As a small business owner, you are probably always looking for smart ways to save money and improve your profit margins.
Luckily, there are many ways you can do this quickly and easily without too much work on your part.
This article explores some of the fastest ways you can save money and make your company more profitable in as little as two weeks!
Postage
Postage is a large expense for many businesses, whether that be because you are an e-commerce business shipping out products or a service-based business communicating with clients.
Luckily, there are many ways you can save funds on postage. For a start, most service-based industries can switch to email and eradicate a large proportion of this cost.
In fact, in a recent survey, it was found that the majority of clients prefer email as a mode of communication anyway, and it is a lot faster than traditional snail mail!
For non-service-based industries, shipping is essential, but you can still save money by looking into other options, couriers will often give discounts if you pre-pay or purchase their services in bulk, or you could look into the possibility of a franking machine that offers discounted postage rates also.
Suppliers Pricing
Don’t be afraid to re-negotiate with your suppliers. They need your business, whereas you could find a new supplier if needs be.
Often if you can up your order sizes or contract length, they will be willing to offer you a larger discount to secure the deal. So this is always worth looking at.
Even if you are unable to commit to larger or longer-term contracts at this time, it’s still a good idea to ask the question and use some negotiating skills in the process.
Switching Payment Methods
Switching from a traditional wire bank transfer for your payments to an automated clearing house (ACH) payment provider is going to save you substantial amounts of money if you send a lot of digital payments.
A bank transfer can set you back $20-40 dollars, whereas an ACH payment usually caps at around $2 and is often free. In addition to this, ACH payments offer an additional layer of security.
This is because companies that provide account verification services, such as Yodlee, can reverse ACH payments after initiation, which is difficult with traditional wire transfers.
In addition to this, Yodlee also offers an account verification process, which will check your recipient’s account information to provide peace of mind that you are sending funds to a trustworthy person.
Subscribe & Save
For any consumables you use in your business such as paper or printer ink, many suppliers now offer a subscribe and save service, where if you pay monthly for these items, they will give you a substantial discount.
It is their way of ensuring ongoing custom from you, but as you are using these items regardless, it is just a better deal. So, it is worth asking your suppliers if they offer this service.
Summary
Saving small amounts of money here and there in your business can add up to large amounts overall, so it is worth spending the time to look for these little money-saving hacks!