Manage Business Expenses Wisely With These 6 Tips and Tools
Running a business means that you need to learn to be wise with the money and resources in your possession. You will never experience growth if you don’t get a handle on managing business expenses properly. It’s important to monitor and manage your business expenses so that you aren’t wasting money on things that aren’t giving you a good return. Here are some tips and tools for managing your company’s finances wisely:
Use an Expense Tracker
One of the best ways to manage business expenses is by using an expense tracker. This tool helps you keep track of your spending, stay within budget and save money. A good expense tracker will not only help you avoid overpaying for services or products but also allow you to see where all your hard-earned cash is going. This gives you the necessary data you need so that you can make adjustments going forward.
Also read: Best Ways to Prepare for CPA Subjects
Track Mileage
You can use an app, a spreadsheet, or a fuel card to track your mileage. The IRS allows you to deduct business miles driven as an expense if you’re self-employed as well, so it’s important to keep track of them. Tracking mileage can be a little tedious, but the effort is well worth it when you can write this expense off on your business taxes at the end of the year.
Use Fuel Cards for Your Fleets
Fuel cards are a great way to save money on operating your fleet. They’re easy to use and have numerous benefits over simply using business credit cards. Fuel cards like the one you would find at AtoB can even help you reduce the cost of operating your fleet. They offer discounts on fuel at certain vendors, enhanced security, and only allow your drivers to pay for gasoline using cards. This means that your staff won’t be able to use the credit card for other expenses on the road like snacks. And because all your fuel costs are on the cards, it makes reporting easier.
Automate Your Expense Reports With Technology Tools
Automating expense tracking is one of the best ways to ensure that you’re not missing any expenses. When you are automatically tracking expenses, it is easier to keep track of what each employee spends and how much they spend. This can help keep your company in line with its budget and prevent overspending on company funds. Using a tool like Expensify or Concur allows employees to take pictures of receipts from their phone or computer and then organize them into categories. Because it’s quick and easy, it makes it simple to create expense reports using the data they upload. You can even link company credit cards to ensure that all expenses are accounted for.
Create a Hierarchy of Expenses on a Project-by-Project Basis
A cost hierarchy is important for project management because it helps you allocate the costs. So if $50,000 is the project budget, you’ll need to split that up over technology and people expenses that will be incurred until the project is done. When you do this it helps you better manage your business expenses and see where the money is going.
Hire Bookkeeping and Accounting Help
You may not need a full-time bookkeeper or accountant, but even outsourcing them can be a wise way to manage your business expenses. When everything is categorized correctly, and you pay your taxes on time as a business, it helps to save you money in the long run. They do all the numbers for you which helps you meet important tax deadlines throughout the year.
How do I file my taxes? There are two types of people: those who love going through their receipts and invoices line by line during tax season…and those who don’t want anything more than an automated tool that does all the heavy lifting for them! If you fall into the latter category then check out TurboTax Business Edition – it’s easy enough even if English isn’t your first language!
Takeaway
In today’s business world, it’s important to be wise with your money. If you don’t know where your hard-earned dollars are going, it’ll be hard to make adjustments that ensure profitability. If you spend too much on unnecessary items and services, it can eat away at profits and hinder future growth.