From the SMEs to the corporations, the partnerships to the nonprofits, the bottom line is crucial. Every business owner and employee should be thinking of ways to cut down on expenses: saving money is one of the best ways to ensure growth, giving more resources for reinvestment and development. It can also have a beneficial impact on the environment. Here’s a few pointers to get you started:

Use freelancers

If you’re running a startup and work is intermittent, there’s no need to hire a load of staff. Do most of the work yourself in the beginning and outsource any extra projects to freelancers, who can be found at sites such as Odesk and PeoplePerHour. Office space and equipment are costly so minimizing on-site staff can be crucial in the beginning.

Use Deals Sites

We’re not talking Groupon and LivingSocial here. Huddlebuy is a deals site aimed at small businesses and entrepreneurs and is reinventing the way in which they grow by offering benefits from free press releases to 10% of Apple products. 200,000 business and growing have signed up, so they must be doing something right.

Remote Access

If you end up using several freelancers who are working in remote locations and need access to all the software/files your business uses, you can allow them to remotely access a remote computer or server with said software/files. Certain remote access providers have a HTML 5 RDP client which works through the user’s web browser.

Avoid Recruitment Firms

If you’re looking for staff, advertise on Gumtree and use your own connections to scout out possible talent, rather than wasting money on costly recruitment fees. Find great young undergraduate talent by looking at Internwise and Enternships.

Pre-Employment Background Checks

Before making an employment offer to a candidate, conduct a background check to reduce the chances of making a bad hire. You can learn more about pre-employment screening and partner with a background check provider like Agenda to ensure you’re hiring the right person. It will reveal any details the person may have omitted or been dishonest about during the interview process, ensuring your company only invests in trustworthy employees.

Use Accounting Software

You’ll want to consult an accountant and a financial adviser before you start a business but their fees can be expensive if you visit them often. Use accounting software like QuickBooks and Kashflow to keep on top of your books yourself and save money. However, if you are a startup then you will need to have an accountant to help get you going and keep on top of your business’s finances. You may want to check out websites like https://earlygrowthfinancialservices.com/finops-done-accounting/ to see how you can be assisted with this.

Use Social Media

These days, social media can be every bit as effective as pricey ads in magazines or on TV. Use HootSuite, TweetDeck, and Twellow to reach and engage with your followers so you can promote your product/services.

Use Skype

While you might need a business landline in the future, Skype (used with mobile contracts) will do for the majority of calls, especially within the business. Considering most mobile contracts great deals on minutes, using the two can save on line rental costs.

Catch a Break

Apparently a third of SMEs are missing out on tax breaks. Don’t forget about schemes like National Insurance holidays for new businesses outside the South East and small business rate relief.

Stationery

If you regularly use a lot of paper, ink and stationery, you can save on costs by getting an account with Staples or Viking Direct.

Crowdsourcing

If you need a logo designing or a website building, crowdsource talent on sites like 99designs. Over 250,000 members are there to create designs which you can then pay for.