Small business owners don’t have access to the same amount of resources that owners of larger corporations have. Therefore budgeting and saving money are especially important. Here are five easy tips for saving money as a small business owner.

Outsource Your Projects

Having a full-time staff on hand to help you complete your projects will cost you a lot more than outsourcing the work to freelancers. You can save money by hiring freelancers as independent contractors our outsourcing to an agency like Raine Digital, you’ll save money when it comes to things like employee benefits.

Focus Marketing Efforts on High ROI Channels

If your marketing budget is limited, you have to make sure that you are using the resources that you do have to your utmost advantage. Therefore, make sure you focus your marketing efforts on things that will bring in a high ROI. This starts with testing. Without testing out different marketing campaigns, you won’t be able to finally reach a conclusion about which campaigns bring in the highest ROI. If a campaign isn’t profitable, do not be afraid to drop it.

Go Paperless

In this day and age, there is no reason why you should need to use paper for all of your documents. Go paperless by using cloud storage services designed for small businesses. This will help you save money on both the paper and the storage space that paper files require. Of course, going paperless will also help protect the environment. Trying to keep track of expense reports and paper trails is too much of a hassle when everything you need is quickly and easily available on your smartphone or device.

Be Accountable

You need to place a large emphasis on making sure that you are taking care of your accounting needs. Make sure you know where the money is going. Make sure you know what is bringing money in and what is not. Having an accurate picture of your cash flow and expenses will ensure that you know when to make changes to your strategy.

Get in Touch with Your Local Chamber of Commerce

Image courtesy of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce

How familiar are you with your local chamber of commerce? Not very? That needs to change, because your local chamber of commerce can help you save a lot of money as a small business. As a government entity designed to help American businesses, the Chamber of Commerce provides connections, resources, and solutions that help small businesses grow and thrive. Often memberships to the local chamber of commerce unlock discounts for insurance, marketing services, and even office supplies.

Don’t Forget Tax Deductions

Tax deductions are super important when it comes to saving money as a small business owner. Taxes do add up, and if you are not deducting your business expenses properly, you are reducing your revenue and limiting your growth rate. If you own a home-based business, you may be able to deduct expenses such as your internet bill and your computer equipment. If you’re a larger business that uses a virtual office and a virtual receptionist, those costs can be written off as deductions, too. The best way to find out what qualifies as a deduction and what doesn’t is to talk with a qualified tax professional who has experience helping small businesses with their returns.

As you can see, saving money as a small business owner is easy as long as you put in some additional planning and effort.