Source

All business owners need to keep their eyes on the expenditure. Although sales and marketing are often the focus of the day-to-day running of a commercial venture, controlling business costs is just as important. All too often, businesses can be wasteful with their spending, either purchasing too much of something or not getting the best value for money. To minimise your business costs, follow the tips below. Each of them will improve your balance sheet no end and provide you with an improved gross profit in years to come.

Research Your Energy Costs

Often thought of as a fixed cost, energy consumption can vary greatly from business to business and there is no reason to think that the amount you use means you cannot find a better deal. Many businesses need power to run equipment, but even if it only comes down to nothing more than heating and lighting costs, electricity bills and gas charges are frequently a high proportion of a company's ongoing quarterly costs. Look into low energy measures, such as thermal insulation, or using energy at times when it is cheaper. Price comparisons, based on current usage, can be highly beneficial too, when looking for a cheaper supplier.

Increase Your Business Space

Expanding the size of your business premises can mean that you can simplify workflows and clear clutter, leading to fewer mistakes. This can lower costs because things don't have to be repeated or orders re-despatched. However, renting more space is costly. Instead, fit a mezzanine floor. This means you can effectively double the amount of space that you have available without needing to increase your rental or heating costs. Different companies provide mezzanine flooring services such as Warehouse Storage Solutions which offers its customers this service. By installing one, you can add more workspace, find room for a better-organised warehouse or even use it for office-based staff if wanted. Installing mezzanine flooring opens you up to other beneficial space-saving warehouse additions like industrial stairways (found on websites such as https://www.platformsandladders.com/industrial-stairways), as they can be fitted to the floor and then put away without any hassle. Your warehouse will be kept in good condition as well as safe.
 

Use a Franking Machine

When you have lots of posts that need to go out, heading to the Post Office to weigh and despatch parcels is time-consuming and costly. Even if you use stamps for standard-size envelopes, the price per item that is posted is greater than if you use a franking machine. By leasing one, you can spread the costs without having to find capital outlay. On average, users of franking machines save a penny for every item that they send, so they can soon lead to sizeable cost savings for companies that post goods or use the postal service to send invoices and statements to their customers.

Outsource Payroll

If you have a small amount of staff, then your payroll function may take up a disproportionate amount of your time. By employing a payroll clerk who runs your payroll function each month, you may not be getting the best value for money. Firms with fewer than a dozen or so employees can often save money by using a specialist sub-contractor who works exclusively in the field of payroll. Not only will you save money over a year, but costly mistakes are often avoided by engaging the services of an expert.

Switch to Electronic Services

By sending out paper invoices instead of electronic ones by email, you are potentially wasting thousands of pounds each year. Why not consider the virtues of dealing with customers electronically? Many businesses are now set up to handle customer enquiries via their website, thus reducing the amount of time spent dealing with commonly asked questions. A properly organised company website - and other electronic services, such as corporate mobile phone apps - should be able to reduce the amount you spend on staffing customer service lines and dealing with the same sorts of enquiries time and again.