Cut Your Business Costs Without Cutting Your Staff

Contributed Post, March 25, 2019

When employees have been with you a long time they have experience that could be lost if you have to let them go to cut costs. That could have a detrimental effect on your business. You might not realize this until after they have gone, and then it could be too late to repair any damage that your business has suffered because of their loss. Before you let any long-term employees go, see if there are any other ways to cut your overheads.

Utility Bills

With a bit of planning, this is one area where often money can be saved. You can have sensors fitted that turn lights off when no one is using a particular area, and you can change the business hours slightly to make the most of the natural daylight. But the biggest energy savings come from looking at different suppliers. The deal you have at the moment could have been the best around when you first signed up for it, but it might not be anymore. You have to remember that all the energy companies want your business and often if you can prove to your current supplier you have found a better deal, they will match or beat it just so they do not lose you. The same principle applies to communications bills.

Insurances

Insurances are a vital overhead for any business but you should not pay more than you need to. The best way is to ask more than one company for quotes for your HGV insurance, inventory insurance, premises insurance and any others that you need. Check each quote carefully as the cheapest is not always the best and you need to make sure you have the cover you asked for.

You may be surprised just how many dollars you can save every year by comparing insurance quotes.

Chat With Your Workers

Hopefully, your economic downturn is temporary and will very soon be over with. However, in the meantime, you should chat with your employees to see if they have any cost savings ideas. Most of them will not want to lose their job and may suggest things such as reducing their hours for a few weeks to see if things improve.

Asking full-time workers to become part-time workers even for just a few weeks can save a lot of money and help to put your business back on an even keel. They most suggest a shorter working week or have other ideas where cash can be saved. After all, it is them that does most of the work and they may well come up with ideas that had not occurred to you.

Move Premises

Moving to cheaper premises could be an option worth considering. Although the actual move will cost you, on an ongoing basis you could be saving money, As long as the new premises are suitable, you could well be wondering why you had not done this before. Sometimes it is down to trying to make s business look as good as we can in great premises, but your customers would rather see you in somewhere cheaper and see you survive.