Businesses should always be looking to operate more cost effectively. As soon as you take your eye off the ball inefficiencies start to creep in. There are countless ways of reducing office expenditure. Some are obvious, such as employing a virtual assistant that works from a remote location; some, like going green, are perhaps a little more surprising. Here are few of our favourite ways to streamline how your office operates.

Use social media

Marketing your business is always important. Even in tough economic times you cannot afford simply to stop advertising in order to reduce expenditure. You can however change the way you do it. Using social media is a cheap alternative to traditional marketing methods and can be very effective. If you do it properly your return on investment can be very high indeed.

Go green

Environmentally friendly products are often more expensive than their standard alternatives, so going green might seem a little counterintuitive when it comes to cutting costs. It is worth remembering, however, that one of the key principles of environmentalism is to use resources more efficiently. Create a formal environmental policy that covers all aspects of the business including travel and energy use, as well as more obvious areas such as recycling and working towards a paperless office. Embrace this philosophy throughout your business and as well as getting great PR, you will find that you save money too.

Install a VoIP phone system

Telephone calls can be a significant cost within a business, but they needn't be. A VoIP phone system is relatively straightforward and inexpensive to install. It will pay for it self through reduced ongoing costs in a matter of months, after which every call you make will represent a financial saving.

Outsource

Outsourcing is an increasingly popular way of cutting costs and increasing efficiency in the office. It has the dual effect of reducing office costs associated with employees (such as payroll, office space and computer equipment) and also freeing up remaining staff members to engage more efficiently in generating profits and driving the business forward. Almost any part of a business can be considered for outsourcing, but it lends itself particularly well to areas such as payroll or administration, where a virtual assistant or answering service can be an extremely effective solution. Key profit centres are perhaps best kept in-house.

Downsize

How much of your current space do you actually use on a daily basis? Probably not as much as you think. Try to divide the contents of your office into three separate sections by identifying what is required on a day-to-day basis; what is not required daily, but may be required in the future or must be kept for legal reasons; and what is superfluous to requirements. Ditch the rubbish, rent an offsite storage facility (much cheaper than office space) for everything you might need in the future and only spend money on the office space that you really need. You could take this idea further by considering whether some of your employees could work from home. Many people are actively seeking this type of employment as a means to improving their work/life balance, so it shouldn't be too hard to find volunteers willing to help you save money this way.