5 Ways You Can Save Money For Your Business By Going Digital From going paperless to VoIP, there are plenty of ways to cut corners while also saving valuable time
By Rustam Singh
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Whether you're a small-scale startup running a mobile app platform, or a recently-funded large scale firm, newer advancements in the technological field would not only help you to save costs, time and resources, but also streamline your business model.
Digital technology has opened doors in unprecedented ways for businesses to engage employees as well as customers into their virtual connections. While having a multi-platform app for their website, customer feedback, employee track records and administrative tasks besides rendering sales and services is becoming the common norm, here are a few new ways to dip into the virtual pool:
Common platform for notes and brainstorming
Calculate the costs of wasting resources in distributing notepads, stationery and other office supplies to employees for their research and tracking notes in a business meeting. If the entire business utilizes one common app on a similar operating system, utilizing apps such as Evernote could save money as well as save environment. The best part? Since all your notes are already digital, transcribing them into a virtual document would save you hours of typing it all out.
Related: Check out 6 Amazing Apps to Increase Business Productivity
Cloud > emails and flash drives any day
Emails are annoying, confusing and delay communications every day. Not only do formal communications need acknowledgements, we waste valuable time in deciding how formal should a business email reply be between a employee-employer (Pro tip : usually a "received. Thanks" is sufficient). Switching all your documents to cloud over a high speed internet connection ensures that documents are available even when you're not in your office – like on a weekend, off hours or even while travelling. The costs of not hiring an IT technician to setup an elaborately, non-responsive LAN network or distributing flash drives is also phenomenal, since most cloud services offer tremendous storage space for free, such as Google Drive. It also saves electricity costs and office space.
Related : Check out 4 Reasons Small Businesses Need to Migrate to the Cloud
Collaborating with other startups for HR outsourcing
Lack of office space to hoist a cafeteria? Hate to see your employees waste fuel, time and energy and yet still arrive late in the mornings? There's definitely a startup for that! Consider collaborating with a startup for various permanent company tie-ups, such food deliveries for meals, carpool sharing or even organising company vacations or business meets. Having a large-scale business share hands with a startup would not only help receive brilliant discounts, but also provide promotions for your business. The tried and tested examples include Uber, which encourages discounted car pooling to pick and drop for businesses, and FoodPanda that offers discounted regular food deliveries.
Related : Should You Shift Your HR to the Cloud?
Switch to VoIP
Ever since Whatsapp brought Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) into the limelight, several apps have sprung up to remind users and businesses over the cost effectiveness of using their services over regular cellular calls. The annual money saved from completely switching to VoIP apps is tremendous, and also provides you with a complete call log while being green. Try utilizing a business account with a common number, such as that on Voxox or Skype.
Related: Should Your Business Switch to VoIP?
Open sourcing and encouraging freeware
Why waste resources on mainstream softwares or break the cyber law by using pirated ones when there's always an open sourced alternative around? A considerable chunk of annual expenses amount to seeking licenses and permissions just because of the sheer force of habit of utilizing popular document processing apps, operating systems, email services and photo/video stock gallery archives. Everyday there's one private firm releasing its code-free utilization and some of them can be surprisingly more efficient than paid versions.
Related : Open Sourcing - Benefits
Digital changes just demand tiny amount of your time to change for the better, and much like your favourite cell phone, all it takes is a few days to be hooked enough that leaves you wondering how you survived without it before. A completely digital business also adds valuable impressions on your customer and employees for being progressive and adaptive to dynamic changes.
