Budgeting Tips For Your Business
If you are in the planning stages of a new business idea or perhaps your company already has a few years’ experience behind them, most likely you will have considered which are the best ways in which you can budget and save on your business costs.
After all, keeping company expenses and overheads as low as possible is vital for the survival and success of any small business or startup project.
To support all business owners in their journey, we’ve outlined our top budgeting tips for small and new businesses as well as some of the ways in which you can continue to scale up your business, without the need to spend any extra pounds.
Full Serviced Virtual Offices
An emerging and increasingly popular business model for small and start up businesses is to operate via a fully serviced virtual office.
Indeed, though virtual offices may have started as a means for companies to register a virtual address, the growth in popularity and demand for virtual offices in recent years has also led to a significant expansion to the types of services which virtual office providers now offer.
For example, in addition to the use of a physical address for your company’s registration, many providers now also include a number of free add ons in their package deals, such as free mail and document scanning.
Furthermore, several service providers now offer extremely flexible contracts, giving companies the option to opt out in the event that their business does not take off.
For example, Icon Offices offer an extremely flexible virtual office package, allowing businesses to exit their contract at relatively short notice without incurring any large exit fees.
Moreover, Icon Offices also offer businesses virtual office packages with the option to upgrade or downgrade their services depending the future needs of the business, meaning you only pay for what you need when you need it.
With no utility bills, including internet, and business rates starting from just £0.99 per week, opting for a serviced virtual office solution with could prove not only an easy way to manage and budget your expenses, but also could be an extremely cost-effective solution overall for small businesses or those just starting out.
Shared and Contained Office Spaces
Icon Offices, as well as other virtual office providers, now also offer shared office and individual self-contained spaces suitable for individuals or small teams needing a small office space for their business operations.
With pricing starting from only £60 per person per month and minimum contract lengths of 30 days for shared offices, this could be an optimum solution for small businesses of 1-2 people.
For businesses wanting an extra level of privacy, a small self-contained office solution could also provide a cheaper alternative to renting private office premises.
Moreover, by opting to rent a shared or self-contained office space, you could also be automatically eligible to access a number of other useful benefits, completely free of charge.
For example, Icon Offices provide free access to corporate meeting rooms for subscribers of their shared and self-contained office spaces, meaning you can save on the cost of booking meeting rooms for those important or formal occasions.
In addition, Icon Offices also provide businesses with a VoIP phone system completely free of charge. With a bundle of free minutes included, your business can benefit from the use of more efficient telecoms system while also saving money on the phone bills.
Reducing Staff Overhead Costs
One of the main benefits of choosing a virtual office business model, however, is the ability to realise significant savings on staff overhead costs.
For example, many virtual office providers now offer on-site virtual receptionists, professionally trained persons dedicated to handling incoming customer calls and customer service enquiries.
In addition, some virtual office providers also provide professionally trained individuals to act as a virtual assistant for your business, covering a range of general, administrative, and operational tasks.
Depending on your business needs, both options could act as a cheaper alternative to hiring a full-time or part-time member of staff. For an even cheaper option, companies can also even opt for a virtual receptionist software system.
Icon Offices, for instance, provide an automated call answering service, able to handle incoming calls using automation, while still maintaining a professional first impression to customers.
Most notable however is the potential to save on the costs of hiring a separate private accountant to manage your financial affairs.
Indeed, Icon Offices’ in-house team of accountants offer a full accountancy services package such as tax filing, financial planning as well as managing company correspondence with HMRC and Companies House.
Furthermore, fee structures based on company turnover ensure small businesses pay less whilst benefitting from fully confidential and reliable professional advice.
So regardless of what stage you are at in your business journey, virtual offices offer several useful means of budgeting and saving on your business expenses.
With flexible packages and services offerings, you also have the option to scale up your business, rent an office space as well as take advantage of a number of additional free benefits which would otherwise cost you extra.