Office Managers! Here’s How You Can Cut Your Budgets
Budgets and money management. For office managers, these core parts of the job are absolutely essential but can also be the hardest aspects of the role. Setting budgets is hard enough, that push and pull where you have to take from one place to give to another, but maintaining them?! Rare is the office manager who can get the most out of their budget every month, month after month after stressful month.
But it can be done - and here are some valuable techniques on how to do it.
The Role Of Your Budget
First, it’s essential to understand the role of the budget. No, it’s not just there to restrict you and make you feel anxious (even though most do exactly that). Used correctly, they are the tools of order, like cloak-wearing superheroes keeping the financial chaos at bay.
Your budget is your friend! It is there to help and assist. To keep you on track. To make your life easier.
Contrary to many beliefs, budgets don’t need to be fixed. There’s room for a little wiggling here, and some tweaking there, and one month’s numbers might be very different from the next. In fact, some of the best budgets out there can work like a set of sliding controls, moving up and down to suit circumstances and take hold of opportunities.
What they do have to be, though, is written down. Honestly, we don’t care if you scrawl it with crayon on the back of a scrap of paper or have an in-depth colour-coded spreadsheet, but please don’t try to keep it all in your head - that path leads only to pain and suffering. (Actually, please do use the spreadsheet option; crayons can be hard to read back later.)
Using Your Budget
So there it is, staring at you out of the screen with bright and gleaming promise. The budget.
Now you have to use it:
- Review it regularly - Try to spend a few minutes looking at it every day, even if nothing has changed. That way, you know you are on top and in control.
- Update it with real data - Put your actual spend in there right next to the projected spend to help you forecast for the next period.
- Move the figures around if life changes - Don’t feel it is a rigid entity. If you need to change next month’s numbers to make it work, then do.
- Make sure those totals equal up perfectly - If you need more for one task, then you need to take from a second. It’s your budget, and it works for you, but be sure to keep it all in line.
- Highlight sections and play with the colours - Not a joke! By using these features, you become fully acquainted with your budget and will also make it easier to read the data over time. Don’t feel silly if you like a splash of pink.
- Stick to it - When you have allocated money this month for something, then try to stick to it and don’t be afraid to say, “I’m sorry, there’s no more left for that until next month” to the people who come to you. Your control is essential.
Control Your Unseen Payments
Office finances in today’s world are more and more focussed on regular outgoings and subscriptions. Software as a Service (SaaS) has become the default way for many companies to offer their services, so you are going to fill up with small monthly transactions there, plus direct debits to your regular contractors. It is so easy to forget about them and let it all become invisible. Don’t!
Your budget spreadsheet is going to be fantastic at keeping an eye on all these little details - even tiny subscriptions of a few pounds will show up there in the right place. Take the time to fine-tune your budget right down to these seemingly innocent outgoings and keep control of the minutiae.
Consider extending your budget with a subscription calendar so you know when to expect payments to go out, and review your SaaS and membership subscriptions regularly so that you can drop those that aren’t being used or are no longer bringing value.
Bonus Secret Tip
Plenty of companies are keen to keep you as a subscribed member, and going through the steps to cancel your subscription can unlock a discount as they beg to keep you! “Are you sure you don’t love us anymore?” they’ll say, “how about we offer you 30% off?!”. Go through that cancellation process every now and then to see how much you can gain! It doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a try.
Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
It is cool to always have the newest technology, shrink-wrapped from the manufacturer on the release date, but is it really necessary?
In truth, it rarely is.
Add to your green credentials and save money at the same time by looking to replace equipment with refurbished products. You can get printers, monitors, and even office kitchen equipment at a significant discount. And let’s face it, today’s newest coffee machine isn’t that much better at making coffee than last year’s model.
A huge number of retailers have a refurb department, and there are likely lots of local IT specialists that have items you can buy.
Introduce other green policies if you haven’t already, especially when it comes to paperwork. Go digital and save on paper and ink (and the environment).
Renegotiate Contracts
Just like with your regular subscriptions, there’s scope for renegotiation with your supplier contracts, such as energy companies and phone providers. Don’t fall into the trap of allowing your suppliers to fall out of contract and onto “standard terms” - it’s rarely better for you.
It’s also worth speaking to any freelancers or contractors you use to see if there is a way you can reduce cost in some way. While they might be working with less flexible margins and will be unlikely to want to cut their income from a regular and reliable client, they may be willing to add value to your current contract, often offering other services for a reduced rate.
Consider your contract cleaning - your regular cleaner may be able to offer carpet cleaning or window cleaning on top of the day-to-day office clean for a far better rate than outsourcing elsewhere. You will improve in cost and save time in administration.
A Brave New Digital World
Ever since the pandemic, the use of technology to facilitate meetings, communication, and collaboration has increased dramatically. Now, Zoom and Teams are part of everyday office life.
When you switch your meeting online, you save on room hire costs and travel expenses while increasing productivity for everyone.
Plus, it means some people can keep working in their pyjamas and who doesn’t want that?
Your Superhero Budget Working For You
Looking after your budget is critical and if used with a little savvy, it can make reductions that will mean a much bigger pot of cash available for the things that matter - like making you the type of office manager your colleagues admire. Next time they come to you asking if there’s anything available to help make their lives easier, you’ll be able to say “yes”.
Not only that, you’ll finally be able to throw an office Christmas party to remember! (Even if it is over Zoom…)
Why not request a quote from us at LNC Services to see how much you can save on your office cleaning and maintenance? Trust us, it’s worth the phone call.
