The goal of every business is to be as profitable as possible. One way to get there is by watching the bottom line closely. If an expense isn’t necessary, it should be eliminated from the budget. Saving money is key to any business’ financial future.
Finding areas to “trim the fat” becomes easier with time. By involving your employees in the budgeting process, you do two things. You raise awareness of the importance of eliminating waste which makes people more conscientious about their consumption. You also free up finances for programs and events that benefit your workers.
Vice President Joe Biden said, “Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.” He was on to something. You can learn a lot about a business by how much debt it is in and how much savings it has accumulated.
Here are 10 suggestions that will help you cut costs this fall:
1. Shop Back to School Sales. Every small business needs its fair share of office supplies. Rather than buy items at full price, wait for fall to stock up. You’ll find everything from spiral notebooks and pens to glue and printer paper at a discount. Inventory what you currently have on hand, anticipate your yearly needs, and purchase supplies accordingly. You can even use this time to replace office furniture and equipment like computers, printers, and fax machines since there is likely to be significant savings involved by shopping the back to school sales.
2. Use Apps like Walmart’s Savings Catcher and Target’s Cartwheel to Get the Best Deals. By entering your receipt, Walmart’s app automatically compares its prices with those of top retailers in your area. Target’s app provides discount savings in the form of coupons on items that you buy regularly. If you have a smartphone, make good use of it by downloading these apps and checking them regularly.
3. Sell Your Empty Printer and Toner Cartridges to Offset the Cost of Buying New Ink. TonerBuyer.com offers up to $22 for your empty printer cartridges. They also offer money for new and used printer, copier, and fax toner and supplies. If you’ve recently made the switch to different equipment and aren’t sure what to do with the leftover ink or toner, sell it. Use that money to offset the costs of buying new ink for your printers at work.
4. Barter Services with Other Businesses in the Area. You don’t know what you can get until you ask. See if businesses in your city would be willing to barter for good and services rather than take cash payments for them. Before you agree to anything, however, get it in writing. Treat the transaction as you would with any other vendor.
5. Go Paperless if You Can. Use a service like Dropbox or Google Docs to share information. Scan items and post them to the cloud for others to read and follow up on. Use electronic invoices and inventory spreadsheets. You’d be amazed at how much paper is wasted by businesses on a yearly basis. According to Keep America Beautiful, “In 2010, Americans trashed enough paper to cover 26,700 football fields or 17,800 soccer fields in paper three feet deep.”
6. Switch Banks. Look for a bank that doesn’t have fees like ATM surcharges, overdrafts, and debit card fees. Many financial institutions offer sign up bonuses as well. Take advantage of these types of incentives and use the free money to further your business efforts.
7. Use Payroll Debit Cards. Think about how much money it costs to print checks. There’s also a greater risk of fraud. Adopting a payroll debit card system makes it easier to access funds, eliminate fraudulent activity, and give employees purchasing freedom. If you haven’t looked into payroll debit cards, now’s the time to do so.
8. Bundle Services. Many companies offer bundled services. If you’re paying separate bills for phone service, cable, internet, fax, and web hosting, you shouldn’t. See what types of savings you can incur by bundling two or more services. You could potentially save hundreds of dollars each year in unnecessary costs.
9. Download and Use Free Forms. A website like Formnet provides dozens of free forms that you can download and utilize for free. If you’re a paperless office, you can use these items on the cloud.
10. See Which Suppliers Offer Discounts for Paying Early. Make it your mission to pay invoices quickly. A number of suppliers offer discounts when you pay early. See who does and make sure that you get those payments in on time.
If saving money is your mission, you’re bound to find plenty of ways to do just that this fall. Reevaluate your business needs and cut back on unnecessary expenses. Be willing to open your mind and close your pocketbook. You’ll be surprised at how much money you free up by simply changing your perspective about things.
About the Author:
Diana Mackie is the Chief Content Officer at Funding Gates, the CRM for receivables management that helps small businesses collect on their open invoices.
Expert Credit Consultants, LLC specializes in establishing business credit and funding using our exclusive Business Credit and Financing Suite as well as consumer credit restoration and optimization. www.ExpertCreditConsultants.com
Expert Credit Consultants, LLC specializes in establishing business credit and funding using our exclusive Business Credit and Financing Suite as well as consumer credit restoration and optimization. www.ExpertCreditConsultants.com
No comments:
Post a Comment