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One of the keys to financial success as a business owner or manager is decreasing overhead fees to save money. After all, the more money you save, the more you make. You will find that in addition to seeking out new ways for your business to bring in higher profits you will be seeking out ways to lower your overall costs. This is especially true as businesses grow. A growing business requires more employees on the payroll, more equipment and supplies, more property to pay off, and a higher total overhead. Below are 5 tips for businesses of all sizes to cut costs and save more of their profits. These tips are completely legal, achievable, and effective. 1. Turn off Electronics Many businesses will leave their phones, computers, and lights on all weekend. While this makes for quick Monday mornings, this means higher utility fees. You would never leave your television and lights on at home while you were at work, so why leave all of your electronics on at work when you are home? It is quick and easy to mandate that your employees turn off all lights and appliances before leaving for the day. 2. Eliminate Staff Redundancies When you evaluate your staff, you might find that several coworkers are performing the same tasks. While this is acceptable when several hands are needed on deck, there can be unacceptable redundancies. For example, a medical office may have 3 separate employees verifying insurance information on the same patients or spending a large amount of time checking each other's work. This wastes precious time and resources that could be utilized elsewhere. 3. Resist the Temptation to Renovate Renovating your place of business may be tempting, but keep in mind that it is an incredibly expensive process. Not only do you have to pay for materials and labor, but there can be complexities related to your insurance and property taxes that can be costly down the line. Worst of all, you may have to close your business temporarily--subjecting your business to several days without an income and potentially causing clients and customers to take their business elsewhere. Only renovate if your place of business is severely outdated or has serious structural or utility problems. 4. Advertise Wisely Advertising may be the only investment that actually has the power to attract hordes of new clients or customers. Unfortunately, advertising works differently today than it did even 10 years ago. Advertise with current methods like social media, search engine optimization for your website, and ad space on streaming video services. Likewise, consider that certain forms of advertising are virtually obsolete, as they will fail to garner widespread customer interest. These forms of advertising include mass mailing campaigns, print newspaper ads, and telemarketing services. Consider eliminating these from your marketing budget. 5. Save Tax Money Like individual taxpayers, businesses are able to save money by researching tax-deductible expenses. Many businesses may also qualify for significant tax exemptions such as a utility sales tax exemption in Iowa, by which companies that use their utilities--gas, water, etc.--to directly manufacture goods or perform services can be exempt from paying sales tax on their utility costs. While this may not seem like a significant expense reduction, you should consider the ways in which even small sales tax payments can compound over the months and years that you are in business. Consider hiring tax services to evaluate the fees you are paying and find ways to minimize them. By implementing the above tips, you can work to reduce your business overhead costs and make more money. Start at the end of the list and research your potential for a utility sales tax exemption in Iowa. Evaluating how much money you are spending deserves equal attention to the amount of money you are making.
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Utility, Sales, Tax, Exemption, Iowa,
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