Businesses are always looking for ways to economise when times are tough and sales are down, but being frugal is something that all businesses should embrace at all times in the economic cycle. Here are 5 solutions that can help your business save time and money.

1. Set Payments on Automatic

Just like with personal finances, money gets managed easier with a business when bills and other payments are handled on auto-pilot. Spending time arranging individual payments can eat through a tremendous amount of administrative time that can be better spent elsewhere.

Software like QuickBooks can be set to automatically pay business expenses on a set date. PayPal buttons can be set-up that pre-populate payment information for clients to make easy payments without the company needing to confirm their payment information each time. PayPal also has a subscription system that can be set to automatically bill customers on a regular basis without needing to intervene at all.

2. Google Calendar

Google Calendar can be used to record important appointments and share the calendar with select work colleagues. It is also possible to use a different Gmail account to create a group calendar that can be used for general office or company appointments or dates that are important to remember.

Reminders can be set to prompt office managers about upcoming events of note.

3. Prepare Emergency Plans Before Emergencies Happen

Create emergency preparation documents that can be accessed offline and in the event of a power cut. These documents should outline what actions should be immediately taken in the event of a loss of internet capabilities, a loss of power, a loss of business location, and other critical issues that can arise. These documents should also be made available in the cloud (protected with security) in case the computer network cannot be accessed during the emergency.

4. Use Task Managers

A task manager app can be an essential modern tool for employees to use. To Do lists can be created for individuals within different categories that use labels, alerts and reminders. Tasks can be assigned to different personnel or shared with work groups when the matter involves certain individuals, groups or departments.

Look at group sharing apps like Trello and task list apps like Wunderlist and Todoist which all have people assignment features within their premium versions.

5. Secure Digital Assets Off-site

Having online backups in the cloud is essential to protect from local data loss due to hard drive corruption and other potential technical issues. Assets like images and video should be uploaded to a separate digital storage facility to protect it and make it readily accessible. Various digital asset solutions from Asset Bank can be used to secure important digital assets off-site.

Saving money with businesses isn't only about shopping for the best price when buying new equipment or adding new office supplies. This would be thinking way too small. The ability to streamline communication, reduce disorganisation, prepare for emergencies ahead of time, share a group calendar, and put company finances on automatic are key ways to reduce both time and money consumed by everyday activities. This improves productivity and reduces the need to keep increasing the employee count as the business grows.