Savings initiatives are a very important strategy for any business. But we should not wait until we find ourselves in a critical situation to get our act together. The ideal thing would be to establish a savings policy focused on reducing unnecessary costs, taking care not to cut back on those items that generate value for our business. Many professionals rack their brains focusing only on how to increase their sales without realizing that this is a factor that they cannot control 100%, since factors such as changing consumer tastes or fashions intervene. However, the entrepreneur has much greater control over the cost structure of a company.
However, we must be sensible and make a good analysis. A drastic reduction in costs can lead to economic savings in the short term, but to serious decreases in the company's productivity in the future. We must also differentiate where we can and cannot reduce costs. I'll give you a very simple example: customer service. Customer service is a very important variable in the positioning of a company. Some entrepreneurs may try to copy the behavior of large companies that neglect this variable a lot, without realizing that there are other variables in which they are competitive and a small business owner is not (large spaces, great capillarity, unbeatable prices, very attractive promotions, impeccable marketing campaigns...). Trying to cut back on customer service can be a big mistake.
From Inspira Workspaces We are at your disposal with the best team of professionals to help you in this task. We have accounting and tax advisors who can make a customized plan for you, or simply give you some guidelines. Whatever you prefer and need.
Next, we will review the different areas of expenditure to analyse possible improvements, although you must bear in mind that each company is a world, and what for some companies is an expendable expense, for others it is a strategic item:
Administration.
- Phone: Many companies still maintain expensive telephone systems based on ISDNs and digital switchboards. The objective is to be able to maintain several simultaneous communications with added services such as voice messages, extensions, speed dials, redirections... These systems are very expensive for several reasons, the first is the cost applied by the operator, the second is the cost of the hardware, and the third is the cost of maintaining the entire infrastructure. Currently, IP telephony provides us with the same services at a much lower cost, and adding much greater flexibility, since it is not permanent and the system can be moved from one place to another very easily. Additionally, there are numerous free videoconferencing applications that provide a new experience in communication. At Inspira Workspaces we are distributors of VOIP telephony. Consult us without obligation.
- The electricity bill: Opt for an open layout of your office furniture, which encourages the entry and passage of light throughout the space. Remember to use low-consumption light bulbs and, of course, don't forget to turn off all appliances that are not going to be used at night. Automation systems can help you save significant amounts of money each year, as they will keep the lights and equipment off when they are not needed. Try to analyse the consumption of your air conditioners, as new systems can make replacing the old ones pay off in record time. Analyse your electricity bill, it is very likely that adjusting the rate or changing the distributor will give you savings of 25% on your bill. Inspira Workspaces We can do a study to optimize your expenses.
- Paper usage: Reduce the use of paper as much as possible: whenever possible, try to replace paper with digital documents such as electronic invoices and estimates. This way, you will save much more than you imagine, not only on paper, but also on ink, toner, printers, etc. In addition, if you store all these documents on the computer, it will be much easier to find anything than if you store them in huge filing cabinets filled to the brim with sheets of paper, cardboard and folders. Finally, we must not forget that you will be contributing to improving the environment.
Marketing.
- Social Networks: Enter their world and discover all the sales opportunities that social networks can bring to your company. Many of them offer the realization of advertising campaigns at a very affordable price and they ensure that you reach a very high number of people who may be potential clients. For free, you can create surveys that will allow you to know the opinion of users about your product/service. Another great advantage that social networks provide us is that we can use them to enhance our customer service, since they offer us immediacy in communication with customers, which gives a plus to your image in the eyes of the public.
- Web positioning: Having good SEO management can save you large amounts on Adwords. At Inspira Workspaces we have the best professionals who can advise you in this regard, contact us!
- CRM: By using a good customer management tool, in addition to having much better control over your potential clients, you will save a lot of time, and you know, time is money!
Providers.
- Try to keep costs always up to date. Pay close attention to the offers of both your suppliers and your competitors' suppliers in order to try to find advantageous negotiations for your business. If the cost of changing suppliers is high for you, try to renegotiate prices with your current suppliers of products or services. There are two serious mistakes that a company often makes:
- One is to settle for mediocrity from suppliers who provide poor service or do not offer the flexibility that these times require, or do not achieve competitive prices. Do not settle, because your customers will not settle and you will tend to lose them if you are not competitive.
- The other is to only consider the price and discard loyal and professional suppliers for others that offer you a more reasonable price. Do not be seduced only by cost savings, it is a strategy that will bring you problems in the future.
One thing caught my attention noticia I recently read about the concerns of Spanish companies when it comes to making sales: they focus entirely on selling as much product/service as possible and neglect the conditions under which they are doing so. Try to avoid this mistake at all costs.
Floor.
- The first thing you should do is analyze and manage your inventory daily. You should try not to accumulate stock, since the material is perishable and can spoil, only generating an economic loss. And the thing is, many times we do not realize the day-to-day expenses that we carry out in a company. Sometimes we forget those mini-purchases that we make and that, added up over time, mean a significant percentage of expenditure. The things we buy increasingly have a shorter life cycle, so they will be out of date soon. Therefore, it is highly advisable to establish standardized purchasing processes that help us have impeccable control of our expenses and investments.
Personnel Expenses.
Many companies, in addition to having to pay the salaries of each of their employees, must also pay their transportation and subsistence expenses. This is where we must ask ourselves... how many of our workers could work from home in the form of teleworking? In fact, following the Covid-19 pandemic that has devastated our country and the rest of the world, we have realized that a huge part of the population could be teleworking from home in a way that is equally efficient for the company and even more advantageous in economic terms.
Another very common mistake is having people perform tasks that could be done much more efficiently by a specialist. In many cases, it is better to outsource roles such as accountants, tax advisors, IT specialists or marketing specialists, not only because they become a variable expense, but because a specialist will always do this job better.
On the other hand, many businessmen are very fond of closing deals during company meals. Although this may be very pleasant, it is actually an unnecessary expense for the business. Try replacing this type of meeting with a simple coffee in an elegant café. In any case, if your meeting consists of a full day of discussion and negotiation, opt for more economical options. Inspira Workspaces It hosts business professionals on a daily basis who spend intensive days carrying out important tasks. meetings in our rooms. We, always trying to increase your comfort to the maximum, put at your disposal a personalized catering service and completely exclusive for each meeting. We offer a wide variety of options for both Coffee Break and Lunch , which cover a price range that I assure you will be much cheaper than those you will find in any restaurant where you decide to have your business meal (and don't forget comfort and attention to detail, these are things that you don't pay for but that make a difference).
Invest in R&D&I.
Find out how the tax reductions that apply to us when we invest in R&D or when we embark on innovation projects work. They don't have to be super innovative projects. Many deductions are collected for companies that simply invest in sustainability, even if they are not in the environmental field: changing machinery for less polluting ones, for example.
As you can see, there are many ways that a company has to reduce its costs. Some are really simple and others we will have to consider whether or not it is advisable to reduce expenses in them.
Finally, I leave you with this interview with Federico Salvador, professor at CENTRUM PUCP and speaker at the Peru Management Summit 2018, who shows us the difference between traditional accounting, where a company's expenses are separated by department, and the control of accounting based on the cost of the processes, which consists, as he explains in the video, in assigning our costs by identifying which are the most important processes in our business. He stresses the importance of business owners knowing in detail what the real cost of all these processes is.
Again, since Inspira Workspaces We offer you our help. If you have accounting questions, we are committed to helping you find the best solution for you and your business, establishing cost reduction, consulting and marketing strategies that are completely exclusive to you.
