Urgh. Business expenses. They’re just the worst. But they’re also incurable because no matter what sort of business you own or run and that’s because businesses cost money.

It could be the brick and mortar shop you own on that overly expensive street, the rising cost of utility bills, the service provider you pay to keep your popular e-commerce site online or the staff you employ to keep things ticking along like a super-fast clock. Every company has their own set of expenses. It’s unavoidable, like death and taxes.

But even though you can’t fully escape them, you can massively reduce them, and it only takes a few little tweaks to do so.

Read on to see my top tips on how to take the legs out from under your business expenses:

The Only Way Is Outsourcing

Full-time salaries are seriously costly, especially if you are in the early days of your business or the main bulk of your work is done on a project by project basis. That’s why we urge you to explore all your outsourcing options and build a pool of freelancers you can trust to deliver. This won’t just reduce your expenses, it will guarantee the work is done to the kind of high standard that only a freelancer hoping for repeat business can supply.

Interns Are Important

Not only are you doing a service by giving a young and hungry worker bee that all-important experience to get them on the career ladder, you are getting an employee for cents and not dollars. It’s a win-win. Just bear in mind that interns need a lot of training because, well, they’ve never done anything like this before or heard the language you are using.

Keep It All Online

Unless you are sending out Christmas cards to your favourite clients and customers, try and keep all your correspondence online. That could be meeting requests, client approaches and vendor chats. By keeping it all online you are escaping small costs like paper, stamps, envelopes and, yes, time. All of these add up, so keep them low if possible.

Don’t Buy New

We know that the consumer society we live in tells us that we need to buy the newest and latest bits and bobs, especially on the technological front, but this is a gross misuse of money when funds are tight. Instead, what you should do is hunt around for alternatives. That could mean getting your equipment from an online auction at Equifyllc.com or it might mean picking up your computers from a refurb specialist or using Facebook marketplace for all it is worth. Whatever you decide, there are big savings to be enjoyed.

The Art of Negotiation

This is a lost art, but one that is well-worth clawing back because it can get you great deals on every front. It can see you get a better deal from your suppliers, it can see you get lower rates from your credit card suppliers, and loads of other things. It’s the secret weapon that is falling by the wayside. Don’t let it.