Ask Questions 
Share Tips 
List Your Business 
Coffee Talk with Experts 
Biz Planning | Sample Plans 
Idea 
Name 
$ 
Do It! 
Promotional Merchandise
Managing | Operations
Work @ Home 
Yoga @ Your Desk 
|
|
Expert Answers to Biz Questions
Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.
5 Small Business Tips for Reducing Overhead Costs
If you own a small business, then you probably know all too well how difficult it can be to control overhead costs and make ends meet. While operating costs are something that you just can’t avoid when you are self-employed, crippling expenditures can make or break your business. So, it is important that you reduce costs where you can. Cash flow is a common concern amongst small business owners and by reducing unnecessary expenditure, you can ease anxieties and improve the efficiency of your company.
Fully Understand Your Finances
You will struggle to stay on top of your finances if you don’t have a full understanding of all your business’s incomings and outgoings. You can’t cut costs if you don’t know what or how much your costs are. Therefore, we recommend that you spend some time making a spreadsheet of all the money the business spends, and all the money it makes.
Common expenses will include the money spent producing your service or product, as well as marketing and employee wages. While you are going through all of the company costs and expenditures it will be easier to identify where costs could be cut or reduced.
Go Green
While all businesses have a moral obligation to run an eco-friendlier business, there are also some financial benefits of going green. From going paperless and making all physical notes electronic, you can declutter the office and save on storage costs. All important documents can be stored virtually in the cloud, removing the need to store boxes of paper as well as helping to save the environment.
You can also save money by being savvier when it comes to your energy costs. Business electricity prices vary, so we recommend that you take the time to use online comparison sites to help you find the best deals that suit your usage needs. You may be surprised at how much money shopping around for your energy can save your business.
Splash Out on an Accountant
When it comes to trying to reduce overhead costs, you could be tempted to take on more responsibilities yourself to avoid having to pay for someone else. However, we recommend that you do invest in an accountant to do your bookkeeping for you and to save you time and money when submitting your tax returns.
While you could be reluctant to pay out for accountancy services, failing to do your accounting properly yourself could have serious consequences further down the line, including fines and penalties.
Find the Perfect Space
Finding the right work environment isn’t an easy task, but it is also important that your current location also makes good financial sense. Ask yourself whether you use all of the space in your office and whether you could downsize as a way to cut your overheads. Also, consider whether you could work from home more to save money? All of the answers to these questions will depend on what industry you are in and how you operate as a company.
Make Smart Hiring Decisions
As a small business, employees’ wages can be one of your most expensive overheads, so it is important that you take the time to make smart hiring decisions. If you find yourself in a position where you need to employ someone new, then be sure that you hire a candidate with multiple skills and strengths. You want value for money when it comes to hiring a new employee, so take the time to find the right person for the job.
By being more financially aware and making smart choices, you can drastically reduce the overhead costs for your small business.
|
|
Small Business Tax Center • Idea Cafe Home • Sign Up • Biz Grant Center • CyberSchmooz •Coffee Talk with Experts • People in Biz Profiles • Starting Your Biz • Biz Planning • Running Your Biz • FREE Trade Publications • Marketing • Financing Your Biz • Human Resources • Legal & Biz Forms • Managing Your Biz • eCommerce • You and Your Biz • Gen X • Work@Home • The Fridge • De-Stress • Send an Award • Send an eGreeting • Yoga @ Your Desk • Web Guide • Idea Cafe in the News • About Idea Cafe • Advertise on Idea Cafe • Contact Us • Privacy Policy • Site Map • Small Biz News
Copyright 1995-2024, Idea Cafe Inc. Downloads are for personal use only, not for resale to others, and may not be reprinted in any form without written permission from Idea Cafe Inc.
DISCLAIMER: We hope whatever you find on this site is helpful, but be cautioned that it may not apply to your own situation, or be totally current at any given time. Idea Cafe Inc. and all of its current and past experts, sponsors, advertisers, agents, contractors and advisors disclaim all warranties with regard to anything found anywhere on this family of websites, quoted from, or sent from Idea Cafe. and its related sites, publications and companies. We also take no responsibility for comments published by others on these pages. TRADEMARKS: The following are Registered Trademarks or Servicemarks of DevStart, Inc.: Idea Cafe®, Online Coffee Break®, The Small Business Gathering Place®, Take out Info®, Biz Bar & Grill®, Complaint-O-Meter®, A Fun Approach to Serious Business™, CyberSchmooz™, and BizCafe™.
|
|
|
|