Running a small business has many demands and challenges. In particular, time and money are the two items that seem to be in shortest supply. Luckily, there are some things that can be done to run your business on a tighter budget while still getting the important things done. Our best tips for running your business on a budget:

Create a workable budget

Categorize your expenses into separate departments, like marketing, personnel and IT costs, so that it’s easier to see where you are spending. This also allows you to see how effective your dollars spent are in each area, and where you can cut costs if needed.

Regularly update your budget
Monthly, or at least several times annually, you should review and update your budget as needed.  This gives you a chance to see if there is wasteful spending, or even areas where you should spend more. Because businesses can change quickly, projections, profits and revenue should be updated regularly as well.

Be creative with marketing
It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to market your business. There are many low-cost marketing and advertising channels available. Be sure that you have a website, and start a blog on it, post videos online and consider regular posting and placing ads on social media sites as well.

Lower your overhead

• Any time you can reduce your overhead, you are raising your income. Consider working out of your home if that is a possibility. Office or store space is expensive, and will save you money that you can use for other business purposes.

• Finding great deals on supplies is another way to save money, so shop around to find the best deals, while asking for business discounts from stores that you regularly buy from.

• Trial software can be downloaded and used on a temporary basis to see if it’s a good fit for your business before you sink any money into it. Take advantage of that before settling on the right software for your company.

• Utility savings can be had by just setting your thermostat differently, and those savings can add up over the course of a year. Consider a programmable thermostat to turn down the comfort controls at night when no one is using it.

• Reducing paper is good for the environment and your wallet. Use online storage space that is free or very inexpensive to store your documents and you’ll save on paper, printing and filing costs.
  
  You can run your business on a budget, save significantly, and still have everything needed to run a successful business.