Small business owner: Here's how you can cut some major costs
2017-03-05
Owning a small business doesn’t necessarily mean having less financial responsibility or even less expenses. In fact, more often than not small business decision makers aren't fully aware of their possibilities and spend much more money on services in comparison to large scale, experienced businesses.
If you recognize yourself in the above paragraph, we got some good news for you: after reading the next few paragraphs, you'll be able to slash your costs by thousands of dollars per month.
Here are some bookkeeping tips that can cut your expenses and increase your profits:
Consider Switching To A Fixed Price Plan
Some products offer you fixed price plans while others offer a Pay As You Go option.
While the PAYG option might sound more appealing, the fixed price packages (FPP) are usually more cost effective and save you potential billing bloopers at the end of the month
Bottom line: fixed price plan for your conference calls service, emails , accounting software etc. are (almost) always in your business's favor and could save you a lot of money.
Tip: try using "fresher" services like QCONF Conferencing, where you can save 80% and more of your conference call cost in comparison to brand names like WebEx or GoToMeeting.
Ask For A Better Deal
Don't be coy when it comes to your business's best interest (literally). You can always ask for special offers, discounts and deals from all of your service providers, including your bank. Reciprocity is the name of the game and in a competitive market, you're very likely to get a so called special offer reserved for "VIP" customers.
Best case scenario- you get a yes and save yourself and your business a certain monthly cost. Worst case scenario - you get a no and either look for a better offer or get over your bruised ego the day after. Bottom line: what have you got to lose?
Tip: ask for a higher authority if you don't get a cheaper offer at the end of round one. There's almost always a better deal behind the curtains.
Lower Your APR
As you surely know, your business's credit card is subjected to various fees and costs incurred by your bank. However, you could substantially cut your costs by minimizing your APR. A 0% interest could save you top dollar.
As a first step, check the interest you're paying on all of your business's credit cards.
Next, conduct market research and estimate the figures using credit card comparison websites. Then, look for a lower or even hit the 0% APR jackpot. You'd be surprised by how much this simple measure could save you over a year.
Tip: can't afford a 0% interest on all of your credit cards? Try it on one of your business cards first. The savings at the end of the year might change your mind in the future.
Monitor Your Finance Reports
Possibly one of the best saving practices is perhaps the simplest: keep tracks of the business's spending, including salaries, marketing costs, office and supplies, travel expenses etc.
Once you're on top of your spending, you could easily streamline your budget and spot savings opportunities.
Tip: explore designated software packages and applications which can help you monetize your reports yourself, such as Insightly, Zoho or Xpenditure
Remember: while the above tips might seem negligible, the accumulating savings on each section translates to better expenses vs. income ratio, which is the first step to improving both your business success and your reputation. Start applying these tips today, thank us later.
Categories:
Online Meeting
,
Small Business Tips