first security incident.
Backup from day one
Turn backup on before the first real patient or client file exists. Include cloud file stores and the practice-management or document system, not only a USB drive in a drawer. Read Backup and Recovery Questions Every Practice Should Ask and schedule the first restore test in month one.
Vendors to have on file
- Internet provider and a written escalation number.
- Someone accountable for firewall, Wi-Fi, and PCs — internal or managed.
- Phone system with a hunt group and after-hours greeting you control.
- Practice-software vendor with a named onboarding owner.
- A backup product whose restore you have seen, not only a green checkmark.
Budget the first year as hardware plus onboarding plus monthly support. A cheap laptop fleet with no one to call is not a savings plan. For a scored gap list after you open, assess the practice.