Saving money and reducing costs as a small business can be difficult—if you’re a startup in the early stages especially, money might be tight already. We’ve compiled a list of money-saving tips— trim overheads and increase efficiency there, until your business is on its way to better financial health.
- Reduce Debt:
Lots of businesses to have some level of debt, but if your debts have become unmanageable, it’s time to get back on track. Maybe contact your financial institution and renegotiate bank loan terms and more favorable payment terms. - Bartering:
Bartering may seem old fashioned, but it’s a great way to save cash. Barter your services or goods, for other services or goods. Know the value of what you have to office, as well as the good or services your asking for. - Consider a Virtual Office
Are you paying rent for office space, you don’t really require? Imagine all the money you would save on rent, rates, utilities and parking. If you are a online business or in IT, finance, legal or construction, you should consider a virtual office in Dublin to save your business a heck of a lot of money each year. - Cut Traditional Advertising
Each business is different and have different requirements when it comes to advertising. Newspaper and magazine advertising are expensive, so consider more modern alternatives such as Google Adwords, or advertising with Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin. Not only can online advertising be more affordable, it probably works better, with more pinpoint targeting of customers based on previous online habits. - Review your Operating Costs
I cannot reiterate this enough. Businesses, should always be reviewing operating costs, large and small. For example, reviewing stationary expenditure could be a good place to start. Prices for stationary varies hugely between different companies. Compare your stationary suppliers prices to those for example on Amazon. - Go Paperless
Going paperless is a must in this day and age. Not only can it save you money directly, but this can also be a time saver. Invoicing is easily done online along with documents and online document signing apps. - Outsource
Employees are essential to getting work done, but employee costs—from salaries to office space to insurance—can be the biggest chunk of a small business’s budget. Work with independent contractors and freelancers. - Go Green
Going green is not only a great PR move, it’s also a smart financial move. Start with simple moves such as keeping equipment on a power strip and turning it off when not in use, or replacing your existing printer with one that prints on both sides of the paper, thus reducing paper waste and cost. Or buy just a black ink printer instead of a coloured printer. Since the object of many environmentally friendly changes is to save energy, and you have to pay for the energy your business uses, if you can reduce energy use you will also be reducing the costs to your business. - Cut down on Meetings
Cutting down on meetings is one crucial way to save money. The next time you’re in a meeting, do some back of a napkin calculations based on the number of people in the room, and the average hourly salary you’re paying them. Sometimes the results can be staggering. - Save on shipping and postage
In Ireland now not only do we have An Post but a huge range of courier companies such as DPD and TNT. Depending on your volume, you should contact each provider to receive a quote on your volume. This will save your business considerable amount of money each month.