Reduce the amount of paper
Being one of the resources most used in the office, there is no way you can completely do away with paper. However, you can reduce the amount of paper that you use by using digital technology and the internet. Reducing the use of paper will not save trees but will also help you in reducing your expenses on printer toners and cartridges. As a way of saving on paper, you could encourage your employees to be using cloud based file sharing and emails instead of printing.
Cut the chord
With the current improvements in communication, the use of a landline telephone is no longer there. The charges of maintaining land lines are quite high as compared to mobile rates because of their inconvenience. You could drop your landline and instead replace it with mobile phones and internet-based phone lines in order to reduce expenses. Alternatively, you could consider using Skype to receive calls and to talk with clients.
Buying online
Try to buy your office supplies from the internet. Online stores usually have better deals than the normal brick and mortar stores. They usually give better rates for other products that you buy, for instance, by buying printer ink or toners from the store, you will be given a special rate for paper. Most online stores will also deliver your stock to your doorstep, hence saving you a lot of time and money that you would have spent on transport. Depending on your office location, find a reliable online supplier and check out the prices. Contact them and try to get additional discount for buying in bulk and over a longer period. For example, my office is ordering more than 80% of the office supply online from a few stores in our city. We use printers and copiers from Gestetner in the whole building and get the toners and spare parts from the same store, which gives us an additional discount. Buying online is recommended especially because office stuff is not perishable. Online buying also gives you different choices of things to buy at the comfort of your seat thereby saving your precious time.
Go for mass purchasing
Try and be good to the neighboring companies that use the materials that you use at the office. For instance, when going to buy office supplies, you could consult with other neighboring companies and see if they will be interested in shopping together with you in order to benefit mutually. For instance, when four or five companies come together and decide to shop for office supplies as one, you will most definitely get better prices and discounts. After the supplies have been delivered, the bill can then be split. This sort of arrangement can also perfectly work with splitting advertising and promotions.
Turn off all switches
Minimize power loss. Statistics on the amount of power lost in offices and households annually can be surprising. Ensure that when office machines are not being used, you turn them off. This will save you from paying additional electricity bills. Teach your employees to be switching off bulbs after work. In rest rooms, you could instill motion sensitive bulbs or you could conduct a power audit as this could help in determining ways of reducing power losses.
Conclusion
The list above is not exhaustive. Within the business are many other ways of cutting business expenses. Depending with the business, these ways will vary, and the management should therefore decide on ways that that will not hurt the morale and productivity of the employees. There are lots of expenses that can be replaced with alternatives that are more pleasing, yet way cheaper. The money you save on smarter choices while buying office supply can be used for more important things like marketing campaigns and further investments.
