Reduce Monthly Business Costs with These 10 Smart (and Painless) Adjustments
Do you know which expenses are actually helping your business grow, and which ones are quietly draining your bank account?
Understanding the difference is essential. Every business owner should be aware of where unnecessary spending hides, so you can redirect those dollars toward what truly matters. Some costs are more nuanced, such as employee benefits or premium materials, but others are straightforward—and those are exactly what this list focuses on.
We’ve put together a “zero-pain savings checklist” covering the top 10 areas where small businesses can cut costs without losing performance. These insights come from working with more than 2,000 businesses, drawing on 12 years of experience, and seeing firsthand what really drives results.
1. Audit All Recurring Card Charges
Start by combing through your business credit cards. Cancel tools and subscriptions you don’t use, or even remember signing up for. Duplicate tools are surprisingly common.
💡 Tip: Set a quarterly calendar reminder titled: “Subscription Sweep”
Checklist:
- Review all recurring charges
- Cancel what’s idle or redundant
- Wait for vendors to offer you a comeback discount
Canceling won’t usually wipe your data, and may actually unlock offers or promos to return.
2. Use Virtual Cards to Enforce Budgets
Instead of letting spending happen unchecked, set hard caps using virtual cards. Many banks offer these for free, or you can use platforms like Mercury for greater control.
Here’s how:
Plan your monthly budgets in a spreadsheet
Choose whether to limit by employee or by category
Create cards accordingly (e.g., one for marketing, one for travel)
Set limits—and alerts
Share securely via a password manager
This prevents overages, flags anomalies, and ensures every dollar goes where it should.
3. Remove Licenses from Former Employees
Are you still paying for software seats no one uses?
It’s easy to forget, but inactive user licenses (for tools like Zoom or Notion) can quietly cost you hundreds or thousands each year. Run a license audit regularly, especially after team changes.
4. Reevaluate Your Phone & Internet Providers
Telecom costs are notorious for creeping up. Prices rose 14% last year alone (U.S. News). But you have options.
Consider:
Annual price comparisons
Looking into resellers that use major networks (same service, lower price)
Exploring alternatives like Google Fiber or VoIP phone systems
Keeping dual internet lines (fiber + coax) for reliability without extra cost
Even just negotiating with your current provider could yield instant savings.
5. Stop Paying Vendors Too Quickly
It’s great to be prompt, but if clients pay you late and you pay early, you’re essentially lending money for free.
Switch to Net-30 terms and align your accounts payable with your receivables. More money stays in your account longer, improving cash flow and reducing reliance on credit.
6. Turn Off Ineffective Ads
Ad platforms are set-it-and-forget-it traps. Revisit your ad dashboards and pause anything underperforming (e.g., CTRs below 1%).
Don’t “hope” bad ads turn around, double down on the ones that already perform. And don’t forget:
- Improve landing pages (better scores = cheaper ads)
- Reduce campaign clutter
- Ask real customers which offers appeal to them
7. Combine Line Items on Invoices
If you’re listing out every detail on customer invoices, you may be giving clients reasons to question what they’re paying for.
Try bundling services into simple, all-in-one packages. You’ll reduce pushback, avoid unnecessary negotiations, and keep your sales and service teams focused.
8. Go Paperless
Physical receipts and paper-heavy processes still cost you, both in money and time. Most POS systems offer digital receipt options by default now.
🌍 Bonus: Going paperless helps the environment and your bottom line. CVS saved $50 million by ditching long receipts, and so can you (on your scale).
Encourage digital docs, reduce printing, and add a “do not print” watermark to internal templates.
9. Hire a Bookkeeper
DIY accounting works until it doesn’t. A bookkeeper helps you spot cost trends, wasteful spending, and profit gaps.
They can customize your chart of accounts to match your business needs and help you stop guessing about your financial health.
10. Ask for Credit Line Increases
Here’s a simple one: Log into each credit card account and request a higher limit.
A higher credit line improves your credit score by lowering your utilization ratio. That means better financing terms and cheaper access to capital.
It’s free to request, and it might make a difference when you need it most.
🔁 Make This an Annual Routine
Business costs tend to rise unless you actively fight back. That’s why we recommend saving this checklist and revisiting it each year, especially during end-of-year reviews.
Need help figuring out which expenses to cut, and which to grow?
M7 works closely with business owners in Mississauga and beyond to build confident, data-driven financial systems.
📞 Book a free consultation and start scaling smarter from day one.
📧 Have questions? Write to us at: [email protected]
