Resolutions are a hot topic in January, but you can’t resolve to save your business money and then just expect it to magically happen. Take some time during the slow winter months to re-evaluate operations and it’s likely you’ll ring in some savings year-round.
Start by scheduling meetings with your insurance provider, accountant, banker and suppliers to re-evaluate your needs and costs. Could refinancing a loan save some dollars? Maybe there are supplies you could buy in bulk to get better pricing. Maybe your equipment has aged or changed and you are over- or under-insured.
Other areas to re-evaluate that could result in savings:
Phone and Internet Service
Telecommunications companies like to a play a game where they attract new customers by offering super-low monthly rates on local, long distance and/or wireless phone service. Then when the introductory rate expires, the monthly rate skyrockets, and it’s up to the customer to notice and ask for a better one. They’re happy to let customers blindly pay the high rate indefinitely.
As a business owner with countless day-to-day tasks to accomplish it’s easy to take an eye off phone bills for a few months. But competition is heavy in the telecommunications industry, so it may be worth your time to spend an hour (or more) chatting with a phone company representative and letting them know you preferred paying the introductory rate and would like to do so again. If you are prepared to actually do it, threaten to go to the competition. Have a bill in front of you and beware of long-term contracts or bundles that sound good but end up costing you more than you bargain for. Don’t pay for services you don’t use.
Shop around for Internet services too. Smaller Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can have service and speeds similar to big companies and sometimes have shorter or no contracts. If you got a low introductory rate from a large provider and it has since expired, tell them you’ll go elsewhere unless you can have that original rate back. They may be willing to negotiate.
Credit Card Services
If your business accepts credit cards you either have a merchant account or use a payment service, such as PayPal. You could benefit from evaluating the options and switching from one to the other if it will save you money. It all depends on the number of transactions conducted each month. A payment service costs more per transaction, but if you don’t do a high volume of credit card transactions, it may save you money to switch from a merchant account to a payment service because you’ll save on statement fees, monthly fees and discount percentages. Look at how many invoices a month are paid by credit card and calculate the costs using your current system and the alternative.
Energy Consumption
Think about how many dollars it takes just to keep the lights on. Re-evaluating energy usage can result in significant savings. Most utilities offer free or low-cost energy audits for businesses, which may be the most effective way to re-evaluate your energy usage and lower your bills. Schedule an audit, but in the meantime, here are a few things you can do immediately to save:
• Next time you purchase computers, consider laptops, which use up to 90 percent less energy than a standard computer.
• Turn off as many unnecessary lights as possible. Use task lighting instead of overhead lighting whenever possible.
• Make sure that equipment and lights are turned off after hours.
• Replace old fluorescent lights with newer, more efficient models using electronic ballasts (for example, replace T12 lights with magnetic ballasts to T8 lights and electronic ballasts).
• Replace high-use incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights and make sure all bulbs, fixtures, lenses, lamps and reflective surfaces are cleaned regularly. Removing grease, dust and other dirt, increases light output.
• Install automatic room-lighting controls to turn lights on or off depending on occupancy or time of day.
• Set energy-saving features on office equipment to put them into sleep mode when not in use.
• Set the thermostat to 68 degrees during work hours and 55 degrees when the space is unoccupied. For every degree you lower the heat in the 60- to 70-degree range; you can save up to 5 percent on heating costs.
• Keep exterior and freight doors closed as much as possible.
• Maintain a regular filter replacement and cleaning schedule for your heating and ventilation systems.
• Rewire restroom fans to operate with the lights.
• Insulate water heaters and supply pipes.
Re-Thinking Profits
There are really only two ways for a business to increase profits. The first is to take in more money. The other is to spend less money. In busy months, a PRO can concentrate on taking in more dollars. In the slow months, however, it’s hard to take in more, so spend some time re-evaluating where money is being spent. You’ll have higher profits all year long, and that’s a resolution you can take to the bank!
