Why Mustard Is Vital To Your Company Profitability
Did you know that Jeremiah Colman, who established a mustard empire in Norfolk over 200 years ago, claimed that his profit was made because of what his customers threw away. That little bit of fiery yellowness that was left on the plate after the meal was over.
Did you know that elections are decided by small groups of people called floating voters? These are those who change their party affiliation at every election and tip the balance in favor of one party.
Take a second to think about it. Both of these examples show that success or failure is determined by the details. This is where business dreams can turn into dust or where you are able to continue to earn your livelihood for another year.
It all boils down to money and how efficient you are at managing expenses. Two things are important to remember. First, you must be diligent in using any expense management software. It is a waste to try to change something if it is not possible to monitor it. This is the case with simple business expense software.
Cloud-based expense management software that categorises and collates all expenses is the best solution. This allows you to export the results to an accountant or create Excel spreadsheets for your own purposes.
However, you need to be forensic about what expenses should be recorded with your expense manager app. This gives you an advantage over Colman, who didn’t have this technology. Consider all the money you spend on your business, no matter how small. It will eventually cost money. These are some ideas to help you get started with expense tracking software.
1. Turn off the light!
Turn off the computer as well. What percentage of your energy bill is spent on lighting and heating? Don’t know? You should. It might be a wake-up call to check your bills. Turn off lights when no one is in and the same goes for computers. One senior employee left his computer on while he was away for many years. It wasn’t his company, he didn’t seem to care. If it is your company, it might be time to make sure your employees aren’t wasting your money on unneeded energy. You can also lower the thermostat a bit.
2. Get rid of the company car.
It’s likely to be more tax efficient for small business owners in the UK to use their personal cars for business purposes than purchasing one from the company. This is because it’s likely a perk that you don’t have the budget for under your new online expense management system. HMRC allows mileage expenses to be claimed at 45p per mile for vans and cars. You can also shop around for the lowest fuel prices. Over the course of a year, even a few pence per litre can add up. The expense tracker app will keep track of it all so you can see the cumulative savings. Don’t forget to add a fuel card system for additional savings if your fleet is small.
3. You can shop around for the best tariffs.
Is your company on the lowest tariff for electricity, gas, and telephones? It is worth looking into other options. Before you think you are too busy, consider it time spent in money management. One company I know saved more than 40% on its energy bills by working a few hours each day. If you take the savings over a year, this was the highest hourly rate that the owner has ever earned – by a country mile. Hosted systems that use broadband power are a good option for phones. Why shouldn’t your phones work the same way if you do online expense management?
4. Are you really going to need a fancy office?
Consider whether your rented office space will be a necessity or luxury. The cost of a hot desk can run into the hundreds per month. You will need to earn that money before you make any money. What about the commute? How much time and money does it cost? You might find that working from home is more affordable than the commute, and also gives you more time to do other things.
5. Be green. It’s possible to make a profit by looking for ways to recycle rather than send them to landfill.
The cost of landfill tax has reached PS80 per tonne and is not expected to fall. Take a look at your waste streams to see if there are any recyclables or other valuable items. If it’s not too expensive, they might be willing to remove it for free. Think about it – waste prevention charity WRAP estimates that waste can cost a UK company 4% of its turnover. This is a huge and easily avoidable hit to your balance sheet.
It is important to consider business expense management software as a servant that will always be available to perform your bidding when choosing the right app.
