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Business Expenditure
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Business Expenditure
5 things you didn’t know your business is over-spending on
If unidentified, overspending can drain your business of finances that could otherwise be used for growth. Here are five areas where you might be forking out more than you need to:
Phone bills (Local / overseas)
Phone communication is something no business can do without. Whether it’s mobile or fixed office telephony, there are ways you can optimise expenditure and savings.
For example, mobile pooling lets you maximise business mobile phone spending for the entire staff, allowing employees to tap on each other’s unused data, talktime and SMSes, so you don’t incur excess charges.
Some of the easiest ways to tell if your marketing is worth the expenditure is to track your traffic — for both online and in-store and conversion rate. It’s also good to see how your business is doing in comparison to competitors, to get an idea of where it stands in the market.
When planning your marketing strategy, test and verify various channels and messaging to determine which resonates with your target audience. Even after finding the optimal combinations, never stop testing as the behavior of your target audience may change with time too.
Professional advice
If you’re looking for seasoned professionals to guide your new business, look to your nearest SME centre for advice before you shell out for agency consultants that can cost a bomb. Expect professional insight on issues like human capital development, where specialised business advisors can provide HR and training guidance, and information on relevant government schemes.
Office 365
Office 365 provides cloud-based business email, calendars, instant messaging, HD video-conferencing, and file-sharing.
CAPEX Expenditure
Look out for price packages that include installation fees as well as training and support costs, so you know you’re getting exactly what you paid for. As Forbes’ Mike Kappel notes, “The hidden costs of a new item might not just be money. You will likely invest a lot of time into researching, buying, and implementing the item”i, so it’s important to ensure that your new CAPEX solution is worth the investment.
OPEX Expenditure
Ensure that you’re maximising your operational expenditure by scrutinising each expense individually, instead of combining them altogether.
Entrepreneur’s Joe Worth warns against the pitfalls of simply lumping all Cost of Goods or Services under operating expenditure when bookkeeping, advising businesses to instead, carefully examine each cost on its own.
Strict budget management and regular assessment based on your business’s changing needs can help you track and optimise expenditure. Make sure you also keep an eye out for the latest promotions and smart solutions that would help your business save more in the long run.
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