Unfortunately, once a business starts to go down hill, the first thing that happens is a round of firings. Whether it’s letting the secretary go, or trimming down a department, having to let people go can have lots of negative consequences. If your profits have been going downhill, don’t break out the pink slips just yet. Check out these ways that your business can save some money without having to let anyone go, and hopefully recover quickly from a bad few months.
Reanalyze Your Phone Costs
One of the most expensive bills that a business can have is the phone bill. Phones are used so often in the office, whether it’s just to call downstairs or to call another country. High international minutes can add up very quickly, and these are all unnecessary costs in today’s digital age.
You may be able to save enough money so you don’t have to fire anybody simply by checking out VoIP service providers and signing up with the right one for you. With VoIP, you won’t be forced to pay by the minute for international calls; in fact, you can even take your phone number with you wherever you go which reduces the need for a company cell phone. You could save hundreds a month by switching to VoIP, meaning you’re one step closer to avoiding any sort of layoffs.
Internet
Another area of your office that you might be able to cut costs is with the Internet. Internet is very expensive, and often times Internet providers will try to sign businesses up for expensive packages that they simply don’t need. Take a serious look at your company’s Internet needs, and see if you can switch to a lesser package. Small business solutions typically don’t require the fastest Internet on the market.
For instance, if you have a T1 Internet connection, you might be totally fine by switching to Ethernet or DSL. It could save you hundreds, even thousands, a month depending on the size of your company. Check with the IT technician in your office to see if he or she thinks you’re paying too much for Internet, as your IT technician will likely know exactly how much Internet bandwidth is needed. Saving on Internet might be enough to avoid layoffs.
Paper
Paper isn’t expensive, but it adds up very quickly. Between copies, faxes, memos, and every other sort of thing, paper is an expensive cost of running an office. By reducing the amount of paper that your company uses, you’ll be killing multiple birds with a single stone.
For example, switching to electronic invoices will not only save you time and paper, it will also save you postage which can add up very quickly. Reduce your office paper needs, and you’ll start saving lots of money.
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