1. 10 Money Saving Ideas For Businesses In A Rough Economy
With an economy that's struggling, every small business owner is looking for creative ways to
increase profits, save money and improve efficiency.
The good news is there are plenty of ideas that you can find in books and articles. But rather than
cover the obvious ones, in today's tough economy you need new and creative ways to save.
Consider the following ten money-saving ideas for your business:
1) Go paperless - You can lower storage costs, printing costs and improve overall efficiency by
running a paperless office. By scanning documents you can send and share information effortlessly
saving your business time and money.
2) Use a 0% credit card balance transfer - Transferring the debt balance from one card to a 0% intro
APR card is a great way to save money on interest charges and pay down your debt. For example, if
you had a $5k balance on a card with a 17% APR and transferred the balance to the Discover More
Card, which has a 0% intro APR for 15 months, you would save $862 in interest alone!
3) Lease equipment - To avoid the big upfront costs you'd face when purchasing equipment consider
a lease. You not only conserve your company's cash but you can save a substantial amount of
money in repairs, upgrades and maintenance since many lease agreements cover these expenses.
4) Collect cash in advance - When extending credit to customers consider collecting a percentage of
cash up front with every purchase. This will help your company reduce risk, improve cash flow and
save money in collection efforts. For example, you can require a 25% down payment on all future
purchases made from your net 30 account holders.
5) Ask for the discount - The suppliers you work with may have quantity discounts of 50% or more
depending on the terms. You may be able to meet these requirements and qualify for a lower price.
To find out, ask about discounts and what you need to do to earn them. You may be able to get
anything from an interest-free loan in the form of vendor credit to a healthy discount for paying early.
6) Beat the banks - It's no surprise that banks are looking to squeeze more revenue out of fees to
make up for all the new regulatory changes. However, Bankrate's Greg McBride says it best, "As
consumers we're not hostage to these higher fees, but we've got to be on our toes and be proactive
about avoiding them." Do everything possible to avoid fees like an ATM surcharge, bounced check
fees, and most recently the debit card fee. If you can cut significant costs by switching to another
bank then it may be just what you need to do to save your company money.
7) Consider bundled services - Some companies offer bundled services that include phone service,
cable, internet, fax, and web hosting. Bundling two or more services from the same company can
save your business hundreds of dollars per year.
8) Use Payroll Debit Cards - With a debit card payroll system your business can greatly reduce its
administrative costs. It eliminates the expense that goes into printing checks and lowers the risk of
fraud. This is a major benefit since 60% of all fraud incidents within a business involve employees
according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
9) Manage Employee Spending - The misuse or abuse of company-issued credit cards occur among

2. employees at every level. By setting guidelines, activating pre-set limits, alerts and monitoring your
monthly spending reports you can save money and avoid costly mistakes.
10) Offer Electronic Invoices - Electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) is the issuing of invoices by email
directly to your customer. You can reduce your company's print and postage costs if you begin
sending invoices electronically.
Whether you are start-up or existing business, it's important in this economic environment to do
whatever is possible to look for ways to save money. Start by putting a cost-savings plan in place for
your company and then take action as soon as possible.
Ideas For Small Business Owners