Overnight mail is a luxury. What did you d

Profitability is as dependent on cutting costs at it is on increasing sales. As financial advisors, we are often called upon to assist management in reducing costs and finding alternatives to their unique situations. We have outlined below ten areas that all business owners should examine when attempting to implement cost-cutting strategies.

Outline

These are the 10 Ways to Increase Your Profitability

• Check Payroll Costs
• New Perspective on Fringe Benefits
• Utility Review
• Overnight Mail & 1st Class Delivery
• Company Owned Vehicles
• Automate
• Outsource Your Headaches
• Vendor Contracts
• Budget & Plan
• Attitudes & Employee Inclusion

1. Check Payroll Costs

   Payroll represents the lion's share of most firms' controllable costs. Although it has received bad press in the past, employee leasing deserves your careful review. Also, examine whether any employees can be classified as subcontractors; or consider the use of part-time or temporary employees. Finally, consider whether automation can help reduce your payroll.

2. New Perspective on Fringe Benefits

   Share the cost. Fringe benefits can now approach 40-50% of your payroll. Espe-cially in the area of health care insurance, consider installing a "Cafeteria Plan" and begin sharing future premium increases with your employees. Because all insur-ance programs are very competitive, make sure you solicit bids.

3. Utility Review

   Cost conscious employers always look at utility bills for easily found profits. Telephone bills, in particular, provide an oppor-tunity for significant savings. Energy efficient lighting can reduce your electric bills by as much as 40%.

   Further, rebates are available to aid you in upgrading your systems while other programs are designed to pay you for your energy savings. Experience has shown that employees are motivated to help conserve both water and electricity. Take advantage of this fact with our utility review services.

4. Overnight Mail & 1st Class Delivery

   Overnight mail is a luxury. What did you d

   Archie Has a New Groomer
   Archie is our little adopted Terrier dog I rescued a few years ago. Archie goes to the groomer every few months.Last week, it was time once again and I wanted to find a new groomer, closer to home. (NOTE: The groomer I was going to was a commodity that I felt I could easily replace with someone closer).One day I spotted a a banner that said "Arms Full of Love, Grooming." They were close by and it appeared they were new in business.On the window they advertised, a fun environment, all natural products, and overall gave a nice impression. Of course, I went in.I told them I was very happy to see we had such a great n
   These are the 10 Ways to Increase Your Profitability
   • Check Payroll Costs
   • New Perspective on Fringe Benefits
   • Utility Review
   • Overnight Mail & 1st Class Delivery
   • Company Owned Vehicles
   • Automate
   • Outsource Your Headaches
   • Vendor Contracts
   • Budget & Plan
   • Attitudes & Employee Inclusion
   1. Check Payroll Costs

      Payroll represents the lion's share of most firms' controllable costs. Although it has received bad press in the past, employee leasing deserves your careful review. Also, examine whether any employees can be classified as subcontractors; or consider the use of part-time or temporary employees. Finally, consider whether automation can help reduce your payroll.

   2. New Perspective on Fringe Benefits

      Share the cost. Fringe benefits can now approach 40-50% of your payroll. Espe-cially in the area of health care insurance, consider installing a "Cafeteria Plan" and begin sharing future premium increases with your employees. Because all insur-ance programs are very competitive, make sure you solicit bids.

   3. Utility Review

      Cost conscious employers always look at utility bills for easily found profits. Telephone bills, in particular, provide an oppor-tunity for significant savings. Energy efficient lighting can reduce your electric bills by as much as 40%.

      Further, rebates are available to aid you in upgrading your systems while other programs are designed to pay you for your energy savings. Experience has shown that employees are motivated to help conserve both water and electricity. Take advantage of this fact with our utility review services.

   4. Overnight Mail & 1st Class Delivery

      Overnight mail is a luxury. What did you d

      Making and Inserting an Image in a PayPal Shopping Cart
      One of the major drawbacks for online store owners who accept PayPal is the unbranded checkout it provides. Many owners want to display their shops logo – rather than an email address – to help make customers feel more at comfortable. Thankfully, PayPal now allows users to customize their PayPal checkout process with a logo or image. This free service is something that can easily be implement with reliable, free, and secure image hosting.One of the biggest reason store owners want to display their logos in the PayPal checkout is security. Some customers don’t feel secure when all they see is an email address and not the store logo, wh
      s the lion's share of most firms' controllable costs. Although it has received bad press in the past, employee leasing deserves your careful review. Also, examine whether any employees can be classified as subcontractors; or consider the use of part-time or temporary employees. Finally, consider whether automation can help reduce your payroll.

   5. New Perspective on Fringe Benefits

      Share the cost. Fringe benefits can now approach 40-50% of your payroll. Espe-cially in the area of health care insurance, consider installing a "Cafeteria Plan" and begin sharing future premium increases with your employees. Because all insur-ance programs are very competitive, make sure you solicit bids.

   6. Utility Review

      Cost conscious employers always look at utility bills for easily found profits. Telephone bills, in particular, provide an oppor-tunity for significant savings. Energy efficient lighting can reduce your electric bills by as much as 40%.

      Further, rebates are available to aid you in upgrading your systems while other programs are designed to pay you for your energy savings. Experience has shown that employees are motivated to help conserve both water and electricity. Take advantage of this fact with our utility review services.

   7. Overnight Mail & 1st Class Delivery

      Overnight mail is a luxury. What did you d

      America's Workforce - Too Many Chiefs and Few Indians
      Times are changing drastically in the workforce. This is not to scare you but to make you aware of what we are facing today and the years to come. First let’s look at the help wanted classified ads, don’t be fooled – they are mixing commission only and business opportunities in with the employment listings. Furthermore, you may be over qualified. Yes, that’s right! If you have a four-year college degree with or without experience, you may be over qualified.Wow, for over 25 years, American’s have been encouraged to go to a four-year college in order to be considered for a good job. Now that we have the degree, American’s are being
      your payroll. Espe-cially in the area of health care insurance, consider installing a "Cafeteria Plan" and begin sharing future premium increases with your employees. Because all insur-ance programs are very competitive, make sure you solicit bids.

   8. Utility Review

      Cost conscious employers always look at utility bills for easily found profits. Telephone bills, in particular, provide an oppor-tunity for significant savings. Energy efficient lighting can reduce your electric bills by as much as 40%.

      Further, rebates are available to aid you in upgrading your systems while other programs are designed to pay you for your energy savings. Experience has shown that employees are motivated to help conserve both water and electricity. Take advantage of this fact with our utility review services.

   9. Overnight Mail & 1st Class Delivery

      Overnight mail is a luxury. What did you d

      How to Set Appointments
      The importance of setting appointments is crucial to running a business. They are the key to a successful business.When making appointments try to make your call between one and two minutes maximum. Practice keeping your calls to this time scale, any longer and you could be drawn into a full scale presentation. It is like trying to describe a musical you have seen but without the music. Remember to create urgency in your call. Tell your contact that you do not have much time but would really like him or her to hear all about your product.Compliment your contact by telling him or her why you have chosen them to hear ab
      t lighting can reduce your electric bills by as much as 40%.

      Further, rebates are available to aid you in upgrading your systems while other programs are designed to pay you for your energy savings. Experience has shown that employees are motivated to help conserve both water and electricity. Take advantage of this fact with our utility review services.

   10. Overnight Mail & 1st Class Delivery

       Overnight mail is a luxury. What did you do before it was available? Consider faxing documents, it's cheaper than mailing. Also, if your clients are geographically close, examine bulk mail services. Within 25 miles, in most areas, bulk mail is as fast as first-class mail.

   11. Company Owned Vehicles

       New depreciation periods now make it more difficult to recover costs on vehicles. Consider an employee reimbursement program, or call us and we can advise you of the cost/benefit between purchasing or leasing your vehicles.

   12. Automate

       Automating manual systems can increase your profits substantially. Few businesses have yet to see automation affect at least a portion of their operations. Increased efficiency and accuracy are additional benefits of this process. Caution: Don't get locked into today's technology, as it will be tomorrow's dinosaur.

   13. Outsource Your Headaches

       If you think you are too small to outsource, consider who does your payroll. Many business operations can now be outsourced providing you the opportunity to focus on what you do best. Billing and collection services, accounting and bookkeeping, sales and even human resources can be done cheaper and more efficiently by others.

   14. Vendor Contracts

       To reduce your raw material costs, talk to your suppliers about long-term contracts that include discounts for timing, delivery and inventorying of supplies. Through historical analysis, you may be able to identify trends that will benefit you both.

   15. Budget & Plan

       Few areas will provide you more cost savings than the ability to compare your current costs to a budget. In this manner, you quickly spot problems and can take action before things get out of control. By planning, you can also determine what impact various cost-cutting changes will have on sales, m