Don’t let hidden workplace costs eat into your profits. From software subscriptions to wasted utilities, discover the four common workplace costs you’re overlooking and how to take back control of your budget.
What comes to mind when you think of workplace expenses? No office or working environment is entirely free from expenses, and while many of the major expenses are regular and budgeted for, there are often smaller expenses that fly under the radar and are eating into your profits.
So while you’ve got the basics covered, rent utilities, wages, etc, what could you be missing?
Lightbulbs and Other Tiny Things
It goes without saying that few people are sitting down and budgeting light bulbs into their expenses, but for those workplaces that are sizable and require specific lighting, such as a warehouse, for example, not just a small office or retail space, it can really add up.
But it’s not just the cost of the lightbulb; it’s the odd electrical visit if your bulbs keep blowing, or the cost of switching to LEDS or automatic lighting to cut down on energy use. And before you know it, that lightbulb is suddenly really expensive.
WiFi Woes
Every workplace needs Wi-Fi these days; that’s a given. But what happens when what you have isn’t enough?
When it can’t cope with the workload and your company is growing, leaving your Wi-Fi in the dust? The result will be emergency IT calls, lost productivity, cancelled meetings, lost clients, and more.
And upgrading to a faster, more capable package probably isn’t expensive on its own; it’s the other costs of poor Wi-Fi that adds up.
The Breakroom Black Hole
Milk, Teabags, Sugar, Biscuits, Coffee. Are you applying these expenses to your budget? Everyone knows that one of the fastest things to disappear in an office is the breakroom supplies.
They’re there in the morning and gone by lunch. And no one will admit to putting that empty milk carton back in the fridge.
This is how your costs creep up without you realising. First, it’s buying more tea bags then it’s upgrading a coffee machine, buying a new microwave, or installing water coolers so people are hydrated on something other than coffee and energy drinks.
These costs will be so insignificant at first that you won’t notice them, but over time, they will add up.
Wobbly Furniture
We’re going there. Chairs used frequently will start to sag, desks will wobble as they are used and become less stable, and filing cabinets will lose their keys the moment you actually need them.
It’s all just minor inconveniences, right?
Most offices try to patch things up—a bit of tape here, some wood glue there, a bit of paper shoved under the wobbly table leg—but eventually, you’ll need to replace it. And because these aren’t everyday purchases, when the time comes, chances are it’ll be more than just needing to buy one chair; it will feel like you’re replacing the entire office with a new fitout.
It’s these small things that you don’t pay for frequently or are so inexpensive you don’t notice adding up that can really leave you scratching your head, wondering where all your money is going.
These points can help you pinpoint any issues in your business budgeting and allow you to work more costs into your routine expenses so that when you do need to pay for them, it doesn’t feel like such a hit to your accounts.
