Every cent counts in business. You probably overlooked this fact until your business becomes cash-strapped. If you think back, you’ll realize that there were numerous unnecessary fees you incurred in the course of running your business.
“But, is there anything I can do?”
Sure! In fact, a lot.
Here are six of the most bothersome business fees and how you can avoid them:
Whenever your customers pay for goods and services using credit cards, some amount of money is deducted from what is supposed to be your revenue. Payment networks charge about 1.3 to 3.4% assessment fees for every transaction.
On top of that, your payment processor deducts some amount of money, which varies depending on the processor and exact plan you select. The issuing bank also charges some small interchange fees.
That means you can lose up to 5% per transaction. Don’t underestimate the implications of this. Take the example of credit card processing fees of nose surgery. Assume you perform 10 nose surgeries every month and charge USD$5,000 for each. You should have a monthly revenue of USD$50,000.
But, if all your patients pay using credit cards with an average processing fee of only 3%, you lose USD$1,500 every month or USD$18,000 annually.
Here’s what you can do to reduce your credit card processing fees:
Has it ever occurred to you that your current office space may be bigger than you actually need? Of course, you don’t want your business premises to look congested. Elegance is key in attracting new customers and retaining the current ones.
However, you may be renting more space than is necessary and this considerably eats into your budget. Consider the following practical tips for reducing your office space without compromising your business image:
If the above-mentioned tactics don’t work for you, consider negotiating with your landlord to reduce the rent. After all, the contract between you and your landlord isn’t written in stone. There’s always room for negotiation. Prove to your landlord that you deserve the discount.
If your business involves ordering goods online, you may be spending more than is necessary on shipping fees. Nowadays, many companies view free shipping as part of good customer service. Order goods from such companies, and save your money.
But, if you must buy goods from a company that doesn’t offer free shipping, look into how you can make the most of coupons and promo codes.
If you pay suppliers or your employees using bank cheques, do everything you can to ensure that they don’t bounce. This happens when the money you intend to pay is less than your current balance or when you have errors like signature mismatch, wrong dates, conflicting amounts in words and figures, disfigured cheques, or scribblings on cheques.
Most banks give you penalties for bounced cheques. So, exercise a little extra caution when writing cheques so that you don’t lose your money unnecessarily.
Banks are in business just like you are. They’ll take any opportunity to take a portion of your money. Here are some instances when they unnecessarily charge you and how you can avoid such fees:
For any other legal and hidden fees by banks, make sure you know your bank policies inside out and raise an alarm whenever you notice unexplained deductions.
It’s true that IT is a critical part of any business. However, subscription fees for software can prove unmanageable as there’s not one software that does everything. You may find yourself paying monthly fees for 20 different software.
But, do you frequently use all of them? Probably no. Unsubscribe from those that you can go for a month without using. Also, look out for free alternatives that can equally meet your needs. Always use trial versions before purchasing licenses.
In A Nutshell
You can save a lot of money while running your business if you’re smart enough. Try the above-mentioned tips and see how much money you save every year.
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