Reducing and Eliminating Unnecessary Expenses: 7 Tips For Small Businesses!

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The costs of running a company are substantial, and while business owners know this, many can be taken by surprise when they look at the bottom-line. That’s because a lot of business-related costs are hidden and unaccounted for!

That being said, reducing and eliminating office expenses is not impossible. If you’re a small business owner looking to increase your profits by putting a cap on expenses, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for 7 amazing tips on cutting unnecessary costs.

Allow Employees to Telecommute

Technology can effectively reduce distance, hence making it unnecessary for people to be physically present together to get things done. By allowing employees to work from home or temporary facilities, you get to eliminate costs related to office space, utility bills, and support services. Also, you might be able to hire employees for less when you give them freedom from commuting in return!

Limit Telephone Usage

Hard-wired technology can be an avoidable expense if you turn to the different options technology has to offer. Let go of the landline and have employees use their mobiles for business-related calls. Reimburse employees at the end of each month!

Alternatively, use VoIP services like Skype and Google Voice- these will prove to be much cheaper in the long run, even if you have an offline business. If you must have a landline phone, try to limit its usage when making calls abroad. Also, reduce the number of intercom connections in office.

Further to this, check the current plan that you’re using and make sure that you aren’t paying for features that you aren’t using. Consider downgrading to a cheaper plan so you only pay for what you use.

Explore Fax Options

A fax machine can best be described as a necessary evil. What’s more, fax machines aren’t secure as they communicate over phone lines that aren’t encrypted! So do away with your fax machine and use one of these alternatives:

  • Snail Mail: Snail mail may be a lot slower than fax, but you can go this route for documents that don’t have to be delivered urgently. If you can’t wait, jump to the next option.
  • E-mail: E-mailing is pretty easy- you just attach the document and send it across. If you have to attach PDF files, scan paper documents using your mobile phone or scanner.
  • Upload: Uploading document files directly on the web is another quick alternative to faxing files.

Buy Wisely

Whether you’re buying office equipment or furniture, buying wisely can help you save a lot of money. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

  • Compare prices before you buy anything. Try out all stores that sell the items you intend to purchase and also check out prices online.
  • Consider buying second-hand or used items. However, make sure that they function well or you could end up paying more for repairs.
  • Buy in bulk to earn more discount.
  • Learn to negotiate with vendors. Propose buying office supplies from the same vendor each month to get extra discounts.

Stop Subscriptions

A single affiliation may not cost much, but over time, the costs of subscribing to magazines and newsletters, and paying for memberships can build up and go unnoticed. Review all subscriptions and contribute regularly only to ones that are profitable for your business, eliminating all other social or business affiliations.

A good idea to keep the cafeteria or reception desk look interesting is to order free magazines- you can get some good ones at freebies.org.

Monitor the Use of Supplies

Tracking your purchases will help you keep a lid on costs, so maintain a monthly log to identify repeat and unnecessary expenditures. Do look into how office supplies are being used; if employees are being wasteful or taking away office supplies, have a ledger system in place.

Additionally, have just one or two people in charge of office supplies to help manage things effectively. Encourage staff to be mindful of wastage too!

Save on Printing Costs

Printer ink is expensive, so if avoiding printing is not an option, the least you can do is to try and reduce printing costs. Here’s how:

  • Print on both sides of the paper to save time, effort, and paper costs. This also reduces the impact on the environment!
  • Use the draft print mode instead of the default mode so as to use up to 50% less printer ink. This does compromise a bit on the quality, but it’s definitely great for printing stuff that’s not very important.
  • Go for separate ink cartridges instead of tri-color ones. This way, when one color runs out, you only replace that particular cartridge.
  • Adjust the printing option to greyscale if you don’t need color in documents. Doing so will use only the black cartridge and save the other colors for later.
  • Print in batches to save both power and ink.
  • Use ink-saving font when printing documents.

Apart from this, save money when buying printer ink by going generic- they are as good as the big-name brands. Buying refilled cartridges can help save money while also reducing landfill waste.

Conclusion

Bringing down office-related expenses isn’t difficult at all, and with the tips given here, you know just what you need to do to increase your profits! So get started on implementing these tips right away and say goodbye to unnecessary expenses.