Small Business Money-Saving Tips

Small and medium sized businesses make up 99% of Swiss companies and employ two-thirds of the population. But high rents for commercial properties, the cost of hiring employees, and competition from large corporations and foreign online retailers are just some of the factors which lead many small businesses to close their doors. But the challenges of today’s business environment also provide enormous savings and growth potential for business owners who are ready to seize the day.

These simple tips can help your business cut costs and operate more efficiently:

1. Understand the true cost of hiring employees

As your business grows, hiring employees will likely feature high on your priority list. When calculating employee salaries, it is important to account for all costs – not just their basic salary. Read the employee cost guide for employers to get a clear understanding of the costs of hiring in Switzerland.

2. Optimize insurance spending

Depending on your profession, getting professional liability insurance may be compulsory. If you have employees, you are required to pay for their occupational accident insurance. You will likely also want to take out paid sick leave insurance. If your business owns property, you may need buildings insurance and buildings liability insurance. If your business owns vehicles, you need car insurance. Taking the time to compare insurance policies and premiums can save your business a lot of money.

3. Use the most affordable business loans

If your business relies on business loans, make sure to compare interest rates and use the most affordable lender. The interactive business loan comparison makes it easy to compare the interest rates of Swiss business loans.

4. Choose the right business banking solutions

The high financial transaction volumes which often come with running a business can generate sizeable fees and charges. Using the business account with the lowest costs based on the transactions you make can save your business a lot of money. The interactive business account comparison lets you quickly and easily find the right account based on your individual needs. Using a business credit card can facilitate accounting and may be inevitable in some cases. Take the time to compare the costs and benefits of business credit cards and use the card that best matches your needs. The business credit card comparison provides a clear overview of the costs and benefits of Swiss business credit cards.

5. Take advantage of free software

For decades, big software companies like Microsoft have managed to convince business owners that expensive software was a must to running a business. But free or cheap software is now widely available, and unless you need highly-specialized software, there is no need to pay for basic business tools. Open Office and LibreOffice make good free alternatives to expensive office software. Apple’s iWork office suite comes preinstalled on Apple computers on a complimentary basis, and is sufficient for many applications. Thunderbird is a well-developed alternative to paid email managers. Other free alternatives to paid software include CiviCRM (for CRM applications),  GIMP (graphic design) and GNUCash (accounting). Working with free software can save you hundreds of francs per year.

6. Choose the right accounting solution

While employing a fulltime bookkeeper can be worth it for larger companies, small businesses can save a lot of money by outsourcing their accounting to an accounting firm. If you have the time and know-how, you can cut out accounting costs altogether by doing your own accounting using a spreadsheet program (Swiss accounting templates are available online) or Swiss accounting software.

7. Try telecommuting whenever possible

Telecommunications have become cheaper and more effective than ever, and the Internet lets us do many kinds of work from almost any location. While meeting in-person is still important in many cases, there are plenty of occasions on which teleconferencing can replace an in-person meeting. Conferencing software now lets you make video calls with multiple participants anywhere in the world at virtually no cost. Consider how much time and money you spend traveling to meetings, and how much of that travel can be replaced by virtual meetings. If your small business includes computer-related work, you can also cut down on the cost of office space by having employees do at least some of their work from home.

8. Cut business travel costs

In addition to teleconferencing or telecommuting whenever possible, there are a number of additional ways to cut your business travel costs. Saving on hotel stays and finding cheap flights can greatly reduce the cost of business travel. You can take advantage of gas station loyalty programs to get discounts and earn award gas (by using a gas card, for example).

9. Use freelancers

Employee salaries make up a significant portion of expenses for most small businesses, but hiring full-time employees is not always necessary. Online portals make it easy to find specialists who can get the job done on a freelance basis, which saves you the hassles and costs associated with taking on an employee. Depending on the nature of your business, you may be able to make use of freelancers all over the world, often at wages well below the Swiss average. When hiring freelancers in Switzerland, ask for proof that they are registered as self-employed with the social security office and cover their own social security contributions.

10. Network for marketing muscle

Many small businesses find it very difficult to compete with big corporate competitors. Networking with other small businesses can be mutually beneficial because by working together, you can more easily compete against the big players. For example, if you run a retail business, collaborating with other small retailers and jointly buying stock in bulk can help you secure better wholesale deals. Networking with other businesses to jointly advertise each other’s services can cut advertising costs for all businesses involved. If you have a website, linking to and from partner sites can improve your rankings on search engines.

More on this topic:
Swiss business bank account comparison
Swiss business loan comparison
Swiss business credit card comparison
Swiss pension fund comparison
Swiss accident insurance guide for employers
Swiss paid sick leave insurance guide