Spring Into Savings: Cost-Saving Ideas for Small Businesses

Cost-savings strategies and tips for small business owners to keep your business blooming this spring.

Spring is here! For most, that may mean it’s time for a closet cleanout or to start planning your summer getaways. For small business owners, however, the season serves as a reminder to recharge, refresh, and revaluate your business strategy and budget. Three months into the new year, it’s easy for some things to fall to the wayside. Every small business owner is searching for methods to decrease losses and increase profits. So, take this opportunity as a moment to gain some momentum and put new tactics in place to save your business some money.

Spring cost-savings ideas for small businesses:

Financial housekeeping tips

Tips to identify operational waste and cost-saving opportunities

1. Go paperless: Lower printing, postage, and storage costs and improve productivity by eliminating traditional or out-of-date practices and going digital. The marketing flyers you’ve been professionally printing and mailing for years? They’re just as effective as an email. Plus, sending communications and invoices digitally is quicker and will save your business time and money.
2. Switch banks: With new regulatory changes taking effect, banks are looking to squeeze more revenue out of fees to not hurt their profits. Believe it or not, you can cut significant costs by switching to a bank that doesn’t charge fees for your business’s most-used services. We may be biased, but Penn Community Bank has business banking solutions that could be a game changer for your small business.
3. Get (your business) out on the town: Be sure to track all business meetings conducted over lunch, dinner, coffee or other outings like sports games and golf. Most of these interactions with clients – even if it’s entertainment – qualify for a business or tax deduction. Travel to these meetings usually count, too. Keep track of all receipts and mileage to hand over to your accountant at the end of the year. On the other hand, if your business is home-based, look into deducting a portion of your mortgage or utilities as a business expense.

 Reduce risk

Tips to keep your business safe from outside threats

1. Manage employee spending: You want to believe your team trustworthy and honest when it comes to spending. However, businesses lose thousands each year as a result of misuse or abuse of company-issued credit cards, and it happens from the bottom up. Set guidelines for credit card use and activate limits and alerts so you can better monitor your monthly spending and avoid costly mistakes.
2. Use payroll debit cards: More and more companies are switching from printing checks and even direct deposit and using payroll debit cards instead. Not only does this method reduce administrative costs, it lowers the risk of fraud, too. 60% of all fraud incidents within a business involve employees, so keep your business’s banking information safe and secure.
3. Give (yourself) some credit: Be sure to do your due-diligence before extending credit to a client. Check their credit background to make sure they’re creditworthy and consider sending partial shipments, requesting letters of credit, or taking out credit insurance to protect your business’s hard-earned assets.

 Invest in the future

Tips to help plan for future goals

1. Invest in software tools and automation: If you’ve been wary about technology and how to integrate it into your business, now’s the time to leverage the power of technology to optimize operations. By leaning into software tools and automation, you can streamline workflows, reduce manual labor, eliminate redundancy, and ultimately cut down on expenses while doing so.
2. Outsource tasks: Your small business may not need a full-time or even part-time employee to handle a job like accounting, marketing, IT, or HR. Rather than employing someone that won’t typically have enough work to be productive, consider outsourcing to an agency or using freelancers. These are experts that are available for you at a fraction of the cost of a full-time staff member.
3. Join an association: Becoming part of a trade or business association can have numerous advantages for your business. Most of these organizations have reasonable memberships and, in turn, offer discounts on everything from travel to insurance. Many hold events that could be great networking opportunities, too.

For more resources on cost-savings for your business, consider contacting a Penn Community Bank to discuss these valuable aspects of your business or visit www,PennCommunityBank.com.

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