When you’re operating a small business you’re probably looking to save money and cut finance related costs everywhere you can. Odds are you’re looking at the obvious areas like employees, production, rent, etc. While these are great places to try and cut down, these are the most difficult. Many business owners overlook the costs associated with accounting. Here are some ways to quickly an easily cut finance related costs for your small business.
Go Paperless
Time is money, especially when you’re a small business looking to scale quickly. Whether you’re saving money on payroll or freeing up time for yourself to focus on other aspects of business, you’ll need all the time you can get. If done right, optimizing your financial accounting can save you countless hours. The best way to do this, is to go completely paperless. Here are the best ways to start:- Online Invoicing: There are a multitude of online invoicing companies that allow you to send, receive, and store invoices on a single platform. Look for a cloud-based service so you can access invoices at anytime from any device.
- Payroll: There are plenty of ways to optimize your payroll. This may seem meaningless for smaller businesses, but the sooner you can automate this process the better. A great way to start is to use an eCheck instead of paper checks, this will turn you’re payroll into a breeze.
- Online Banking: If possible, try and switch your entire business over to an online banking service. Check out the 10 Best Online Banks of 2016 by GoBankingRates for starters. Often times banks offer custom solution for your business, it’s worth the time inquiring about all options and packages.
Merchant Services
When looking for a merchant services provider, it’s very important to take all aspects of your business into consideration. Where do you see your business in a year? What about five years? With hundreds of options to choose from it may seem like a daunting task. Here are some things to consider when looking for a provider:- Payment Cards: Does your business currently accept credit and debit cards? If yes, calculate your transaction volume, most used card types, average transaction cost, and any other relevant information.
- Point of Sale Processing: If you’re business accepts credit cards in-store, you’ll need to purchase and install processing hardware. Square offers a super simple processing solution that’s great for small businesses looking to get off the ground quickly.
- Online Processing: If you’re processing payments on your online store you’ll likely be looking for a different solution. When looking for an online processor you should consider these things:
- Integration: Is there an easy and cheap way to integrate the solution with your online store
- Reporting: Does this service offer reporting features that allow you to keep track of transactions and other relevant data?
- Pricing: Look for transparent pricing. Some services offer flat rates, monthly rates, transaction maximums with penalties, or a combination. Be strategic in your projections and pick a provider that will fit your short and long term needs.
- Don’t Sell Yourself Short: If you believe your company is going to grow 100 percent every quarter, let the provider know. Shop around so you have a few quotes and use those as leverage to get the best rate for your business.
Always Compare
Whether its a business bank account, credit card, or business loan always look to make comparisons. It’s always hard to differentiate what’s truly informative or what’s promotional. Take it upon yourself to always find at least five different options when looking for a solution.Nerd Wallet is an awesome tool to compare credit cards, banks, investing options, insurance, and much more. Plenty of these options are industry specific, so the more details you can give the provider the better.
If you’re looking for a business loan make sure you negotiate. Interest rates for loans are often set based on averages and other non-specific factors. If you’re business performs above the average, make sure you provide that data so you can get a better rate.
When looking for a credit card you’ll want to project your spending. If you want to be able to pay off your bill in full each month, don’t worry too much about the interest rates. You can have your credit card automatically paid off each month so you don’t have to worry about interest. On the contrary, if you’re looking to be extending a line of credit so you can scale quickly, you’ll want to look for the lowest interest rate possible.
As entrepreneurs we need to find the most efficient ways to operate our business. This means saving money when we can. Finances are often overlooked as a place to save, use these three strategies to cut finance related costs in ur financial department.
By Chalmers Brown
