Snader Web Design

There is an old Chinese proverb which states that the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, but the second best time is today. Small business owners could learn something from saying. The best time to look for lower cost supplies is the day you open your business, but the second best time is today. You can’t get back the extra money you may have spent on higher priced supplies over the years. All you can do is stop wasting that money going forward.

If you are like most small business owners, you are strapped not only for money, but for time as well. You may be spending so much time concentrating on your core business that you just keep buying from your existing suppliers without every checking to make sure you are getting the best price available. That’s understandable. After all you probably didn’t go into business to look through catalogs and search the internet. On the other hand, you probably did go into business to make money.

If making money was a t least a part of your goal when you started your business, then you owe it to yourself to make sure you are giving away a part of your profits unnecessarily. That means making sure that you are overpaying for your basic business supplies.

Take a few minutes each day and pick one or two of the things you use around your business and see if you can find a lower price. One day look at something like cash register receipt paper, then look at printer inks. In fact, if your POS business machines use ink you might want to look at new thermal printers. POS machines with thermal printers are widely available and they are widely available for a reason. Thermal printers don’t require ink at all. The printer itself is cheaper and more reliable and the savings on ink cartridges can really add up. Thermal printers require a special thermal paper that can be purchased from online suppliers very cheaply in special thermal paper rolls designed specifically for these POS business printers.

That’s just one example. Each day look for another item that your business uses and try to find it for less. If your business is a restaurant, look at the cost of things like paper napkins, drinking straws, dishwasher detergent, and other consumable supplies.

While each item may not seem like a significant amount of money, when you put them all together and add them up over the course of the year, they add up. Remember, every penny you save on your business supplies translates directly to your bottom line as profit.