How an Expense Audit Can Save you 2-10% a month
Most companies aren't running expense audits often enough. It can be easy to overlook the importance of doing an expense audit when things seem to be going well. In times of plenty, many business owners tend to look at the overall numbers and call it good.
𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜.
At Pivot Business Group, we recommend running an expense audit quarterly as part of your standard practice. Taking the time to examine where you're spending your money and if it benefits you is an essential part of keeping your business profitable!
How to run an expense audit for your company:
1 Run a Profit and Loss report on a cash basis for the last 12 months by month
2 Highlight your major expenses
3 Determine if those expenses are variable or fixed
4 Look for areas where you can make cuts
During an expense audit with a client, we noticed they had several monthly charges for various software programs and recurring membership charges. Many were inexpensive, but there were a lot of them, so they added up.
We asked the client to investigate each one and find out if they were actually being used and if they were needed. We were able to identify $350 a month in just obsolete subscriptions!
𝙎𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙙𝙙 𝙪𝙥! 𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪?
𝘼𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙨.
Would they be willing to offer you a bulk discount? Referral fees? A loyalty discount? A discount for ordering early?
Exploring your vendor relationships and finding out what your options are can be a great way to reduce expenses!
Often, expense audits reveal a series small expenses that could be eliminated or altered to save money, however once in a while, they can reveal a large expense that makes a large impact on the bottom line.
We had a client who had been leasing a printer for years for $1,300 a month, plus being charged for the paper and ink. Because many projects are now being done digitally and then with Covid, even less people were working in the office, the printer was sitting there, mostly unused.
The client called the printer company, returned the printer, went to a local office supply store and grabbed a $150 printer and a ream of paper to put in the office instead.
Huge savings just from looking at what's actually being used and if its worth the cost.
𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜?
Want some help with your Expense Audit? We offer a 30 minute free consultation. Schedule a call today!