Business Expenses You Can Probably Live Without
As a business owner, there are times when you need to spend money as a means of benefiting your business. Some expenses could be deemed necessary, and while you might be able to reduce them to a degree, you probably wouldn’t be able to survive in business without them.
And that’s fine!
But then there are those expenses that you probably could live without. Instead of wasting your hard-earned funds on them, it might make better financial sense to eliminate them entirely, as the money you then save could then be spent on better things.
Here are a few examples.
#1: Business fleet expenses
From company cars to delivery vehicles, it might be that your business is tied to down to those nuisance four-wheeled expenses. We are thinking of road tax, insurance, fuel, and maintenance costs. But ask yourself: Do you need a business fleet? You might say yes, especially if you drive across town to meetings on a regular basis, but perhaps the bus would be cheaper. And besides, you might not have to leave your office at all, as you could use Skype or similar to conduct your meetings, so think about it. Then think about your delivery vehicles too. Would it be cheaper for you to hire a third-party delivery company? It might be, especially if you rarely use the vehicles on your lot. And ask yourself this: Do you need to own company vehicles? If they are rarely used, you might use car, van, or ute hire services instead when transport was needed for your business. So, what do you think? Do you need to be tied down to your usual fleet costs?
#2: Employee expenses
Okay, while it might be necessary to have some people on your team, it might be that there is little need to hire new staff members. If your current employees have the time and ability to manage new responsibilities, there would be no need to hire anybody at all. But if you ever did need somebody to take on extra work, you could consider outsourcing instead of hiring somebody new, be that to a freelancer or a specialist firm. So, think about it. The fewer employees you have, the fewer wages you would have to pay, the less you would have to pay on employment tax, and the less you would have to pay on new office furniture and equipment.
#3: Paper and printing expenses
In a bygone age, paper and printing expenses were a necessity. Letters would need to be sent out to customers and investors. Marketing materials would need to be printed. And employees would have to read and work with paper documents in the office. Thankfully, those days are largely gone, as many business tasks can be carried out digitally. Email and social media are effective ways to both communicate with others and to market a business. And thanks to project management software and other digital technologies, employers don’t need to burden their employees with pieces of paper when relaying work duties. So, for both world-saving and money-saving benefits, perhaps now is the time for you to switch to a paperless office if you haven’t already done so.
Thanks for reading!