Cost Cutting – 5 Ways to Boost Your Business Bottom Line

In today’s competitive economy, business is harder than ever before. Competition is fierce, and online shopping is wearing the physical retail market thin. Therefore, business managers and owners are vigilantly looking for ways to save money and boost their business bottom line. If you need to make some changes to secure the future of your firm, consider these cost-cutting measures below.

 

Power Saving

Whatever size firm you operate, your monthly power bill is likely to be causing you headaches. However, no business should consider these unwelcome visitors to their post-box an unavoidable fact of life. There are numerous ways that companies can reduce their power consumption and potentially save thousands on their utilities every year. For starters, find a commercial electrician to carry out a site audit and identify any issues with wiring, lighting, equipment or appliances that you should address. They can also point outany safety risks, helping to avoid a potentially catastrophic electrical fire or accident.

 

Print Less

You see it all the time, signs around printers that say “do you need to print me?” and the reality is, you probably don’t. Printing is costly. Not only is a contract with a leading print company a drain on your pocket, but ink and toner are in many cases most expensive commodities. Then there’s the cost of printer maintenance, repairs, and paper. If you don’t need to print that email, resist the urge to click the button and save the business hundreds of dollars over its lifetime. Of course, there’s even the feel-good factor of saving the planet as well!

 

Let Staff Telecommute

Encourage your team to work from home wherever practical. Not only can it decrease the stress put on your resources and facilities, but it can increase productivity levels. Two-thirds of managers say their staff produced more work when they were able to leave the office to complete their work. For their part, staff have been shown to be more satisfied with their jobs, change jobs less frequently and take fewer sick days, all of which saves organisations handsomely in the long run.

 

Goodbye Mr Postman

As the volume of letters being sent every year in the United States continues to drop with a 27 percent decrease in just ten years, the cost rises. If you can save every penny by making contact using alternative methods, it’s worth doing. Encourage your clients to receive their invoices by email, and question every letter leaving the building. Can this be sent by email? Will a phone call sum this up? While a paper letter can often be more formal, an email is usually a more convenient method for both sender and receiver.

 

Outsource

Finally, if you can outsource projects to a contractor, freelancer, or temp, do it. Rather than pay them an annual salary, you reap the rewards of being able to save on long-term costs. If it turns out that they’re worth adding to your team permanently, you then save on training costs. It’s a win-win situation for both the temp and the business.

 

To survive in business, sometimes you have to cut costs. While it might seem pointless to nickel and dime your way to the finish line, every little bit adds up. Be thrifty in business, encourage your staff to do the same, and before you know it, you will have noticed a difference in your business bottom line.

 

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