By Derek Goodman

As a small business owner, you must keep a strict eye on overhead costs and find ways to streamline expenses. After all, if you aren’t careful, these costs can easily eat into your profits. Therefore we have put together the following guide to help you better manage recurring costs and improve your financial planning.

Tally Up Your Most Significant Recurring Costs

To get a handle on costs, you first need to know what they are. Here are some significant recurring costs to consider

• Small business administrative registration and maintenance costs vary by location. Get a rough idea of what you can expect to pay every year so that you can streamline those expenses whenever possible.
• Small business insurance costs can also vary according to location and risk factors.
• Software subscriptions and managed IT are another major expense for many companies.
• Employers likewise need to consider the benefits they are obligated to provide employees. Additional benefits are available from leading sources and may be more affordable than you think.

Look for Innovative Ways to Keep Costs Down

Once you identify critical costs, you can come up with plans on how to keep them down.

• Tracking and managing SaaS subscriptions can help save money, especially if you bundle solutions. You should also upgrade your company’s accounting software with features like automatic payments, mobile app solutions, cash flow insights and time tracking.
• You can also use an invoice generator to quickly run invoices at regular intervals.
• If you use consultants, follow best practices to cut outsourcing costs.
• Renegotiating a commercial lease may be a way to reduce rental fees. Or you can always sublease unused office space to another business.
• A financial advisor or business banker can help you identify additional ways to streamline costs. The advice is often free; more cost savings!

Find Opportunities to Offset Overhead Costs

You can’t eliminate all overhead costs, so look for ways to offset them by getting more money elsewhere.

• Look into tax credits and incentives specific to your industry.
• Check out the small business grants available in your sector, but remember to familiarize yourself with the grant application process. Know that grants are rarely direct payments, but are more likely to be free or reduced services or training.

As a business owner, getting a handle on your overhead costs can be a time-consuming endeavor. However, it will be well worth it to streamline your expenses in the long run. Improved management of overhead costs will ultimately allow for more room for profits and greater business growth.

And finally…

Welcome to One Click Advisor! We would be remiss if we didn’t give you a brief tour of the site and what it can do for you, as an owner of a startup or small business. Your challenges and opportunities can be sorted into one of three areas.

Marketing, because it brings in the customers. That requires the right combination of price, product, promotion and place. 

Operations, because it keeps your customers. A well-run business pleases customers and generates steady and reliable revenue. But to be well-run, you need reliable providers. 

Finance, because it is the scoreboard, and keeps everybody paid. Change the “score”, find bookkeeping help, and find capital. 

The One Click Advisor Business Builder connects you with all the fundamentals. Skip the hours of research and costly mistakes…we have done the work of locating the best small business services for you.

One Click Advisor is the entrepreneur’s best friend, offering a wealth of free tips and resources. Feel free to reach us via email at info@oneclickadvisor.com.