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M oney in, money out, and hope- fully some left over for prot and reinvestment. The revenue piece is straightforward, directly related to products or services sold. The expense lines can be complex, as costs are broken down into sections and subsec- tions for better analysis of the cost of doing business. "When costs get proportion- ately high compared to income, spending gets scrutinized. Many organizations keep a keen eye on their direct operational costs and overhead, and don't consider their indirect costs," says Bhavik Chauhan, director, western region, with Ayming, an inter- national business performance consulting group. "The big-ticket items, often stafng or inventory, can seem like the easiest place to start chopping, rather than nickel- and-diming a number of expenses that appear to be xed costs." Organizations of all sizes can benet from taking a fresh look at indirect costs associated with their business, and how these costs impact their bottom line. Here are three places to start looking: 1. Wireless This is an area for many com- panies that has grown quickly and become more of a hot topic as expectations around responsiveness change. Not to mention, it has become critical for more staff categories to have cell phones and laptops. With complex packages offered by service providers, it can be a moving target for contract man- agers to identify the right service bundle to meet the organization's changing needs. Common issues include paying for services not required, paying for too much data, and inadequate coverage for roaming charges and long distance fees. 2. Car Fleet Keeping a business moving forward often includes a range of vehicles for employee use. Orga- nizations are well aware of price range per vehicle by employee category and nancing, but may not factor in all aspects of the total cost of ownership, such as insurance and the always-in- ux fuel consumption. Vehicles purchased in the same price range and category can vary greatly for operational costs. To this end, an organization would be well advised to also consider depreciation and maintenance to optimize eet costs. 3. Real Estate Some business sectors may do well to have a physical presence in a particular area of town, or downtown. Soaring costs of square footage may force another look at the cost of where you do business: if the address is necessary, do all the employees need to be there? Organizations might want to take a look at offering remote work options to segments of their workforce. The ongoing development of new technologies makes tele- collaboration much easier to implement at work as well as at home. Remote work does have issues to be addressed, such as equipment needs, privacy of information and monitoring performance, but for some busi- nesses, it is an attractive trade- off for lower real estate costs. The bottom line is affected by both income and expenses, and boosting that nal num- ber doesn't necessarily mean increasing sales. Cutting costs may be the easier route to staying in the black, which in turn can support businesses to achieve their objective faster, with greater protability. + AYMING Three Overlooked Business Costs These are the indirect business expenses organizations should keep in mind when looking to control their operation costs Created by BCBusiness in partnership with Ayming in partnership with Ayming Ensuring your company's wireless plan is providing the services you need, at the right cost, is an easy way to keep business expenses in check

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