The cost of living crisis is still very much present, and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Rising costs of energy and other resources have stretched companies to their limits, and hundreds of thousands of businesses have suffered closures in 2023.
In order to stay afloat, it’s essential to closely monitor your costs and ensure you are maintaining a consistently high turnover. But this is not always easy. In order to keep your profits in the green and ensure you have enough money to pay your employees, you may need to resort to money saving measures.
Here are some business money saving tips your small business can use to save money and ensure growth in 2024.
Audit your expenses
Take a good look through your accounts and scrutinize every expense you’ve made this financial year. There are almost certainly some costs you could have done without. Expensive company meals, superfluous training courses, or excessive business expenses submitted by your staff. Perform a thorough audit to work out which costs you could eliminate. This will likely save you a huge amount that could be put to better use.
Reduce your taxes
This doesn’t mean you should avoid paying tax altogether, but there may be ways in which you could make your business more tax efficient and thereby reduce the total sum of your annual bill. This might include such methods as ensuring you are claiming on all business expenses, starting a retirement plan, or even changing the structure of your business. In order to ensure you are acting above board and totally within the boundaries of the law, it’s a good idea to speak to a qualified accountant for ways to reduce taxes.
Adopt hybrid working
There is no need, in the modern age, for all employees to work in the office every single day. Remote collaboration tools make it incredibly easy for workers to get the job done from home, on the train, or from a local coffee shop. A hybrid working structure enables workers to be more flexible and enjoy a great work-life balance. But it also saves your business money too. You can reduce business travel expenses as well as reducing your energy costs since there are fewer people in the office. Your staff will also be happier, and more productive as a result.
Waste less time
Business hours translate into profits, and if you are wasting time then you are losing out on valuable turnover. How long do your staff spend in meetings? Often you need to get the team together to plan strategy or plan a client pitch, but you no doubt spend a lot of this time procrastinating or working less efficiently than necessary. Make a conscious effort to shorten meetings, so your staff can spend more time getting on with their work. Schedule meetings for 45 minutes instead of an hour, and experiment with standing-up meetings, so attendees are less inclined to engage in small talk. You will soon find that your company productivity skyrockets.
What business money saving tips can you think of? Share your thoughts in the comments!
