How to squeeze every drop of value from your business budget
Whilst managing the budget is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business it can also be one of the most demanding. New business owners or managers tasked with looking after the company finances for the first time will need to acquire a considerable amount of knowledge and new skills in order to be able to plan and manage budgets effectively.
Luckily, business skills training experts Maguire Training provide a range of dedicated courses which cover every aspect of business budget management, even providing an invaluable introduction for leaders and managers with no previous financial experience.
Preparing to Write your Budget, for example, provides delegates with everything they need to recognise different types of business budget, phase budget income and expenditure and to create their own budget.
In cost-conscious times for businesses, stretching a budget and eliminating waste expenditure are vital to a company's long-term financial stability. Here, Maguire Training offers some expert advice on how to squeeze every drop of value from your business budget.
Question the return on investment of every expense
Often, businesses only consider the ROI for significant purchases or contracts, but questioning the value accruable from every outlay can help to determine whether a particular aspect is cost-effective and whether it's actually necessary at all. Means should be considered to minimise, or eliminate altogether, any expense which provides no obvious value or ROI.
Look for wastage, repetition and redundant processes in each area of your business
Break your business down into its component parts - marketing, manufacturing, HR, administration, finance, sales etc and scrutinise each for instances where processes could be improved, duplicated effort removed and costs streamlined. An investigation of this type, particularly in a business that has been operating for some time, may reveal instances where a business function that has always been carried out by one department may be undertaken more cost-effectively by another.
Cancel, move or re-negotiate over-expensive contracts
Just as consumers are benefiting from changing energy, telephone and broadband suppliers to get the best deals, businesses can follow suit. If the prices you're paying for a particular product or service have fallen since your business entered into a contract, evaluate the pros and cons of cancelling the contract altogether and moving to an alternative provider, or renegotiating a more favourable price with your existing supplier.
Look to your employees for cost-saving or efficiency-improvement suggestions
Often those working at the 'coalface' of a business will have a clearer idea than managers of areas in which budget savings might be made. Invite suggestions from staff as to how business costs might be reduced without compromising quality or productivity, perhaps offering a small reward to anyone whose suggestion is implemented.
Make periodic budget review part of your business strategy
Nothing stands still in the business world, and every day technology is advancing and enabling new means of cost reduction. Ensuring that a budget efficiency review takes place at least annually will allow your business to take advantage of products and services whose prices may be coming down and to ensure that operations are still being carried out with optimal cost-effectiveness.
If you're a new business owner, or a leader or manager who has been tasked with financial management for the first time, Maguire Training can help you to get to grips with every aspect of business budgeting. Or added convenience each of our superb business finance courses, including Preparing to Write your Budget, is offered both as a conventional classroom-based course or as online training accessed via our intuitive and versatile E-learning system.
