Cost saving ideas for companies

Nov 23, 2021

Whatever the current market conditions, the size of your company and its aspirations, as a business owner, you should always be on the lookout for ways to reduce costs. So, here are some of the most impactful cost saving ideas for companies large and small, in almost any sector.

Cost saving ideas for smes

Given how narrow a small firm’s margins can be, it’s well worth investigating these strategies that could slash hundreds or even thousands of pounds off your annual bills.

Home working or hot desking. When your company is only just starting out in particular, it’s a good idea to be as flexible as possible about where and when you work. Working from home may be necessary, while ‘hot desking’ refers to the practice of a single physical workstation or space being used by multiple workers at different time periods.
Using energy more efficiently. You may accomplish this by ensuring machines are turned off when they don’t need to be used or purchasing more energy-efficient equipment, such as energy-saving motion controls. If you are considering the latter, you should calculate the repayment time for a given solution to ascertain whether it is as good an investment as it may initially appear to be.

Switching from packets to large letters. This is another tactic for which you will need to carefully compare the costs of different solutions. Nonetheless, if your SME depends on the regular postage of items, you might be shocked by how much it costs you to mail packets, compared to large letters. Simply adjusting the design of your firm’s postage packaging may therefore deliver substantial savings.
Adopting LED light bulbs. Did you know that according to the Carbon Trust, as much as 40% of a building’s energy use is accounted for by lighting, and that swapping traditional incandescent light bulbs for LEDs could deliver energy savings of up to 80%? Consult our LED Lighting Calculator for a clearer idea of how much your own small firm could save.

Cost saving ideas for large companies

Your organisation may be in a much-improved position to achieve its greatest growth ambitions if it follows these tips for reducing its expenditure.

Renegotiating contracts each year. Multiple-year contracts may seem to make sense from the perspective of making your business costs more predictable from year to year, but such longer-term contracts also tend to favour vendors. It may therefore be wise to discuss renewal every year if you are to keep the prices you pay competitive.
Getting a grip on ‘miscellaneous’ spending. Almost any given department of a larger company is likely to be splurging a little too much money on at least something. For some departments, it may be stationery and supplies, while for another, computers and telecoms may be the area of weakness. Whatever – it may be the case that about 15% to 20% of the department’s spending isn’t being managed as closely as it should be.

Altering when you perform certain tasks. If your large organisation simply tackles assignments and tasks on a ‘first in, first out’ basis, you may not be completing them very efficiently. Savings could be achieved by devoting certain times of the day, week or month to particular tasks, such as when the relevant department otherwise isn’t so busy.
Using LED lighting throughout your premises. Government figures indicated that savings of 39% were possible if efficiency improvements were made across all non-domestic buildings in 2014-15, equating to a potential total £3.7bn reduction in energy bills. As we cited above, LED lighting can deliver major savings for your business, so you might want to check out our LED Lighting Calculator to figure out precisely how much you could slash from energy expenditure on your own firm’s buildings.

These cost saving ideas for large companies and SMEs alike could be instrumental in reducing your firm’s outgoings over the coming months and years. Here at INUI, we can provide you with the LED lighting – across a wide range of categories in our online store – that will help to give your business a brighter future.