How Savvy Small Businesses Can Make The Most Of Their Budgets

by Startacus Admin

After months of speculation, the UK Government has announced that the country’s economy is in recession for the first time in over a decade.

For many businesses, this isn’t news, as the Coronavirus pandemic has been causing financial hardships since the beginning of the year. However, the official announcement means that many small business leaders will now be reviewing their budgets and exploring cost-saving measures designed to help them survive despite the challenges they face.

Cutting costs is just one way that small businesses can optimise their budgets and reduce costs; if you’re smart about managing your company’s finances, then you can save hundreds of pounds a year and reduce waste in your organisation.

All it takes is a lot of determination and a little financial knowledge. While we can’t help with the determination, we can supply the information, so read on to find our top tips on how your small business can maximise its budget and make every penny count.

Review All Of Your Costs

It might sound like an obvious suggestion, but many small business leaders lose their grasp on their business accounts, and as a result, find themselves paying for solutions and services that they no longer use. Review all of your company’s expenditure and check that you are making the most out of every solution. If you have old subscriptions to tools and solutions that you no longer need, then cancel them to free up the money for things your business will actually use.

Streamline Your Product Shipping Process

Product shipping, packaging, and delivery costs can quickly mount, so consider streamlining the process by using 3PL fulfilment experts such as the likes of SimpShip. Fulfilment companies like this will receive your products direct from the manufacturer, and can package them using bespoke, branded solutions, and then ship them straight to the customer, helping your business save time and money while still being able to fulfil orders to the highest possible standard.

Explore Free Digital Marketing Strategies

Boosting your online presence is essential in 2020, as the lockdown has led to an increase in online shopping. Small businesses often struggle to handle their own digital marketing and end up resorting to hiring expensive agencies. However, there are many free techniques, such as free keyword search tools, that you can use to find the target terms you need to use in your written content. You can then include them in your blog posts and online updates, to grow your reach without hiring someone to do it for you.

Choose Flexible Payment Plans

Many service providers lock you into long contracts that are expensive to get out of before their time is up, but this could mean that you end up paying for solutions and services that you don’t need. As such, when you’re signing up for a new service, try to find one with a flexible payment plan, that allows you to cancel at any time. This approach will ensure that you don’t pay for services that you don’t need and can adapt quickly to any future developments in your business.

Hire Outsourced Staff

While it is tempting to bring tasks in-house, if you don’t need these skills regularly then you could waste a lot of money hiring skilled team members, or training your existing staff. Work out the best tasks to outsource, and then find an external service provider that offers a cost-effective solution. In many cases, agencies charge large fees and then outsource the work themselves, so consider going directly to the source and hiring a freelancer. They can give you the benefit of their expertise, at a fraction of the price of hiring a new permanent team member.

With a little effort and some changes to the way your organisation manages its finances, your business could save the money it needs to remain profitable despite the current economic crisis. Use these tips to make the most of your budget and improve your chances of surviving and thriving well into the future.

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Published on: 22nd August 2020