7 quick money saving tips for small business owners

Today, running out of cash is one of the top reasons startups fail. So, it’s important to save money where you can to prolong your small business’s finances and improve its performance. 

Though good spending habits may seem challenging to stick to, you don’t have to struggle. There are plenty of quick and easy ways to save money as a business owner, and we can help you learn a few tricks.

This guide covers seven quick money-saving tips for small business owners, including:

• Discounts and deals 
• Low cost or free marketing 
• Free tools and apps 
• Do-it-yourself processes 
• Dropshipping 
• Working from home 
• Budget check-ins

You may have heard the phrase ‘you need to spend money to make money.’ Sure, investing in your business can help you reach a broader audience to earn more sales and revenue. 

But, saving money can also help you maintain strong finances. So let’s go over some quick solutions to cutting down your expenses. 

If you don’t take advantage of available discounts, you’ll end up spending more money than you need to. 

Business credit cards often offer valuable rewards and discounts. Many business credit cards even have introductory offers, such as this American Express one with a £250 offer and no annual fee. 

Partnering with other small businesses can also help you reduce spending. For example, you could offer free advertising to companies with similar customer bases in exchange for a discount on their products or services. 

On top of this, consider where you can negotiate to cut costs. Learn more with our article on negotiating with suppliers by email.

Investing in marketing and advertising can help you grow your business audience and earn sales. But, you can also save money with low cost or free tactics. 

For example, keep an eye out for free local events where you can pass out flyers or business cards. 

Then, get the most out of happy customers by asking them to review your business. Building a positive reputation is a free and highly beneficial way to earn new customers. 

Social media marketing is another great free way to develop a digital presence. To learn more about doing this effectively, check out our article on how to manage several social media accounts for your business. 

Another money-saving tip for small business owners is to use free tools that can support your business. This method shows you which tools are worth investing in in the long run. 

Here are a few free tools you might try: 

• Canva – A design tool to make marketing materials, logos, social posts, presentations, and more. 
• Trello – A project management tool that helps organise your projects, progress, and time. 
• Google Workspace –  Email, documents, calendar, and drive all in one place. 
• Buffer or Tweetdeck – Social media marketing management tools to stay on top of your posts and activity. 
• Hubspot  – Content marketing platform that offers free email marketing features. 

Some small businesses outsource (or pay others to handle) services like design, marketing, inventory, or accounting. Though outsourcing can save you time and support growth, it’s not always the right choice. 

If you want to save money for your small business, consider what you can do yourself. For example, you might choose to handle all of your marketing services rather than hiring a social media marketing manager. 

If you run an online store and ship products, look into dropshipping to save money. Dropshipping is when an external platform ships your products for you. 

With dropshipping, you won’t have to keep an inventory of your products. Plus, you only need to pay for the goods customers buy rather than stocking more than you may sell. 

If you sell products from a supplier, dropshipping can reduce upfront stocking costs and cut inventory storage expenses. 

Still, with so many dropshipping services available, be sure to compare the options to make sure it saves you money in the long term. 

Here are a few dropshipping suppliers to look into: 

• Dropified – Is easy to use and connects to Alibaba and Aliexpress e-commerce and wholesale sites to access and sell their products. 
• Importify – Automates the process and easily connects to Woocommerce online store platform and Wix website builder.
• Oberlo – Has a great Shopify plugin if you use this e-commerce platform.   

Do you rent office space for your small business? You can save on these costs by moving your desk home. 

If you can create a designated workspace and focus at home, that’s one less expense to worry about. Your home office can reduce regular expenses by a few hundred pounds a month. 

If working from home isn’t an option, think about joining a shared workspace, such as wework. With ‘on demand’ plans as little as £34 a month, this solution is noticeably less expensive than paying your own rent. 

See also: How to organise your home office. 

Creating a clear business budget is crucial to financial success. But, it’s important to check in with your budget regularly to spot any slip-ups or wasteful spending. 

When doing this: 

• Flag expenses that don’t help your business or create revenue. 
• Cancel subscriptions that you don’t use regularly.  
• Take note of wasteful spending, so you think twice next time.
• Look for and compare cheaper solutions for necessary expenses. 

Asking questions and seeking better options allows you to save for the future of your business. 

With these money-saving tips for small business owners, you can cut down your spending and protect your business from financial struggle. Plus, the money you save can go towards positive investment and growth. 

For a better idea of what you want to work towards, consider checking out our article on creating a small business growth plan. 

To track how well these saving tips work, why not give Countingup a try?  

Countingup is a business current account and accounting software in one app. It automates time-consuming bookkeeping admin for thousands of self-employed people across the UK. 

Save yourself hours of accounting admin so you can focus on growing your business. 

Start your three-month free trial today.