You can make your business more profitable just by looking at how much you spend. Reduce business costs and you will increase your bottom line.
Being in charge of a small business is certainly no walk in the park and if you’re a business owner, you probably already know how it’s like to juggle several key aspects of your business at once. In fact, there’s never any break from it. Even when you delegate, there are certain crucial segments of the business that only you truly have responsibility for and care about. One of them is managing the financial part and finding ways to keep a healthy stream of income fueling the business at all times.
Having said this, the financial well-being of a small business does not only depend on the income it benefits from, but also to the way that costs are being managed. It’s essential that you know how to cut costs in order to redirect the surplus back into the business. So let’s look at five money-saving ideas for small businesses in order to discover which ones would work the best for your business:
1. Keep a Detailed Overview Of All Your Expenses
Reviewing every single expense should be common-sense best practice for any business and especially for small businesses, since the first few years dictate the overall business development. Simply make sure that you review ongoing expenses in order to identify those unnecessary purchases or payments that could be cut back.
Regardless if it’s keeping a tab on the costs of cleaning supplies, gas costs, free meals offered to the staff or latest product shipment, these all need to be kept a close eye on. If it’s not providing a ROI, then you should review that expense and reduce business costs to a minimum. Also, try to be drastic and eliminate anything that’s irrelevant to the business and its healthy financial development.
2. Start Saving on Gas
If your business has a fleet of cars it needs in order to carry on its regular activities, deliver products or perform services, then gas definitely goes into the ongoing expenses column. Business owners rarely think of saving on gas costs, but when you think about just how much money goes into regularly refueling the company’s cars, it makes sense these costs only tend to add up in time.
Getting a Fuel Card for your business will definitely help you cut back on unnecessary costs with every pitstop your employees make in order to refuel. In time these will show in the accounting books and will further reflect on the amount of leeway you get for reinvestments. However, not all Fuel Cards are created equal and the catch is to know which type of Fuel Card is most beneficial to your specific business needs.
Thankfully you can use this fuel card comparison tool to see if perhaps the Shell Card, the Seven Eleven Card or the Ampol Card best suit your business needs. Every single one of them offers their unique benefits, so make sure to be thorough in your research and make an informed decision. It will all pay off at the end of your tax year because it will reduce business costs.
3. Buy Second-Hand Furniture and Equipment
It doesn’t mean that if your business is on the market for two years, its equipment and furniture should be just as young. On the contrary, you can always equip your office with everything it needs by purchasing second-hand items. When buying electronics, you can either go for certified refurbished products that have an added manufacturer’s warranty as part of the offer or go for used electronics to save money. However it’s advisable that you choose refurbished ones, since they do help cut back on costs, while also being safer in the long-term.
If you’re looking to save money on furniture, look into what the market has to offer. There are definitely plenty of barely used desks, chairs and file cabinets that are waiting to be assigned with a new purpose. Their functionality would be just the same as that of new furniture items and their aesthetic can very well be eye-pleasing and fresh-looking either way. It’s small decisions like these that could enable you to save money and reinvest it in other more impactful areas of your business.
You can also reduce business costs by getting sponsorship, outsourcing some of your company’s work or even joining a co-working space. If you want to cut back on the costs of your business, it’s basically all about getting creative, since there are a myriad different ways to see the numbers drop. It definitely can be done and your finances can flourish with careful consideration and a bit of effort.
