Sometimes, cutting expenses can make as much of a difference to your profit margins as adding a new customer. It’s sensible to look at costs every few months, to see if there are ways you can reduce outgoings whilst still maintaining the same quality and level of service. This article will discuss ways you can potentially save money in your business, and some of them will also help the environment in the meantime, win-win!
Postage
f you run an e-commerce business, then chances are your courier/postage costs are one of your largest outgoings. Even if you have a service-based business, you’re probably still sending some traditional post, and stamps have increased significantly in price in recent months. There are, however, ways you can save money on your courier and postage costs.
One option is a franking machine. Franking machines are units that you hire to print directly onto letters or sticky labels for parcels. Franking machines offer substantial savings on postage of up to 30%. There are also very convenient and stop waits in post office queues. This is one great way to cut costs on your postage bill without compromising on service.
If you are using a courier service, you may also use a comparison site such as Parcel2Go, to ensure you’re getting the best rate for your shipping needs.
Vehicles
If your business has company vehicles, then switching to an electric car is a very sensible option. There are multiple reasons for this. Firstly, if you have a limited company, electric cars are 100% tax deductible, so you can essentially purchase one for your business for free. This is an incredible incentive from the government to try and get more people to utilise electric vehicles to help combat global warming. If you don’t have a profitable limited company, then electric car leasing is a great way to have the benefits of electric car ownership without the maintenance costs.
ElectriX is a company that offers affordable insurance specifically for electric cars, so there are also savings to be made on your insurance. In addition to this, if you’re not a renter or landlord, and you don’t have access to the government charge point grant, then ElectriX can help you get one of these installed cheaply too!
Electric cars also have zero road tax, cost much less to run than a traditional combustion engine, and are cheaper to service.
The government are running multiple schemes to encourage switching to electric and will even give you a grant to fit a charging point at your home and workplace, so this is great news!
Electric cars are also significantly better for the environment, and so you can be happy knowing you’re doing your part for climate change too. This means they are a great way to save money in your business.
Outsourcing
Whilst it’s convenient to have staff for all your business needs in-house, sometimes, it is both unnecessary and more costly than it would be to hire freelancers. Freelancers are often already experts in their field and therefore do not require training time. In addition to this, you can offer one off projects to them, so you are not committed to long term collaboration.
Hiring freelancing has never been simpler, with multiple sites such as Upwork offering the opportunity to post your job requirements and choose freelancers who apply based on their experience and the reviews other employers have left for them.
It’s a fantastic way to keep your staffing bill lower while having full control over your project, and if you do come across a bad freelancer, you can move on swiftly and easily, which is not always the case with contracted staff members.
Importing
If you are currently purchasing stock or consumable supplies from the UK, then you could potentially save money by importing. Years ago, importation was only viable if you were ordering huge shipping containers full of products; however, now it’s possible to ship over smaller bulk quantities by air, and they arrive much faster than shipping by sea.
The savings from imports are often significant, but it’s important to always ensure you order a sample before placing a bulk order so you can check the quality. Sites like Alibaba and AliExpress allow you to negotiate directly with manufacturers and make huge savings.
Marketing
Believe it or not, hiring a marketing company to take care of your marketing can be one of the smartest moves you can make. Whilst it is an initial expense, in the long term, they should be able to save you significant sums on your advertising costs. This is because, they know all the little hacks and tricks to bring down your cost per acquisition, and in addition to this, can also integrate marketing methods such as search engine optimisation which will in the long run mean free traffic to your website.
You can also utilise methods of free advertising, by using social media, putting marketing materials in with things like invoices, and giving customers incentives for bringing new business to you. YouTube is a fantastic way of promoting your services, as although a lot of influencers use it, a lot of local businesses do not, so it is easy to rank your videos for keywords that your local customers may search for.
Refill Consumables
Ink cartridges are a prime example of consumables that can be reused for much cheaper than purchasing new ones. There are lots of shops that now offer cheap refills, saving you money and doing your part for the environment at the same time.
Get a Good Accountant
Doing your taxes yourself is tempting as it’s a significant saving; however, a good accountant is worth their weight in gold. Firstly, having someone take care of your accounts for you is going to free up your time and allow you to focus on more profit generating activities in your business.
Accountants also know all the little loopholes such as where you can save money, what items are tax deductible, etc. These areas may not be within your knowledge, and therefore will likely save you some funds. A good accountant will help you avoid fines and penalties by ensuring everything is delivered to HMRC on time and correctly. In addition to this, having an accountant is going to allow you to be able to see your business figures at a glance and make decisions faster – time is money after all!
Banking & Insurance
Don’t automatically assume you’re on the best rate/deal with insurances, bank accounts, and credit facilities. Often you will get a great deal for an introductory period, and then be shifted onto a higher rate, so it’s worth checking every year or so whether you could be saving money.
Transferring credit balances to no interest deals is a great way to save money and pay the debt down quicker and changing bank accounts often is incentivised with cashback. Use comparison sites like moneysupermarket.com to identify areas where you can make some savings on your financial business products.
Saving money in your business is simple if you make a point of regularly checking your deals and offers and adjusting accordingly. It is an extremely smart use of your time as if you make a 30% saving on postage, for example, it is dramatically increasing the profit margins on your products. Commit to checking your costs every 6-12 months for the best savings.
Gali Rudolph is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Power Up Power Down, How to Reclaim Control and Make Every Situation a Win/Win. Her years as an executive maneuvering power dynamics has transformed her into the international go-to expert on how to harness interpersonal power and create win/win outcomes.
Gail is one of 13 people globally —one of two women, and the only woman in the United States credentialed to teach the six universal Principles of Persuasion based on the research of the “Godfather of Influence,” Dr. Robert Cialdini.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.