How much money do you think your business throws away in an average year?
You’re probably thinking what do you mean throws away? We don’t throw away money!
And of course I don’t literally mean taking $100 bills and tossing them into the wind, but I bet there are dollars flowing out of your business every month that you know nothing about.
It’s really no one’s fault, we’re all just moving so quickly to get work done that we forget to keep an eye on the little details. And the little details can add up to big dollars.
The really good news is that if you’re willing to take an afternoon and do some investigating I’m sure you can save a bundle.
Here are the five places I always find money:
1. Printers are cheap these days but ink is not. Are you printing everything on a color ink jet printer? This will cost you a ton of money in no time.
My solution? I have two printers one HP LaserJet workhorse for everything that’s black and white (the cartridge lasts me at least a year). The other is an Epson Ink Jet that is only used when I MUST have color.
The LaserJet printer is only about $150 and you can save that much in Ink Jet ink in two months.
2. Stop stockpiling office supplies. Take a good look in your supply cabinet and you’ll see stacks of dollars stored there.
These days, office supply companies will deliver within a day or two, usually for free. So you don’t need several months supply of anything. I have one client who had 15 boxes of staples, stacks of notebooks, bricks of post-its for a three-person office.
You might not think this adds up to much but over time it does. Can you imagine stocking three or four cartridges for your printer (at $90 each) and not using them all before your printer dies and can’t be replaced?
3. Eliminate unnecessary recurring charges. Do you have reoccurring charges to your bank account, credit cards or PayPal account and yet no idea what they’re for?
I had one forever for $12.95. Just the thought of figuring out who to call, sitting on hold, cancelling and then following up again the next month to make sure it was really gone was enough to keep me eating the expense month after month.
I finally did it and I felt so much better once it was GONE!
4. Stop paying late fees and penalties. I understand that sometimes cash is tight and this can’t be avoided. But take a look at how much you spent on fees and penalties in the last year and think about how much you could have saved.
By simply putting your bills on a calendar or using reminders in QuickBooks you can keep the bills on a schedule and avoid this unnecessary money drain.
5. Ditch the extra office space. I know it’s a hassle and really expensive to move, but what if you sublet some of your space or renegotiated your lease?
Lots of solo professionals would be thrilled to share your space and your expenses. Who knows, maybe they’d even share your bookkeeper and pay part of her salary!
The thing about these money wasters is that if we all told the truth, we know exactly where they’re hidden in our businesses.
I know you’re busy and you’re not deliberately wasting money, but if you’re going to run a tight ship, you need to plug the leaks in your boat.