As the new financial year looms, and the coronavirus crisis lessens, it’s time to take stock of your finances and plan for the year ahead. Where can you make cuts and how can you save?
The pandemic has put many small business owners under enormous financial pressure. Millions of businesses were forced to close their doors under government mandated restrictions. The enforced shutdown has left many with a hole in their budgets. As the restrictions lift and businesses begin the long journey back to recovery its time to consider what overheads you can reduce to help your business through these uncertain times.
Renegotiate with your landlord
Apart from wages, the rental of your business premises is likely to be the biggest expense on your books. If you are finding it hard to manage payments given the current circumstances, it could be time to renegotiate the terms of your payments with your landlord.
Over the past couple of months, the house of representatives and the senate passed a range of temporary legislative measures to assist small business owners during the coronavirus crisis. Amongst these measures was the COVID-19 Emergency Lease Legislation introduced on 25 March. It effectively means that retail and residential tenants are protected from eviction or having their leases and tenancies terminated. If you’re doing it tough, why not be proactive and speak with your landlord to renegotiate mutually agreeable rental arrangements? These could include negotiating a reduced rent or a deferral of rental payments.
Slash your energy costs
The government is encouraging small business owners and consumers to check out their new Energy Made Easy site to ensure they are getting the best deal. The comparison site makes it simple for businesses to switch and save by letting them search for deals by logging in their meter information or their latest energy bill.
Angus Taylor, the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction said the impact of the continuing COVID-19 crisis made it more important than ever for Australian families and small businesses to get the best energy deals.
“If you haven’t reviewed your energy plan recently, chances are you’re paying too much”, Taylor said.
Even if you have switched providers in the past, Taylor says it’s still worth checking the site to see if a better deal can be made.
Switch your phone to the cloud
If your business was operating from physical premises with single or multiple landlines, now could be the time to switch to a cloud-based phone system instead. A cloud-based phone service means you can have a virtual phone line in any location.
The majority of cloud-based phone solutions also allow for calls via a mobile app. A Consumer Reports‘ study found 75 per cent of customers get irritated if they can’t contact a business on the phone. So, having your business line accessible via your mobile seems like a no-brainer and a win-win for both the business and consumer.
With Gartner reporting businesses spent over 93 billion on tech and phone services during 2019, switching to a cloud-based solution could also drop your costs by allowing you to get rid of your physical landline. Switch to a VoIP phone system like Connexus CloudLine and your calls are delivered over the internet. If you have Naked ADSL, NBN or a 4G mobile plan then no phone line rental is required. You can ditch the costly connections and save a bundle.
This article is brought to you by Connexus CloudLine. The small business phone system that helps you make every call count.
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