9 Ways to Save on Essential Business Expenses

David Banks
Authored by David Banks
Posted Friday, July 31, 2020 - 11:08am

Running a business means lots of small expenses that can quickly add up. And, while you can eliminate some expenses that your business may not really need, some are difficult to get away from, like gas and electric, water, and rent. However, the good news is that there are several things that you can do to cut back on these essential expenses; while you might not be able to get away with paying them completely, you can cut back and pay as little as possible to free up money for investing elsewhere. Here are some top tips and ideas that you might like to use to save more money on essential business costs.

Opt for Second-Hand Equipment

Office equipment is something that most businesses are not going to be able to do without. Even if you don’t run an office-based business, chances are that you do have an office where you complete admin and management tasks and need basic equipment like desks and chairs, computers, printers, and more. Instead of purchasing this essential equipment outright, you might want to think about getting it second-hand. You can often find businesses that are closing down and selling off their equipment at bottom prices, and the best part is that it still works absolutely fine and will work just as well for your company without having to shell out on something brand-new. Check out refurbished computers and some other tech for you and your staff to use; you can often get great bargains on items that are just as good as you’d expect to buy them brand-new.

Switch Water Supplier

Did you know that you can switch your commercial water supplier? If your water bill is a significant business expense, it might be worth seeing if it’s possible for you to get a better service elsewhere that’ll save you money. You can easily switch water supplier direct with a supplier like Business Stream, or you could choose to switch via a broker or switching website online.

Switch Your Energy Provider

Another option that you might want to consider while you are in the process of switching suppliers is moving to a different energy supplier. Businesses tend to use a lot of energy, so it’s worth making sure that you are getting the best value. Energy prices fluctuate constantly, so what might have been the best deal when you signed up months ago could have become one of the most expensive options now, so it’s always worth taking the time to regularly check water prices, compare suppliers and find out if it’s worth making the switch to someone else.

Solar Panels

Another great way to save money on your energy costs is to have solar panels installed at your business premises. While this might be a large initial expense to get the solar panels and have them set up, the savings over the long-term can be absolutely massive. And, with several initiatives to get businesses switching over to green energy, you might be able to get hold of solar panels for your company at a reduced price too. Once you have solar panels installed, you will be able to generate your own business energy from the sun. And, invest in a storage solution for any surplus energy that you generate, and you can sell it back to the grid, going from spending money on energy to making it instead.

Water Conservation

Simple water conservation tips in the workplace can go a long way when it comes to saving money, and help you run a more environmentally-friendly enterprise at the same time. Put policies in place in terms of what your employees should be doing in order to save more water while at work, like not running the taps for longer than a certain period of time. It can be all too easy for employees to be careless and end up using more water than they actually need for tasks like washing hands or cleaning, so clear guidelines in place will help everybody reduce their water consumption and reduce your business’s bills in the meantime.

Water Audit

A water audit by a professional can also be a useful resource to help you save money on a regular basis. During a water audit, your business will be inspected for anywhere that you could be wasting water, and it’s also a handy way to find out if you have any leaks that you weren’t aware of. If you’ve noticed that your water bills are increasing even though you or your employees haven’t made any changes to the amount of water that you consume, a leak could be to blame. An experienced professional can check your water system to see if there is any water being wasted that is out of your control, allowing you to take steps to fix it.

Energy Audit

Audits might not be something that you welcome very often in business, but in the case of an energy audit, it’s one that you are actually going to like. Similar to a water audit, an energy audit can be provided by your energy provider and will consist of a professional visiting your premises to see where you are wasting energy and provide you with guidelines for conserving more. Sometimes, simple things like draughty windows or air vents can cause the heat to escape from a room more than you might realise, causing your business energy bills to add up in a way that they don’t need to.

Energy Conservation

Putting policies in place in your business for conserving energy is a simple step that can make a big difference to the amount of money that you are spending on this essential expense. After having an energy audit conducted and finding new ways to save energy, you are probably keen to get started with implementing these new practices. For example, you could make it company policy to always switch the lights off in a room that is no longer in use, or even better, go ahead and install motion sensor lights in every room so that they will turn off automatically when nobody is in there, and you won’t need to worry about wasted energy.

Consider a New Location

Rent is also another business expense that you can’t get away from if you are leasing your premises. However, there may be some ways to reduce the amount that you pay. Consider the location of your current premises and ask yourself, do we really need to be here? The swanky high-rise city centre office might have looked great when you first decided on it, but it could be costing your business more than it needs to each month. Consider relocating your office to a cheaper location, perhaps on the outskirts of town, so that it’s still easy for employees to get to but at a lower price.

When running a business, there are some monthly expenses that you simply can’t get away from if you have physical premises. But with these steps, you can make sure that you’re not paying more than you need to.

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