As a business owner, you are sometimes faced with tough decisions. You are always thinking of ways to reduce cost without reducing your ability to work
successfully. The current environment has all business owners trying to find different ways to operate more efficiently and keep their company running smoothly. What actions have you taken to reduce cost and what best practices have you put in place to control cost in both good and bad times?
A nickel and dime at a time can add up to thousands of dollars worth of savings for your company. Cutting costs, even in tiny ways, goes directly to your bottom line. There are numerous ways to save money in your business, but today we are going to take a look at five simple and green ways to reduce costs and keep your business lean.
Direct Deposit Employee Paychecks
This small change will not only save you money, but at the end of the day it will increase employee satisfaction. It costs a business up to $2.00 to issue a paper check vs. 35 cents or less for a direct deposit. Let’s take a look at how much this small change adds up to in savings over the course of a year.
If you have:
10 employees, you can save $ 1,000 per year.
25 employees, you can save 2,000 per year.
100 employees, you can save $ 7,000 per year.
Review and Document Your Business Processes
Observe each task that is required for the day-to-day operations of your business. Document how each task is completed, why it is completed and how long it takes to complete. Once you have a clear picture of how time is being utilized by your employees, it is time to review and reorganize as needed. By eliminating non-essential tasks and improving the efficiency of remaining tasks, you can reduce both time and labor costs and operate more efficiently.
Learn from the experts – your employees. Engaging your employees is a great way to eliminate waste at every position. Receiving and acting on ideas offered by your employees can not only save you money and increase efficiency, but it will also increase employee moral and build a stronger team of workers.
Use Less Paper
The paperless office is much talked about, but still a long way from becoming a reality. Now that you have reviewed your company processes, you know which documents and forms are routine and essential parts of your business. With the Myco Portal platform, you have one master file in which to place these documents and forms. In addition to all of your company information being in one central location, you also have the ability to automate and streamline the routine processes that eat up your valuable time. You can start today by clicking here.
Reduce Office Expenses
A few paper clips here and a few pencils there may seem trivial, but miscellaneous office expenses can add up quickly. To avoid serious waste, make sure to audit these expenses. Keep all of your supplies in one (preferably locked) location with one person in charge of distribution. Only buy items in bulk that you use in large amounts, and try to purchase all of your office supplies online to avoid time wasted at the store.
Don’t Waste Electricity
This comes naturally to most of us at home, but do you abide by the same rules at the office? Make sure you are conscious of how you use electricity. Turn off lights when you leave the room and in unused rooms. Unplug any equipment that is not used consistently throughout the day (i.e. paper shredders.) Turn off computers, equipment and lights at the end of the day rather than leaving them running or on standby. Enable power conservation modes on all printers, computers, etc.
Future Plans for Myco Portal
In researching this article, Voice over IP (VoIP) and internet fax services were frequently mentioned. We do not currently incorporate these, but we are going to look into them. I will report back and keep you posted on any future plans to implement these or other technologies.
Question: Do you have any suggestions or additional points to add in the above article?
Yes, Marc the Article was well written. Thank you for sharing!
Recycle as much as you can. Use refurbished ink cartridges for your printers where possible. Use recycled paper and other office products where possible to reduce costs and of course help the environment. Use electronic communications wherever practicable. Do not use telephone directory services as these add considerably to your telephone bill as does calling mobile telephones/cellphones. Calling landlines or using VoIP saves a lot of money where this is practicable. If you can organize to go paperless for your office routines this will also be a saving ultimately, though may cost in setting it up in the first place.
Always use the energy efficient computers and peripherals where possible. Use movement activated lighting so that if there is no one in a room the lights go off. However for safety ensure that corridors and passageways are adequately lit or you may incur unintended costs through accidents. Ensure that your building is well insulated and well ventilated for everyone’s comfort and energy efficiency.
Have a look at what other organizations are doing to make a sustainable company and copy their good ideas and avoid making the mistakes that may have been made along the way.
Savings may also be made as a result of re engineering the workflow of processes in both the manufacturing and administrative systems areas. Flow of work, ergonomics and similar principles can help reduce inefficiencies wherever they may be occurring.
Look for suggestions for continuous improvement in all aspects of the business from those most closely affected/involved with existing processes. You may be amazed at what innovations may be forthcoming.
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