It can become costly to maintain a company, so most founders will quickly start looking for easy ways to reduce costs. Whether you are growing startup, or building a long-standing brand, staying lean and spending wisely are some of the most important ways to increase net income.

So, check out these five cost-cutting practices that won’t compromise the quality, productivity, or the security of your company.

1. Create a BYOD Policy

   If you’re a growing company, one of the easiest ways to reduce costs is to implement a BYOD, bring your own device, policy. It’s almost common place today to see employees at young startups working away on their own computers or speaking on personal cellphones while conducting business. With a BYOD policy, you can save money on technology and reinvest it into marketing, sales and customer outreach. This strategy can also help you cut costs related to installing phone lines and other maintenance costs. If your company is a little more developed, you can easily reimburse employees for business purposes.

2. Conserve Energy

   There are many easy ways to conserve energy usage around the office. First, turn off the lights when they’re not in use. Two inefficient light bulbs can easily power a large computer, so turn off the lights when you leave the room. If you use fluorescent light bulbs, make sure to change them regularly. Once a bulb reaches around 80 percent of its expected lifespan, it starts to waste energy.

   Same goes with heating in the winter and air condition in the summer; if you’re not in the room, turn off all energy consumers. Unplug devices you don’t use (or barely use). A little goes a long way, and by following these simple practices, you’ll be able to effectively conserve energy and cut electricity costs.

3. Leverage Telecommuting

   Letting employees telecommute on specific days can reduce their transportation costs, and help you save on overhead costs as well. For early-stage startups, it might be worthwhile to look at telecommuting as a primary way to save money on office space rent. However, this method does rely on a higher level of trust within the company, so it’s important you trust your employees and that they understand what’s expected of them. Telecommuting is also great if you plan to employ a global employee base since job candidates with specific skill sets are more prevalent in certain markets.

4. Consider Benefits Closely

   One of the many perks job candidates will consider when working for your startup are employee benefits. For example, some companies will pay for employee health care. “While no employer must offer coverage, some larger businesses may have to make a payment in 2015 or 2016,” according to Healthcare.gov.

   “Businesses with 50 or fewer employees may get employee health coverage in the SHOP Marketplace. Employers of this size aren’t required to offer health coverage.” Although this is something your employees would appreciate, sometimes it’s not practical. Instead, start off slow with benefits and  increase them as time goes on and revenue increases.

   Meanwhile, overtime pay and paid time off are another benefits where you can control costs. Overtime pay adds up — especially if it isn’t completely necessary. While paid time off is determined by you, as the employer. For instance, you may decide to give employees a certain number of days automatically or require employees to accrue it.

5. Buy Secondhand Office Furniture

   Who says new is always better? When operating on a budget, investing in secondhand office furniture is a great way to cut initial operating costs. Ask friends and family if they have used furniture they don’t use anymore, or find a company that’s selling or liquidating their office furniture. Buying secondhand will allow you to find quality furniture at a fraction of the original price.

Starting your own business is tough, and when you’re creating your monthly operations budget you may need to cut corners without sacrificing quality and performance. Using these simple tips, and you’ll save on startup costs, and long-term operational costs.

Abigail Clark is an up-and-coming freelance writer. She graduated from The University of South Florida with a bachelors in marketing, minoring in journalism. When she isn’t up to her neck in coupons she is enjoying the outdoors fishing. She loves doing reviews for technology, home products and beauty products. 

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