5 Money Saving Tips For Your Business

culled from:bankingsense.com

Many businesses can save hundreds and even thousands of dollars a year by modifying a few behaviors at their company. This money may be used to expand a business, for advertising and marketing strategies or to simply boost a company’s bottom line. Many companies even find that they can increase their profits exponentially by investing the money saved from their modifications in corporate behavior. Read on to find out five money saving tips for a business.

1. Reduce Energy Costs
Energy often makes up a large part of the costs of running a business; however, many companies don’t realize that they can cut back on their energy use and save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year. Becoming green is also something many customers appreciate in a business, and may even benefit a company during tax season since the government offers several tax breaks for installing energy friendly appliances and devices. Some measures that may be applied to reduce energy costs at an office or business’s location include installing efficient fluorescent lamps or LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs, installing motion detectors that turn off lights when no one is in a room, installing power strips that unplug electronic devices and appliances at the end of a work day, and replacing old electronic equipment with Energy Star appliances, which consume less energy.

2. Reduce Paper and Ink Consumption
Many offices waste hundreds of sheets of paper mindlessly. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average office worker consumes 10,000 sheets of paper each year. Although it may be necessary to print a document, businesses should encourage their workers to use both sides of a page and only print documents when it’s necessary. By monitoring paper usage, companies can save hundreds of dollars a year. Similarly, companies may save money by reducing their ink consumption. Businesses should always print in black and white unless absolutely necessary, since color ink costs more, and recycle printer cartridges to save money on these supplies.

3. Reduce Staff Costs
Many companies begin the year by hiring new talent. While it’s important to have an efficient staff with fresh ideas, companies can save money on wages and recruitment costs by making two important behavior modifications. First, companies should resist the urge to hire a new employee when one quits. Often, other ambitious employees simply pick up the required duties, and filling the position is not required. In the time this took place, companies may save wage costs although these ambitious employees should be rewarded with a raise. Secondly, businesses who need to search for new talent should encourage their own employees to find workers. This will reduce recruitment costs and provide a quick way to fill jobs.

4. Suspend Supply Buying
Most businesses purchase supplies year-round without thinking about the cost. Many entrepreneurs and advisors recommend suspending supply buying at various intervals throughout the year. This encourages employees to use the supplies they already have and actually consume what is in stock. This also prevents stock buildup, and many employees may find huge amount of supplies within their desk drawers that have not been used.

5. Outsource Collections
Most companies suffer from their fair share of untimely and nonexistent payments for their products and services. Chasing after these unpaid bills consumes a large amount of staff time and resources, such as collection letters, and it may even result in a company getting behind on their own bills. Even the most diligent company who conducts extensive credit checks on their clients before permitting purchasing on credit will run into some unpaid bills. Outsourcing business debt collection services may help reduce the cost of chasing this type of debt, and it permits employees to spend their time and energy in other more important opportunities such as expanding a business. Furthermore, it typically costs less to outsource to a debt collection agency than pay in house staff for these types of duties.