EBizInsider

The theme across the board in e-business these days is figuring out ways to streamline operations, cut costs, make better investments and make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for. We’re all taking a closer look, not only at increasing the business coming in and squeezing the most out of the new technology, but also decreasing the expenses we need to operate.

It can start with simple things, like taking a second look at the familiar. For example, a few weeks ago I was having problems with my cable box, so I spent an hour on the phone with the company explaining that it had just stopped working. In the process I went over my bill with the representative and discovered that I had been overcharged about $168 over the past year for services I didn’t have. So, this month, let’s look at some money-saving technology tricks! Now, a couple bucks here and there doesn’t make a difference in the big picture, right? WRONG! Remember “A penny saved is a penny earned.” We’re not dealing in pennies anymore, are we?

1. Telephone Service: A few months back I wrote that Voice-over-IP (VoIP) was the “in” thing for savings and it’s still true. A Vonage line for $25 a month gives you unlimited calls anywhere in the country. It’s loaded up with all the features you’d ever want and sure beats out the traditional plain old telephone service, provided by the phone company and accompanied by its many surcharges and taxes.

2. Cell Phones: If your company issues cell phones for its employees, you might want to look at the option of moving to providing employees with reimbursements and having them use their personal phones instead of the costly company option. In addition, consider moving to a share-plan for multiple phones on your account. You’ll also want to make sure you have a company cell phone usage policy and that all lines that you’re paying for are trimmed of all the bells and whistles. For instance, if your employees want to text, let them pay the extra $20 to have it.

3. Internet Service: Make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for. If you’re on a cable or DSL line, make sure you’re doing speed tests, shopping around and that you’re being very conscious of when your service contract expires. If you’re a home-based business, you probably will get a better rate if you purchase the service under your home, and don’t mention the business side of things. You can then reimburse yourself from the business account.

4. Remote Employees: Back in January I wrote about the virtual office. Now lots of businesses are facing the same issue. With the price of gas up $4.00 a gallon plus, now might be a good time to give your employees’ wallets a break and implement a good work-from-home policy. Remember, you will have to deal with some loss of control over your workforce. Put controls in place to ensure productivity is maintained and that you aren’t actually spending more time and money accommodating the needs of the employee in the long run.

5. Use new and emerging technologies: Now, more than ever, online shoppers are looking for the best deal. They’re actually slowing down and checking prices on multiple sites and searching for the best price. How can you compete?

· Get your products in the
comparison shopping engines (CSEs) using FeedPerfect.com.

· Streamline your workflow and operations with Cactus on Demand Order Management CactusOnDemand.com.

· Know where your shipping costs are going with Solid Cactus Shipping Manager http://www.solidcactus.com/sc-shipping-manager.html .

We’re all in business to succeed, to do better today than we did yesterday. Remember, while we work to increase the income, decreasing the outgo accomplishes the same end.

Manager, Marketing Operations & Solid Cactus Cares

All posts by John Dawe | E-Mail the author

Name (required)

E-Mail (required)

(Will not be published)

Website

Comments

Security Code

Enter the code above into this box. There's no letters, only numbers. We just want to make sure you're human.