Smart business solutions for cutting office costs

cutting office costs is an essential part of operating a solvent business, through good times and bad

The cost of running an office is likely to be one of the largest bills a business has to pay – the price of rent, energy and supplies can all mount up quickly and cause financial issues.

Even after the end of the recession in the UK, many businesses are finding it hard to survive, with much of the country’s recovery centred on London and the south-east.

For firms in other parts of the UK, times are still testing and this means it’s vital to cut costs where possible to take some pressure off the bottom line of the business.

Cutting office costs can be a great way to start for a company, as a few small and inexpensive changes can begin to make a big difference to how much the business spends on their property.

While it’s unlikely a company will be able to reduce their rent, other bills are more easily targeted and in the 21st century one of the biggest expenditures for a lot of firms is electricity.

Business energy bills

Energy bills are rising all the time and for many firms, the cost of electricity is growing at a much faster rate than they can keep up with.

Efficiency is therefore absolutely vital for companies, as all the money they are wasting could be better used on another part of the business, helping to build a brighter future for the firm.

Small fixes can make a big difference here. For example, switching to low-energy LED lighting can cut the amount of electricity being used by a large amount for only a small investment.

IT is another area where organisations will typically try to reduce their spending, with new technology usually proving to be more efficient than its replacements, as well as having the additional benefit of boosting productivity for members of staff.

Older devices will also use up a lot more energy than a newer one, so many companies will find it makes business sense for them to upgrade to a more recent model if they can afford to.

Identifying areas to save

Even once a business has stressed its commitment to reducing the costs of running an office, it’s not easy to know where the best place to start is.

For many companies, printing makes up a large proportion of their spending and as a result, it is well worth looking into seeing if improvements with efficiency can be made.

Managed print services is one of the growing trends in the IT world, with businesses that sign up able to cut their print bills by as much as 30 per cent if they fully embrace its principles.

Through using managed print services, organisations can fully assess where wastage is occurring in their current print strategies and identify where efficiency upgrades can be made.

A lot of businesses are still running a large number of devices in their offices – for instance printers, copiers, scanners and fax machines – when the newest multifunction printers can do all these jobs in just one model.

By upgrading to one of these devices, companies can vastly reduce the amount of money they are using on electricity, as well as the supplies associated with running a printer.

Other IT changes

The world of IT moves so quickly that companies might initially find it hard to work out which of the prevailing trends is worth investing time and money in.

But the cloud looks like one that is certainly here to stay – with cloud storage able to slash costs for companies and solutions such as hosted telephony having moved the business communications sector forward leaps and bounds in recent years.

Mobile printing is another key trend, so organisations will want to ensure they are ready for the changes this will bring through the use of managed print services from OKI Systems.

As well as the 30 per cent cost savings managed print services can help companies to achieve, the sense of improved efficiency is sure to be a major boost to the business.