Business expenses. Methods for optimizing the costs of commercial organizations Ways to reduce business expenses of an enterprise

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What is the essence of business expenses?

Business expenses combine costs associated with the shipment and sale of goods. The category of commercial expenses includes the cost of packaging purchased externally, the cost of packaging in warehouses, payment for packaging products by third parties, funds spent on delivering products to the place under the contract, as well as the cost of loading goods, payment of freight forwarding organizations, commissions and fees , advertising expenses and other sales expenses.

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It is on the competent formation of business expenses that the profitability of production in general and individual types of products, the identification of reserves for reducing the cost of goods, the interdependence of types of products, the place of their production, the calculation of the economic efficiency of introducing new equipment and technology, activities, technologies, and the determination of product prices largely depend. , justification for the decision to release new products or abandon the production of obsolete goods.

The accounting and evaluation of business expenses plays a dominant role in the overall accounting system. Cost analysis can evaluate the effectiveness of business expenses to determine whether they are excessive, how best to set prices, and use cost information in the short and long term. In addition, cost analysis will allow you to determine ways to control and regulate costs and plan the real amount of profit.

What exactly is included in business expenses:

costs of packaging products in warehouses;
commission costs;
costs of loading and unloading vehicles;
costs of delivery and transportation of products;
marketing costs;
labor costs for salespeople in organizations engaged in production;
costs of maintaining premises for storing finished goods in places of sale of products;
labor costs in trade organizations;
entertainment expenses;
costs of insuring goods and commercial risks;
costs of renting warehouses for finished products and retail premises;
other similar costs.

It is worthy of attention that the accounting of business expenses differs between production and law enforcement organizations. The costs of goods in the work of trading companies include all types of costs related to the main activity. Commercial expenses of production organizations include only funds used in the sale of products. Therefore, we can highlight the following list of commercial expenses of manufacturing organizations:

costs of packaging and packing products in warehouses;
commission fees paid to sales and other intermediary organizations;
delivery of products to the place of departure;
advertising expenses;
maintenance of premises for storing products at sales points, remuneration of sellers;
representation expenses;

Selling and Administrative Expenses: What's the Difference?

Companies will have to disclose in their accounting policies the procedure for recognizing commercial and administrative expenses. This alone confirms the likelihood of different options in accounting for similar costs in the cost of supplied products.

To maintain accounting records, an enterprise has the right to determine the order of recognition of commercial and administrative expenses without the help of other organizations.

These expenses may relate to the cost of production to the extent that they are recognized as expenses of the reporting period for ordinary activities. Apart from the fact that selling and administrative expenses can be written off to the cost of goods sold, products, services, works, in the full amount of expenses generally recognized in this reporting period.

The group of administrative expenses includes those not related to the commercial or production activities of the organization:

on the content of the personnel department, legal department;
for heating and lighting of non-industrial structures, business trips, communication services, and other similar costs.

Administrative expenses are reflected in accounting as a debit to the general expenses account. If administrative expenses for accounting policies are partially included in the cost of production, they are assumed to be written off in one of the following entries:

Debit 20 Credit 26

if the creation of this type of product represents the main activity of the enterprise;

Debit 23 Credit 26

if the work and goods were produced by auxiliary parties, for example, outsourcing;

Debit 29 Credit 26

if the service industries provided services and work on the side.

When assigning these costs to accounts 20, 23 or 29, they will be included in the cost of production as products are sold - as these costs are written off from accounts 20, 23 and 29 to account 90.

When administrative expenses are recognized in full, they will be entered as semi-fixed expenses directly into the cost of sales for the reporting period during which they arose. In this case, the following wiring is assumed:

Debit 90 Credit 26

Commercial expenses are accumulated in the debit of account 44 “Sales expenses”. They are written off to the cost of goods sold either 100% or in proportion to the level of goods sold. In both cases, the write-off is made to the debit of account 90 “Sales”.

How to account for business expenses

According to the old Chart of Accounts, it was assumed that business expenses would be recorded by debiting account 43 “Business Expenses” and crediting the accounts used to record material assets, cash and settlements. According to the new Chart of Accounts, it is assumed that commercial expenses will be recorded in the debit of account 44 “Sales expenses”.

Account 44 “Sales Expenses” is intended to summarize information about expenses that are associated with the sale of goods, products, services and works.

In organizations engaged in industrial and other production activities, the following expenses may be reflected in account 44 “Sales expenses”:

In organizations in the field of trading activities, it is possible to reflect on account 44 “Sale expenses the following expenses (distribution costs)”:

The debit of account 44 “Sales expenses” accumulates the amounts of expenses incurred by the organization that are associated with the sale of products, works, goods and services. These amounts are written off partially or completely to the debit of account 90 “Sales”. Partial write-off involves distribution:

for organizations in the field of industrial and other production activities - packaging and transportation costs;
for organizations in the field of trade or other intermediary activities - transportation costs.

All other expenses that are associated with the sale of products, works, goods and services are charged monthly to the cost of products sold (works, goods, services).

Tax accounting of business expenses

Polina Suvorova,

senior accountant Acsour, St. Petersburg

From the point of view of tax legislation, accounting for business expenses is complicated by the fact that among the sales expenses, which are included in the Instruction in the chart of accounts, advertising expenses are indicated, which are standardized in accordance with clause 4 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

To calculate income tax, it is possible to accept advertising expenses in an amount of no more than 1% of revenue. In particular, data on revenue and advertising expenses for Alfons LLC were calculated on an accrual basis for the nine months of 2014:

The amount of revenue of Alfons LLC excluding VAT is RUB 5,500,000.00.

5,500,000.00 * 1% = 55,000.00 rubles.

RUB 60,000.00 > 55,000.00 rubles.

The difference between accounting and tax accounting expenses will be 5,000.00 rubles.

How to Analyze Business Expenses

Financial analysis involves comparing the dynamics of business expenses and the dynamics of sales levels.

To conduct a “plan-actual” analysis, it is assumed that commercial expenses are divided into groups of semi-fixed and variable:

Variables – depend on the level of sales, including packaging, packaging, material and delivery requirements, etc. The relative economy/overspend is determined based on these expenses
Conditionally permanent - do not depend on the level of sales, include rental of premises, entertainment expenses, etc. Based on the consumption data, the absolute economy/overconsumption is determined.

Data on the total amount of business expenses can be determined in line 2210 of the income statement. More detailed information on commercial expenses is accumulated by accounting in account 44 “Sales expenses”.

The profitability of administrative and commercial expenses, according to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, is one of the indicators that are required to determine whether the price of a transaction between related parties corresponds to the level of market prices, therefore, whether the income from these transactions was fully taken into account for taxation.

To determine the profitability of business expenses, the formula can be used:

Profitability of selling and administrative expenses = gross profit / (commercial expenses + administrative expenses)

The normal value of the profitability of administrative and commercial expenses is within the interval, which is calculated by analyzing the profitability of comparable transactions in the manner established by Article 105.8 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

We carry out the analysis in several stages

Oksana Kondaurova, Deputy General Director for Finance of Kuban Aviation Lines OJSC, Financial Director of Airports of the South LLC, Krasnodar

Cost analysis at our enterprise combines several stages. First of all, the stage of drawing up an annual business plan. When determining the volume of variable costs, factor analysis is carried out to understand the influence of qualitative and quantitative indicators on changes in costs, revenue, and profitability of sales.

In order to plan fixed costs, a comparative analysis of them with the previous reporting period is carried out, taking into account the rate of inflation and changes during the reporting period.

The second stage is the preparation of an operating plan for the current month. At the third stage, an analysis of deviations of actual indicators from planned ones is carried out.

Based on the analysis, promising areas for reducing costs should be determined, in particular:

cost items with the largest share in the total cost;
costs for which the growth rate is higher than the growth rate of the organization's revenue.

This will display cost items that are classified into the following:

not subject to revision, since there are strict requirements from the company (salary, concluded contracts, tax obligations);
may be changed (in particular, termination of concluded contracts, which leads to penalties);
can be transferred to other periods without causing damage.

How to reduce business expenses

for packaging products in finished product warehouses;
for delivery of products to the departure station, loading onto ships, wagons, cars and other vehicles;
commission fees paid to sales and other intermediary organizations;
for advertising;
for the maintenance of premises for the purpose of storing products at points of sale and remuneration of sellers in organizations in the field of agricultural production;
for entertainment expenses;
other expenses similar in purpose.
for wages;
for transportation of goods;
for rent;
for storage and processing of goods;
for the maintenance of structures, buildings, equipment, premises;
for advertising;
for entertainment expenses;
other expenses similar in purpose.

Reduce production costs. Cost is the sum of all funds spent on the production and promotion of a product on the market. This amount is always expressed in monetary form with the content of an estimate of the cost of a unit of product, and is also included in the category of costs of the organization.

Any textbook on the world economy contains many measures aimed at reducing costs:

increase in labor productivity;
expansion of specialization;
automation of work processes, introduction of modern technology;
following the economy regime in all areas;
expansion, cooperation of enterprises;
the right choice of carriers, partners, suppliers of raw materials;
saving materials, raw materials, energy, fuel;
reducing the cost of maintaining the administrative apparatus;
improvement of technology;
conducting regular market research, using modern methods of product promotion;
reducing the level of losses from defects.

In an effort to reduce costs, you need to start by defining clear plans, indicating specific percentages of cost reduction for each item.

An action plan aimed at reducing costs is established, indicating:

percentage reduction in direct production, general and general production costs per unit of production and promotion costs;
a list of specific actions to reduce costs and assign deadlines and those responsible for implementing the established plan;
the net result obtained from each point of savings, which is expressed in monetary form.

Reducing expenses for specific expense items. Work in this part begins with an analysis of all costly items on the balance sheet.

We discussed in detail above some of the articles that relate to the structure and formation of cost. Other items can also be minimized with a detailed analysis of distribution costs. It is important to take into account the answer to the main question - how cost reduction will affect the final result in the organization’s activities.

The article on staff maintenance can be minimized by introducing outsourcing, part-time work, and control of payment for downtime during work due to the fault of the employer. An effective reduction in the cost of equipment operation is possible with a competent policy on the part of management:

renting out unused machines, mechanisms, vehicles, warehouses;
regular maintenance to reduce the cost of major repairs;
reduction of downtime;
introduction of leaseback, etc.

Renting and selling unused equipment, property, premises, and transport will also help reduce distribution costs. Financiers usually write off depreciated fixed assets instead of selling them, transferring them to employees for a certain fee, which leads to an increase in unprofitable expense items.

There is no need to try to completely eliminate costs - you need to be able to manage them and use them rationally. In certain situations, even increasing them will be justified.
“Efficiency rule” - each unit of expenditure must provide maximum results, or in order to achieve results, costs must be minimized.
Costs arise from every action and inaction.
There is no need to strive for maximalism. Even a slight reduction in expenses or maintaining them at the same level can be considered a worthy result.
When optimizing costs, there can be no trifles. Just accept that you will be called paranoid and boring. Having become accustomed to saving on small things, subordinates will be more careful about spending on a larger scale.
It is impossible to reduce costs without investing in this area.
There may be useful expenses that allow you to avoid more significant expenses.
Analysis and optimization of spending is a constant work that has no end; daily, planned and routine activities.
All employees should work to reduce costs, but each should be assigned their own “combat” task.
When starting to fight excess spending, you need to arm yourself with paper, pencil, calculator and distrust. Any inefficiency noticed or an idea in your head to eliminate it should be recorded on paper. Don't believe employee statements that aren't backed up by numbers. If their beliefs are supported by the given figures, these arguments are subject to verification. The winners in the fight against unnecessary expenses are the paranoid.

Information about the author and company

Polina Suvorova, senior accountant Acsour, St. Petersburg. Acsour is an outsourcing company that specializes in providing services in the field of accounting and personnel records, labor and migration law, as well as services for the selection and provision of financial and administrative personnel.

Oksana Kondaurova, Deputy General Director for Finance of Kuban Aviation Lines OJSC, Financial Director of Airports of the South LLC, Krasnodar. OJSC "Aviation Lines of Kuban" (since 2010 under the brand "Airline Kuban") is one of the largest airlines in the south of Russia.

You can save on business expenses by:

review the terms of product packaging, which will reduce costs by 5 percent;
optimize retail space - this will reduce costs by up to 10 percent;
reduce labor costs for sales personnel - saving up to 7 percent. See also what applies to fixed and variable costs.

How to save on product packaging

Depending on the specifics of the business, companies use different types of containers and packaging materials. You can save on packaging of goods and products like this:

reduce the thickness of the material used, this will optimize the overall consumption (typical for cardboard, polymer and paper packaging). For example, for plastic bottles, reducing thickness and weight may be considered; refuse painting, cutting; simplify the design; differentiate packaging depending on . The cheaper the product, the simpler and more economical its packaging. At the same time, it is important not to forget that a visual deterioration in appearance can cause a negative reaction from consumers and result in a drop in sales. An expensive product should be packaged more impressively than its cheap counterpart; use reusable (returnable) packaging. Here we are talking about large-sized containers (pallets, pallets) and glassware. So that the company does not spend a lot of money on its purchase, it is necessary to introduce strict accounting and control of this packaging, oblige buyers to return it within a certain period after shipment from the company’s warehouse; switch to cheaper analogues of packaging materials (for example, use plastic containers instead of glass bottles, cardboard tubes instead of tin).

You can also significantly reduce the cost of packaging goods if you hold a tender among suppliers of packaging materials (for more details, see). Before its announcement, it would be good to have an idea about the leading manufacturers, the quality of their products, and the conditions of working with them.

How to reduce the cost of renting retail space

Renting retail outlets is usually expensive for a company. To reduce this cost item, you need, firstly, to figure out whether all the space is being used for its intended purpose, and to identify what is actually not being used. If there is one, negotiate with the tenant. An alternative is to negotiate a lower rental rate, rent a room with a smaller area or at lower prices.

How to optimize commercial expenses by reducing sales staff salaries

You can optimize your sales staff salary fund by:

reduction in the number of salespeople, sales managers, sales representatives;
reducing the permanent part of the salary and increasing the bonus.

Before you start firing staff, it is worth analyzing their sufficiency in all retail outlets and the current load. It is important to understand how much it can be reduced so that the company’s sales do not fall.

In retail, for example, this can be determined by average labor productivity per hour - the ratio of store revenue for a period to the hours worked by salespeople for the same period. As an option, you can judge the sufficiency of sales personnel in retail using standards. Each company installs them individually. It all depends on the specialization of retail outlets and the specifics of the product.

Formula. Calculation of revenue per sales employee

In retail, you might consider, for example, the following key performance indicators:

personal sales of the seller;
collective implementation of the plan;
sale of promotional goods;
compliance with cash discipline;
no shortage of goods based on inventory results.

In wholesale trade, it would be good to include the following indicators in the motivation system:

absence of overdue accounts receivable;
actual receipt of funds into the company's accounts;
Attraction of new clients.

Cost optimization methods for commercial organizations

Control system costs should be focused on combining existing cost management tools to create a flexible, effective process that is aimed at adjusting existing norms and standards aimed at reducing costs at the strategic, tactical and operational levels.

Effective use of costs: models

We have allocated three main models for achieving cost efficiency:

- « clean» cost reduction – reduction of costs by eliminating unproductive costs. Cost-effectiveness is achieved through fixed costs. This model can work in case of “obesity” of the enterprise;

- « intensification I" costs - a certain increase in costs may occur, but at the same time, revenue increases much more significantly. In most cases, this happens when new technologies and equipment are introduced that can increase the productivity of the equipment, and as a result, revenue. Effective for growing companies in emerging markets;

- « fixation» costs – an increase in revenue does not entail an increase in costs.

“fixing” costs – an increase in revenue does not entail an increase in costs. Most often, this is either an increase in the cost of the product, or an equivalent increase in production costs and a decrease in unproductive ones. Applicable for “resistant” companies, i.e. those that prefer lean production.

The amount of costs is determined using the size of the material, labor and financial resources of the enterprise used in production. In our opinion, cost analysis and development of directions for their optimization require a cost approach to their study. In the economic literature, much attention is paid to the issues of cost optimization, but effective methods of applying one or another optimization and reduction technique depend primarily on the organization itself, namely on its types of activities, size, management system, financial security, etc.

Ways to reduce costs

“As noted earlier, costs in their totality constitute the cost of manufactured products, therefore, the analysis of methods for reducing the costs of an enterprise must be considered in conjunction with reducing the total cost of production. Yu.S. Didenko suggests the following ways to reduce costs (Figure 1).

Figure 1 – Ways to reduce costs for a commercial organization

Ways to reduce the costs of a commercial organization are considered by many scientists - economists, incl. A.V., Sazonova, L.M. Putyatina, N.N. Bondina et al. The study of cost reduction methods presented by the above authors is based on the following fundamental aspects:

Methods and ways to reduce costs

1. Creation of new and improving the quality of products. At first glance, from an economic point of view, it may seem that this direction, on the contrary, will increase costs, because The process of creating new products and improving their quality requires additional costs. But, in order to make a profit, each enterprise must produce products that are in demand on the market and differ in their properties from the products of competitors. So, if a product is not in demand, and its quality is inferior to the quality of similar products of competitors, then the enterprise will incur expenses for its production, but may not receive a profit from its sale, in addition, the enterprise may have additional costs for warehousing of unclaimed products, damage to products.

2. Updating equipment and production technology. The essence of this direction, first of all, is that under equal production conditions, an enterprise that uses more modern equipment will be able to reduce production costs. Qualitatively new equipment gives a competitive advantage to the manufacturer. For example, an enterprise is engaged in the production of cakes, it has all the necessary equipment, a staff of 10 people, and its competitor purchased a 3D culinary printer, which made it possible not only to improve the quality of the product, increase the speed of its production, but also to reduce the number of employees by 6 people. Accordingly, although at the initial stage the costs of equipment will be high, but then there will be savings due to other factors.

3. Rationalization of production. The essence of this direction lies primarily in the closure of unprofitable production facilities, which will free up additional material resources, equipment, production capacity, and personnel.

4. Mechanization, automation, computerization of production. At the present stage, the progressive introduction of computer technologies into all areas of production process management requires significant attention from domestic producers. Mechanization, automation, and computerization of production are key factors in reducing costs.

5. Improving the organization of production, labor and management. The enterprise's production and personnel management system must be built at a high level of efficiency. The owners of the enterprise need to determine the most appropriate management model for the organization.

6. Standardization and certification of products. It consists of applying regulatory standards in the production of products, followed by quality control and issuance of a certificate. In our opinion, such products attract consumers more and are in great demand due to their quality. A reduction in current costs occurs as a result of improving the maintenance of the main production (for example, developing continuous production, increasing the shift ratio, streamlining auxiliary technological work, improving the tool economy, improving the organization of quality control of work and products). A significant reduction in living labor costs can occur with an increase in standards and service areas, a reduction in lost working time, and a decrease in the number of workers who do not meet production standards.

7. Business reengineering. This direction involves the use of information and consulting services on business restructuring, introduction of new innovations and products.

8. Development of enterprise development strategies. Every organization planning its activities must develop a strategic development plan. Plan for production, costs, expansion of sales markets. Long-term strategic planning will allow you to more carefully consider the company's expenses for future periods.

9. Cost approach to management. It is the owners, whose welfare directly depends on the stability and increase in the company’s cash flows, unlike any other categories of stakeholders (hired managers, employees, partners, etc.), who need the most complete financial information. The owners are interested “in the long-term development of the business, while managing value in order to increase it makes it possible to realize these interests; this approach provides the basis for determining the optimal strategic directions for the company’s development and developing a system of management measures that will help achieve the goal.”

10. Economic incentives for personnel. As noted by A.D. Slovesnova “labor productivity is the main factor influencing production volumes, while personnel are the basis for the formation of a high level of labor productivity in the enterprise.” The level of material interest of workers, their motivation, determines not only the productivity of their work, but also the quality of work.

11. Increase in production volumes. With an increase in production volumes, according to M.A. Khatkova and M.E. Ordynskaya “as a rule, there is an increase in variable costs, while the level of fixed costs remains unchanged, thus, based on the concept of break-even production, the enterprise needs to consider increasing production volumes in such conditions that it would not be highly costly, and the increase in variable costs would not exceeded projected profits." Conditionally fixed costs do not depend directly on the quantity of products produced. With an increase in production volume, their quantity per unit of production decreases, which leads to a decrease in its cost. “Changes in the nomenclature and range of manufactured products are one of the important factors influencing the level of production costs; with different profitability of individual products (relative to cost), shifts in the composition of products associated with improving its structure and increasing production efficiency can also lead to reduction and increase in production costs."

12. Investment financing. The largest international companies, such as Toyota Motor, IKEA, PepsiCo, LG Electronics, Apple, etc., are constantly investing in their businesses and introducing new projects. This is what allows them to have high rates of development and be in the TOP 10 largest companies in the world. Having financial resources, the company will be able to implement and implement its planned strategic goals. Limited financial resources will ultimately lead to an increase in costs and a decrease in the efficiency of its functioning.

Every business spends money on producing goods or providing services. Profit is considered to be the difference between the amounts spent on production and gross income, which is also called turnover. In some cases, you can increase cash flow by understanding which expense items can be reduced, but this must be done very carefully so as not to harm the company’s reputation or reduce the quality of the goods produced.

What does the company spend money on?

Any enterprise has its own specific expense items that help it function fully. All of them can be intelligently optimized, which will certainly bring increased profits and reduced costs. You have to invest money in the following needs:

salary;
purchase of raw materials;
transportation of materials and finished products;
taxation;
advertising;
maintaining large clients;
rental or maintenance of premises;
communal payments;
maintenance and repair of production machines and units;
other expenses.

Before reducing the costs of an enterprise, it is worth carefully reviewing each of their items and drawing a conclusion about appropriate optimization.

Salary

At any enterprise there are hired employees who, for a certain remuneration, perform a designated amount of work. Russian legislation states that the employer can independently regulate the level of wages, lower it or increase it.

However, keep in mind that there is a maximum allowable rate for reducing wages, and an employee cannot receive less.

To optimize the salary expense item, you can take the following measures:

reduce staff;
use outsourcing services;
transfer workers to part-time;
use part-time labor;
reduce the management staff;
automate production to partially or completely eliminate manual labor.

All these points will be effective only if their application does not negatively affect the final goal of each production - profit. For example, if you fire a highly paid woodworking specialist and hire a less qualified but cheaper employee in his place, you may face a decrease in the quality of your products, and this entails the loss of potential customers. It is for this reason that any manipulation with wages must be thought out to the smallest detail.

Purchase of raw materials

What we make the product from is also quite expensive, especially considering the recent devaluation of the ruble and the massive use of imported materials. However, this expense item can also be reduced by the following actions:

searching for more profitable partnerships with suppliers;
assistance with raw material producers;
wholesale purchases together with other companies to receive volume discounts;
implementation of design changes in production to switch to other materials;
independent production of some components, spare parts, etc.;
transition to cheaper analogues;
replacement of imported raw materials with domestic ones.

These actions must be implemented very competently and wisely so as not to reduce the quality of the final product. For example, to make chocolates, it would be more expedient to purchase high-quality cocoa beans, but switch to more affordable packaging, so you can maintain the same composition of the product, but its cost will be lower than before.

Transportation of materials and finished products

Production costs for transport are sometimes fabulous, because raw materials need to be transported from different countries or even continents, and finished goods need to be delivered throughout the country. In this case, it will be beneficial to use the services of logisticians or create such a department at your enterprise. This will maximize the productivity of transport, since it will travel with cargo in both directions, respectively, to pay the driver and fuel. You may also consider partnering with material suppliers that are located closer to your company.

Advertising

To sell a product at a favorable price, you need to present it competently to the end buyer. This is precisely why advertising campaigns are organized, the costs of which are often very large. To reduce this cost item, you need to reconsider the following factors:

the budget may be too high and can be reduced without compromising the final result;
searching for new employees, sometimes well-known advertising agencies offer their services at inflated prices, in which case it makes sense to start collaborating with younger and more financially accessible companies;
assessment of advertising profits: it is worth finding out whether advertising is effective, whether it brings more profit than the entire advertising budget, if the indicators are positive, then the companies are fulfilling their functions, if not, then you need to look for the reason for the failure;
settlement with advertisers by barter, this method of reducing costs will be effective if you have something to interest an advertising agency, it can be either a product or a service.

If, when reducing PR costs, you do not get these results, then the savings will be ineffective. It is for this reason that each cost reduction item must be carefully reviewed and analyzed.

Maintaining large clients

Each production makes certain concessions to its large clients and makes special offers for them, introduces loyalty programs, and provides additional services. All this entails considerable costs, which reduce the level of profit. You can refuse the most expensive services, for example, SMS alerts to clients about promotions, constant mailing of emails, and more. At this point, you also need to weigh the pros and cons of saving, because refusing some services can negatively affect the company’s image and reduce the number of its regular customers.

Rental and maintenance of premises

Any production has a certain area, which is necessary for the comfortable organization of all work processes. It can be a small hangar, or a huge territory of several hundred hectares with premises and workshops for various purposes. Regardless of the size of the premises, you need to pay rent for them or spend money on their maintenance. You can reduce this cost item using the following tips:

revision of the terms of the current lease agreement in favor of the tenant;
moving to another premises that will be more economically profitable;
the possibility of subletting some space;
repurchase of leased premises, if appropriate.

If you are the owner of all premises and production buildings, you can reconsider your expenses for maintaining them in a safe condition for work. Regular current and major repairs can be done using cheaper materials; premises can be cleaned without cleaning companies, but with the help of hired employees.

Communal payments

Enterprises use natural resources for their activities, the payment for which is now quite expensive, given the special tariffs for production. The following measures can help reduce this cost item:

establishing stricter control over energy savings;
introduction of energy-saving production processes;
transition to bill payment for services.

Equipment maintenance and repair

To ensure that production does not stand idle, you must always keep the equipment in good condition. High-tech machines are most often serviced by special companies, whose services are not cheap. You can reduce waste here too if you reconsider the following factors:

deferment for a long or short period of current repairs of units;
refusal of the services of contractors and repair of machines with the help of their employees;
revision of the terms of the contract with contractors in favor of the company;
search for more affordable companies providing service services.

All these points can significantly reduce the cost of machine repair and maintenance.

However, remember that in some cases it will be more profitable to trust a team of professionals than to create your own service department, since the work of good specialists is expensive, especially when it comes to unit software.

other expenses

This is a very broad article, which will have its own specific points for each enterprise. For example, you can take a large plant that spends money on the following additional measures:

scientific and design activities;
maintaining a wide range of products;
market research;
work on selecting only certain raw materials with certain characteristics;
constant improvement of the qualification level of employees, etc.

In some cases, these additional costs can be completely avoided if they do not particularly affect the level of product sales. However, when the reputation of the company and the number of its regular customers depend on these factors, it is worth carefully considering cutting costs, because this can lead to a difficult economic situation.

Competent cost optimization: summary

Any enterprise can reduce its costs without compromising its reputation, the quality of the final product or working conditions for employees. However, in order to correctly evaluate all reserves, it is necessary to conduct a serious study that will show which cost items would be advisable to cut and which should be left at the same level for the full development of production. Only a carefully thought-out cost-saving plan can produce the desired results.