As a small business owner, every expense matters and you should try and reserve your money on activities that directly contribute to the growth of your business. That said, there are almost always areas in which you can shave and help reduce your overall expenses to operate without feeling like you’re making significant sacrifices. In this post, we’ll explore several ways that you can reduce your business expenses and save for what will truly help your business.
Create a realistic budget and stick to it
Creating a realistic budget is perhaps the easiest way to help reduce unnecessary business expenses. By creating a budget and using it as a guideline, you’re less likely to make unnecessary purchases or deal with surprise costs. A good tip is to reflect on your business goals and focus areas for the year and create a budget accordingly. This will allow you to carve out the spending for key focus areas and help you stay on course. In addition, keep referring to this budget throughout the year to see if you are on track and if you need to make spending modifications. At the end of the day, having a realistic budget will provide you with a much better understanding of what purchases are crucial in helping your business move forward.
Go paperless
Another way to reduce your everyday expenses is to go paperless. Instead of printing and regularly purchasing ink, paper, mailing supplies etc., opt to go digital with software such as Sage Business Cloud Accounting and DocuSign. Transitioning to a digital solution will allow you to easily prepare and send digital contracts, and keep track of your invoices, sales receipts, and statements. Utilizing digital platforms can also help save on the amount of physical space you need to store all of these documents, while still ensuring your documents are secure.
Eliminate excess software
Today, there is software for everything. But is there anything that you have implemented and rarely use? Outside of Sage software, consider what software applications you need. Chances are, their free offering may be sufficient, or there are existing applications you already use daily that can support these additional use cases. Avoid getting distracted by fancy software, as the costs can add up quickly!
Say goodbye to your landline
Last but not least, one of the easiest ways to save yourself some extra dough is to ditch your landline. Opt to use your cellphone, VoIP, Zoom or other virtual phone providers instead. Traditional telephone lines are an easy expense to shave, but using a cellphone or virtual phone provider will also allow you the freedom to not be chained to your desk.
Need an extra hand managing your expenses?
If you’re looking for a way to help you manage these expenses, hiring a bookkeeper can provide great relief and allow you to focus on other key areas of your business. Learn more about what a bookkeeper can do for you in this blog post.