The holy grail for any successful business lies in maximising sales and minimising overhead costs and expenses – it is an equation that may make all the difference between a healthy profit and a damaging loss.
It is well worth your while, therefore, reviewing just what business costs you have and discovering ways in which you might make savings on them – without, of course, undermining or in any way compromising the quality of the goods and services you sell.
The following are a few tips and suggestions:
Rates and taxes
- some of your business costs are more or less inescapable, and these are likely to include payments you make in business rates and taxes;
- calculating your liability for either, however, is rarely straight forward, so you might want to consider getting expert professional advice or take especial care to claim any allowances to which you are entitled and pay no more than you are required;
- the Forum of Private Business suggests that small and medium sized businesses in the UK may be overpaying tax to the tune of £7.15 billion each year and publishes a number of tips about cutting your tax bill;
Business insurance
- insurance is another expense you are likely to regard as inescapable – given your need to safeguard not only your premises but your business practices too;
- once again, saving money on your business insurance might prove more complicated than it first appears, so you might want to call on the advice and guidance of experts in that field – such as us here at UKinsuranceNET;
Utilities
- the cost of utilities seems always to be on the increase, yet cutting your expenditure on essential services such as heat, lighting, power and telephones proves ever more difficult;
- having satisfied yourself that your business is doing everything possible to control and contain consumption, the equally important task is to ensure that the suppliers you have chosen are still charging the most competitive rates;
Office space
- unless you need the floor space for a retail shop outlet, think carefully about the offices you rent from which to run a service based business;
- lavish office accommodation at a sought-after postal address is unlikely to be the most important consideration if you are just starting out – not to mention the very high cost;
- you might want to consider, therefore, how much of the work might be done from your own home-based office and the extent to which any employees might also work flexible hours from their homes;
Equipment and supplies
- significant discounts may be found when it comes to buying office equipment and supplies from major suppliers;
The internet
- there are many free resources and directories to find and use on the internet, not to mention the opportunities provided through social networking.
The particular savings which it is possible for your own business to make of course depends on the nature and sector in which you are working. Taking just a little time out to review and reconsider just some of your major items of expenditure, however, may lead to worthwhile savings.
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