5 Tips on how to use technology to save on business costs

(And a concrete example)

1 Get rid of your landline and go mobile phones and VOIP (internet telephony).Do some research and you will be amazed at how much money this can save you.

2 Investigate technology. There are some new technologies that can be major cost savers for your particular industry or service. You just need to find out what they would be. It depends on what you do but things like Point of Sale options, GPS, phone apps, teleconference services, cloud services, online accounting and more. Do some research!

3 Go paperless. Apart from saving the environment. Not spending money on paper, ink, envelopes, filing cabinets, postage and people to do the work (and the administration and record keeping for all of this) can be a major cost saver. Having everything possible electronic is also easier to manage and means you can back up everything remotely in case of disaster.

4 Cut back on software. How much of that expensive software you have installed is regularly used? Consider open source (i.e. free) software and also look at renting software (SaaS or Software as a Service).

5 Market online using websites, ecommerce, social media and other online channels. This is the way business and services are going anyway. So you don’t really have achoice. But online marketing can often be much cheaper than traditional methods. Admittedly though, only if you do it right. Do research and maybe even pay for help in the short term. But online has the potential to reduce costs but also increase revenue.

But let’s give you a concrete example of how new technology can save you money, make you money and just as importantly – save you time!

Consider online bookkeping/accounting services. Wealthpath Accountants are Xero Bronze Partners and we chose to work with Xero for a lot of good reasons (but we can help you with any cloud based accounting software).

Online bookkeeping is designed from the ground up to make things as easy as possible for you and to integrate with your business – no matter what your business actually is.

The key advantages include.

  • Less paperwork.
  • Major time saver.
  • Great for inventory management.
  • You really don’t need to learn much to use it.
  • More efficient and streamlined.
  • Everything (reporting requirements, legislation, tax) is already integrated into the software.
  • Changes in legislation or reporting requirements are added by Xero for you.
  • You can do anything from your phone (you can manage your business from ANYWHERE).
  • Everybody in your business is accessing and adding the same info to the same place.
  • It’s stored and backed up safely and securely.
  • Somebody else is looking after it, keeping it updated and safe.

It’s not just accounting and bookkeeping – there are many, many add ons and services that integrate with Xero that can be a huge time saver and a huge boost to the efficiency and profitability of your business.

There are a whole lot of apps to choose from but for example……

  • Vend (a Point of Sale plugin for Xero).
  • Shopify (an e-commerce platform for selling online that integrates with Xero)
  • Z Fuel Card (for managing business fuel costs).
  • Mailchimp (email service for email campaigns and mass emails).
  • Tanda (payroll and timeclock for you and your staff)
  • Chaser (very smart app for getting customers to pay invoices)
  • Hubdoc (for document management)
  • Quotient (for quotes)
  • Fluidly (for analysing and reporting on cash flow)

The point is that technology can offer any business, large or small, opportunities to enhance and grow your business and make you more money. Do some research and don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Something that a florist does might have applications for an engineering firm – or vice versa. Be open minded and talk to people.

Have a chat with us about how we can impliment bookkeeping solutions tailored to your requirments. The first consultation is free.

1300 268 800 Call Now!