Many small businesses are run on a shoe-string, especially in the early years. Every last penny going out needs to be accounted for or bills can’t be paid. One way to save money is by cutting back on the amount you spend on consumables. Reducing your business overheads will improve cash flow through the business, and given the majority of small businesses fail in the first year because of poor cash flow, this is definitely a good thing. Here are a few ways to save money on your consumables, so give them a try and let us know if they work for your business.
Buy Consumables Online
Larger businesses can usually negotiate good discounts with big suppliers because they are able to make bulk orders. Smaller businesses don’t have this option, so it is better to look for bargains online when you need new ink cartridges or boxes of printer paper.
Online sellers are often more competitive that local stores. They have lower overheads so they can cut their prices. Use a price comparison search engine to find the best prices online, or look on online marketplaces such as onbuy.com for bargains.
Coupon and Voucher Deals
Take advantage of coupons and voucher deals; they can save you a fortune. Make a point of checking well-known voucher sites and sign up for updates so you are the first to know if a relevant deal comes online.
Save Money on Print Costs
Never print documents out unless it’s absolutely necessary. It’s all too easy to print off an email for filing, but ask yourself: do I really need a paper copy of this document? Unnecessary printing is a waste of paper and ink. It’s bad for the environment and even worse for your overheads.
The logical conclusion of this is to convert your office into a paperless office. Rather than keeping filing cabinets full of documents, which take up space and look unsightly, store virtual documents in a cloud storage system and save money on printer ink at the same time.
Having stationery printed with a company letterhead is expensive. One way to cut this cost is to insert your company logo on a soft-copy of a document and email it instead. It costs nothing to send invoices and correspondence via email and the cost of printing is borne by the recipient, not you.
Manage the Stationery Cupboard
Does your office have a stationery cupboard? If so, make sure you manage it correctly. It’s pointless buying items you don’t need. Some things, specifically printer cartridges, can easily go out of date and dry up if you don’t use them within a certain time. Having an effective system for monitoring stationery purchases will eliminate excessive spending and theft.
There are plenty of ways to reduce business expenditure on consumables, but it may take time to implement the above changes. Be patient, however, as in the long run these changes will be for the greater good of the business.
