In a struggling economy, small businesses can be the first to feel the pinch so they're all looking for a way to save money, increase profits and improve efficiency.
Here are a few tips to make cash and cost savings that can give your business a fighting chance. If you are looking for further information you can
find out more at MoneySupermarket.
Check Your Bills
Do you know who you're paying, for what, why and how much? Small recurring payments, such as subscriptions, often get overlooked but they can add up over the months. Ask yourself if you need them anymore.
Look at your phone service. If you work alone or have employees out and about, do you need landlines when mobile phones could work out cheaper, particularly if you search out a reasonable tariff?
Leasing business premises can be a big financial drain on a small business's resources. If you're suffering a cash-flow problem try to negotiate terms to lower your rent until business picks up. Landlords have their own problems and will be wary of losing a tenant.
Depending on your business, consider whether you need premises at all. You can save money not just in rent but on utilities and equipment by encouraging your staff to work from home. They'll be happier too.
If you can't move out, check your insurance. Is it still right from your business? Maybe you could get a lower rate as a member of a professional body or the Chamber of Commerce. You can also comparison-shop and look around for deals, perhaps saving money by buying multiple insurance through the same agent.
A business needs staff to grow but consider hiring freelancers and contractors rather than taking on a new employee and you'll making savings on training time, sickness days and benefits. Freelancers may ask for a higher hourly rate than an employee, but they are often highly experienced, self-motivated and need less supervision. You also only have to pay for the work that you need done.
Look at your IT provision
In-house servers are costly to maintain and update and to cope with an expanding business the only option is to buy more servers. Consider using cloud servers and storage instead, where you pay for what you need and can upgrade when you want.
Leasing and hiring equipment is also a cost-effective way of keeping on top of business needs and encouraging growth without draining the company's resources.
Consider recycling too as there are often good deals available for second-hand office furniture and telecoms systems at auction to equip your office.
>You can also think about growth in the future by looking into a business savings account that can give a return on your money while still leaving it easily accessible.