11 Cost Saving Opportunities For Your Office

If you’re looking to cut down on some of the costs involved in running your office, you’ve probably already looked at key things like the team you have, how many of them you need, etc. While this is clearly important, there are some other things that you may not have thought about initially that help to cut your costs around the office. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most important things you could be doing to help save money as an office manager:

1. Know Your Costs

One of the biggest things you can do is know how much you’re already paying. You should know the cost associated with every employee, and also know the cost of everything you need inside the building such as electricity costs, supply costs and more. You want to know absolutely everything that’s going on because it’s going to help you know where you’re spending too much and where you might be able to cut a little bit more. Take a little time to go over the bills before you do anything else.

2. Beef Up Your IT

When it comes to where you spend your money, you want to make sure that you’re spending it in the right places. Did you know that spending a little more on IT can actually help you to cut down costs in other areas? If your computers and your technology are working the way they should, you’re going to have fewer periods of lost productivity. You’re also going to have an easier process of getting problems resolved when they need to be. So, spend a little more on the setup of your IT and you won’t need to spend as much on it as you go.

3. Know What You Really Need

There are a number of areas that you’re probably spending more money than you need to be. You may be spending more for a higher level phone plan without realizing it. Or maybe you’re spending more on bookkeeping or cloud storage. If you’re spending too much on plans that you don’t actually need, you may want to cut back those plans and see what your other options are. That way you can save money each and every month. 

Pay attention to each of the different plans that you’re paying for. Even if the plan is something simple or you don’t think you’re spending that much on it you want to make sure that you cut it down. Even a few dollars a month can add up and cost you a great deal. And since you’re looking to cut back, every little bit is going to help. 

4. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

You shouldn’t be doing work that someone else could be doing just as well. As a manager, it’s your job to do some of the higher-level work. You shouldn’t be doing administrative tasks or spending time on duties that a receptionist or other employee could be doing. Instead, spend your time doing the things that can’t be done by someone else and delegate tasks to other employees. This is going to save you time and, even though it seems like it might cost you money, it’s actually going to save you money because you’re working on the important things.

5. Cut Down On Hard Copies

We mentioned this one once already, but it’s definitely something to consider. With the advent of all those new programs and processes online for keeping information stored and secure do you really need to have a hard copy? Does anyone? Can you email it securely or store it in a secure online form? That’s a great place to start because you can cut down on paper, ink, and maintenance for your printer as well. You also won’t have to spend money on things like stamps, envelopes and mailing services to send those files out to people in other offices.

6. Use Free Advertising

You probably spend a lot of money on advertising your business, right? So, how are you going to get the most people interested in what you have to offer? Well, you might not want to cut out all of that advertising, but you’re definitely going to want to leverage the free options you can get. Post things on a social media channel (and not just the paid stuff). Create groups and pages where people can find out about you and you may find that you get more business for less money spent on advertising. 

On top of social media, you typically want to leverage your current customers. Get free advertising from them by encouraging them to talk to people. Give discounts for customers that are referred from a current customer. Provide excellent quality service in order to get customers who are even happier. Those are the people who are going to talk about you and they’re going to get more people interested. Just keep in mind that if you provide bad service people are going to talk about that even more. That means constantly being aware of what you’re providing to your customers. 

7. Keep Things Stored Right

Where do you keep the supplies that your employees need throughout the day? Chances are you probably have some items in one storage closet and others somewhere else, right? How many different places do your employees need to go throughout the day in order to get everything they need? If they have to go too many different places, it takes a lot of extra time and that’s money that’s definitely not well spent. You want to condense everything you can to one location so that your employees can condense their trips and get down to work.

8. Increase Energy Savings

There are other ways you can save on energy rather than just cutting electricity or hard copies (which we talk about throughout). You can use blackout curtains that keep the suns rays from seeping through and warming your building. Tight seals on windows and doors and double-pane windows help with these things as well. Not only that but you can increase your savings by using solar power in as many ways as possible. Solar power will help you to cut costs in many ways as well, depending on where you’re located. The best thing is to make sure you’re able to make these types of changes and keep working toward cutting energy use and costs. 

9. Ask for Discounts

Talk to the people that you have contracts with. If you owe people money or if you’re looking to create new contracts, you should look for ways that you can save some money. If they offer a discount for paying early then take advantage of it. If you can get your next contract with a discount built in then go for that as well. You want to ask for ways that you can save money on anything, including buying used or refurbished products (as long as they come with a little bit of a warranty so you can make sure they’re high quality). 

10. Double-Check Your Insurance

If you have the authority to make decisions about your insurance you may want to take a closer look at what you’re paying. Look at liability insurance, business insurance, renter’s insurance and more to see what you’re currently paying and what you actually need. It’s entirely possible that you’re paying more for your insurance options than you need (but you might find that you’re paying less, so be aware of what you could find). There might be different ways that you can adjust the insurance you’re paying in different ways as well. 

It’s possible that you could cut your liability insurance and increase business insurance. Maybe you could get a more balanced policy. Whatever you find, you should be able to make a few changes. The only way to know for sure is if you take the time to talk with your insurance agent. They’ll be able to look at everything your business does and what the bare essentials are before you jump into anything. Don’t get talked into cutting coverage you need just to save money though. You don’t want to be in a bad spot if anything happens down the road.

11. Reconsider Your Office Size

Does the size of your building really make sense with what you need? Could you make do with a smaller building? How about if you had only a single floor of the building? Cutting down the size means you’re going to pay less in rent or in overhead costs if you actually own the building. You could actually save a large amount of money if you cut down your overall size. So, where can you cut down your overall size or determine whether buying a building or renting one is the best way to get your money’s worth?

Cutting Costs In The Office Helps Increase Profitability 

No matter what you’re willing to put into the process of saving money there are things that you could be doing. Cutting costs and eliminating wasteful spending can immediately increase the profitability of your company. 

Are you willing to make a few changes and spend your money better in order to cut costs overall? If you are, then these things are going to make a huge difference in your business and they’re definitely going to make sure your profits continue to grow!

Looking for a way to manage your office more efficiently? Check out what Eden’s Office Management Software can do for your workplace.