Five simple steps to control your costs

Although growth is a great opportunity for increasing profits, it also absorbs working capital. Keep proper records of your accounts and you’ll be able to monitor patterns and trends, as well as watching your income and spending. Your records could show that you have a problem with bad debt, which you can claim the VAT back on.

“Surprises cost money and force you to make short-term decisions”
- Steve Govey, client partner at Beavis Morgan

You simply can’t avoid some costs, but you can work on them to get the best deal. You could use a broker to negotiate deals on utilities or other services. Or for some fixed costs, think about reselling to save or make money. If you’ve got empty office space then could you rent it out to increase your revenues?

“Using a broker saves negotiating directly and they save us money”
- Sue Haft, managing director at Butterick Company

Costs like marketing are often the hardest to get right. Raising your profile also takes time, so you’ll need to be selective. Think about how to spend your marketing budget - could telesales or social media be better for you than appearing at conferences?

“Money you spend needs to be focused on getting in front of customers”
- Richard Heyns, founder and CEO of Brytlyt

There will be lots of financing options open to you. Leasing is just one, but also think about things like research and design tax credits – they’re designed to incentivise companies who invest in research and design, and not limited to science-based activities as you might think. Travel grants are another possibility to help with expansion and export.

“Research and design tax credits can often be claimed in far broader areas for significant tax reductions and a cash flow boost”
- Steve Govey, client partner at Beavis Morgan

Looking after your staff isn’t just about money. It’s also about taking time too, for things like appraisal, or skill sharing. Giving your workforce the opportunity to learn new skills, or improve on ones they’ve already got, can pay dividends to your business as well. Our article on upskilling your employees has lots of advice if it’s something you’re interested in doing. You could save money on staffing costs by getting freelance staff in for a fixed number of days a month if projects become bigger or deadlines are moved forward.

“We get a lot of expertise for our money”
- Sue Haft, managing director at Butterick Company