IN ANY PROJECT FOCUSED BUSINESS, one of the most critical aspects of success is making sure you know how much it costs to do a project. If you do not account for all business expenses, you may end up underselling your services and losing money in the long run. As such, it is important to track how much time is spent on every project to ensure that you are making a profit.
However, there are many little costs as well that, on a project basis, seem inconsequential, but in the long run, add up to massive losses. Here we list out some of the things that may cost you money.
Hours not Accounted for
One of the most basic costs of any business venture is time. No matter your business model, it takes time to execute the tasks that get results. As a result, every business knows they need to track hours spent on a given project, but how accurate are these numbers? No matter how well-trained your team is, mistakes happen, and start times are not always noted. Unless you are using project management software that makes it easy to note down when somebody starts and finishes work on a task, these are hours that end up unrecorded and lost.
Although you can attempt to estimate start times, the hours lost due to fudged estimates on billable hours can quickly add up. What may only be a few minutes off could end up turning into hours lost, and depending on your prices this can quickly end with losses in the hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Rescheduling Appointments Due to Conflicts
Meetings and appointments with clients or personnel are a regular part of doing business. While easy to manage at first, as your business grows you could very quickly find yourself running into scheduling conflicts. Time spent attempting to rearrange meetings because a conference room was double-booked due to a lack of communication can quickly add up. Furthermore, if your business is well managed those meetings often have a purpose, and having to reprioritize could mess up workflows and result in additional time lost.
By establishing a centralized system that allows people to book meeting rooms and conference halls in advance, you can prevent these sorts of conflicts from happening in the future.
Lack of Direction for Employees
Non-productive employees can be a massive drain on company resources. However, this lack of productivity is not necessarily an employee problem: it could very well be a management issue. If employees do not know what they need to accomplish at a given time, they will end up doing nothing while still getting paid. Providing clear task lists for every employee will make sure that the only reason for an employee to not know what to do next is because all available work is completed.
These little costs can add up, but fortunately, there is a solution. With the right online project management software, you can keep track of what all of your employees are working on and how much time they spend on those projects. Furthermore, you can even book meeting rooms and equipment (like company vehicles) in advance, allowing others to schedule meetings around when these tools are available. Start getting your business expenses on track today.
