Money is, by definition, at the core of any business. As such, ways to increase income or reduce expenditure are always valuable, and any sensible business will be keen to use as many as are practical and ethical.
There are a number of lesser-known yet simple and affordable services that can result in significant savings for a business. Frequently, these will also serve to reduce workloads within the business, resulting in further savings through reduced labour costs and generally more efficient processes.
HR Services and Software
There are now many software solutions that can be provided for HR processes. These can stream the way a business’s HR operations run, making a range of processes faster, easier and more efficient while reducing the level of time investment required from employees within the company. Software solutions can help achieve more efficient and cost-effective processes for recruitment, onboarding, payroll and almost any other part of HR.
Using software will also often replace paper processes. This will save money that would otherwise be spent on paper, printing and potentially postage. Perhaps the most notable example of this is the use of downloadable online payslips, replacing one of the few processes that most businesses still carry out on paper. Looking for HR Solutions? See here.
Receipt Processing
Many businesses miss out on expenses that could be offset against tax in order to make savings. Usually, it is smaller expenses that get missed out, but over time these can add up significantly. Some estimates place the yearly amount of money lost this way by an average small or medium-sized business at more than £1,000.
Usually, these losses are due to receipts. Receipts are often ignored, lost, forgotten about or simply not picked up in the first place. This is especially true for smaller expenses or those that are picked up in a hurry, such as travel and subsistence costs. Some small expenses also make it look as if entering them into your books will be more trouble than it is worth. However, it is possible to send your receipts physically or digitally — perhaps from a simple smartphone photograph — for processing externally and turning into data that is automatically added to your books. This service naturally comes with a fee, but it is usually outweighed significantly by the savings made.
SEO
Most businesses have an online presence, and many spend money on online advertising. Investing in SEO services can help people to find your business naturally through search engines. This can be financially beneficial in two ways. Firstly, it makes you money through increasing your customer base. Secondly, it can cut costs by replacing more expensive ongoing advertising efforts.
Obviously, this does not mean you can get to the front page of Google and then neglect all paid advertising. Advertising still plays a vital role in attracting business for almost any company. Studies have shown that even paid search advertising is not wholly replaced by good organic SEO. However, better SEO can lead to a more cost-effective balance, and even if your advertising budget ends up staying the same, getting extra customers through organic search will not do your business any harm.
Cover photo credit: RLHyde
