Money Saving Tips For Businesses

As all business owners know, cutting costs is crucial when it comes to running a profitable business.  Although cost-cutting strategies often get a bad press, there are ways of saving money on business expenses that can boost productivity and foster a more positive working environment. Below we list six easy-to-implement ways in which businesses can reduce their overheads.

1. Go paperless

A paperless office environment has benefits that go beyond the environmental impact. First of all, electronic files free up valuable (and often pricey) office space that would otherwise be used for archiving purposes. Secondly, a paperless office can improve productivity, as multiple employees can access the same files simultaneously without having to leave their desks. Digital file management also results in savings by cutting on printing and photocopying costs and by reducing the amount of documents that get lost of misfiled.

2. Rethink business meetings

Business meetings are unavoidable, and in fact it seems that the time spent travelling to meetings or making related arrangements is constantly on the rise. Recent data shows that on average, middle and upper management staff spend anything between 35 and 50 per cent of their working day in meetings or preparing for them. Unnecessary meetings have a big impact on workplace productivity, and this impact can be quantified in financial terms: it is reported that unproductive meetings cost US businesses more than $37bn / year. It is therefore clear that business owners can benefit from rethinking their approach to business meetings. Important savings can be achieved by favouring teleconferencing over face-to-face meetings, not only in terms of business travel costs, but also when it comes to increasing productivity and reducing of carbon emissions.

3. Telecommuting

There is a reason why telecommuting is one of the most pervasive trends in the modern business world: it can help employers save money. In the US, the number of employees who work remotely grew by 102 per cent between 2005 and 2014 alone, and it is estimated that the average business can save up to $11,000 / employee / year by implementing telecommuting during half of the working week. In addition to direct savings on overheads like utilities and office supplies, telecommuting can help employers cut costs down by increasing productivity, boosting retention rates, and reducing absenteeism.

4. Switch to open source

Technology is a necessity for all modern businesses, but as most business owners know, the cost of software licences can add up very quickly even when enterprise discounts are applied. According to the American Society of Association Executives, US organisations spend $74,000 / year on software and hardware. In view of this figure, it is hardly surprising to see that thousands of companies of all sizes are switching to open source software given its ability to improve efficiencies while reducing costs. The options are wide ranging and go from alternatives to Microsoft office to customer relationship management tools or entire operating systems based on Linux.

5. Join a professional association

Business and professional association memberships are not free, but the membership fee is quickly offset by the important savings offered through discounts and preferential rates on key expenses like insurance, business travel, healthcare, staff training, reduced fees when attending conferences and trade fairs, etc.

6. Explore alternative marketing strategies

The average marketing budget for US-based firms ranges between 4.5 and 11 per cent of the total company revenue. Business owners can save costs in this area by exploring a different allocation of marketing budgets, focusing on low-cost but high-reward channels like social media marketing, employee advocacy, word-of-mouth advertising, and content marketing.

7. Rethink your office space solution.

Accenture have identified that the average firm has 30 to 50 percent more real estate than it needs, so if you have ample space to spare, you could always consider sub leasing or downsizing.

There is also an ongoing boom of companies setting up business in  co-working centres, with much of the nations shared office space being concentrated in New York City

These executive facilities providing communal work space have become a hot new trend amongst start up tech companies, creative folk and freelancers. These types of office solutions are not only kind to the bottom line, they also allow like minded entrepreneurs to network and collaborate.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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