Right Way to Outsource Web Development

With organizations looking for ways to cut on costs and global digitalization on the rise, it is now easier to hire the perfect team for your web development projects. For instance, the Ukrainian web developers can offer you a load of benefits that are difficult to achieve through the conventional method of working. This is one reason why outsourcing is becoming one of the most popular ways of getting things done.

This piece will take you through the benefits of outsourcing, its various types, and vital tips before getting into the water.

Key Benefits of Outsourcing

Cost-Cutting

Reduced costs is one of the most appealing characteristics of outsourcing. Developers residing in different countries have different sets of salary expectations depending on the cost of living. Only a little research can bring you huge savings on the payments. With no HR team requirement and an official set up, your budget could see a 20%-70% cut.

Experience

Isn’t it always overwhelming to hire the perfect person for the position? From hiring an HR to reviewing numerous CVs and conducting a series of interviews, companies are always ready to cover that extra mile to have the best fit. However, outsourcing prevents you from all the heckling. By virtue of working a long time, these professionals possess more significant experience. Through conferences, workshops, and short term training, they are up to date with the current advancements in the market.

Flexibility

Receiving projects from across the world, the outsourcing companies majorly employ flexible software development methodologies. It is done to make sure that the expectations levels of the client are met. For instance, frameworks like Kanban, Scrum, and so on are popularly used by these professionals. Therefore, the technical teams are well equipped to manage and fit the data in accordance with the project requirements.

Time Saver

When in business, time is money, isn’t it? How many times have you been forced to push the deadlines? In the digital world, the faster you the project is launched, the better. Once a project is procured, a team is deployed to work along with a project manager. This ensures that the deadlines are met, and high quality is maintained. Outsourcing allows you to save the time that goes into the management and organization and make your niche in the market at the earliest.

Risk Management

It is often hard to trust your staff with new projects of critical importance. Outsourcing takes this worry off your shoulders. These web development teams consist of well-experienced professionals in a variety of projects. The work is assigned carefully, keeping in mind the portfolios and experience of the workers. Therefore, they prove to be much more equipped in mitigating risks involved in dealing with nuanced details and deliver effective results.

Types of Outsourcing

To meet your vision, you need to know what are the main types of outsourcing first.

Onshore Outsourcing

When outsourcing to a firm located in the same or other countries of the same region, it is called onshore outsourcing. This allows you no bottlenecks in terms of time, language, and content. It is easier to establish communication with the team and convey the context of the projects. However, if one is seeking to cut down on their costs, this might not be the best option.

Nearshore Outsourcing

It is slightly different from onshore outsourcing. It is when you collaborate with firms in the same time zone. It leaves out the pain of bridging through various languages and cultures and provides smoother communication. It allows cutting saving costs during the process and has the upper hand over onshore outsourcing. However, you will still have to compromise on the expertise and work experience of the professionals.

Offshore Outsourcing

As the name suggests, it refers to collaborating with firms located in a foreign country. The language might be a barrier at times; however, English is the primary language used by these professionals to bridge the gap. It allows you a vast pool of experienced professionals to choose from and come easy on the budget.

Things to Keep in Mind While Outsourcing

Clarity on the Project

Outsourcing can turn out to be a pain if you aren’t sure of what you want. Therefore, the first step is to understand the project and its requirements. A brief idea of the kind of results you’re looking to achieve will help the team deliver better. Remember, nobody else knows your vision better than you.

Effective Communication

Those who have handled businesses before will tell that effective communication is key to the employees’ efficiency. However, when outsourcing your work, different time zones, work schedules, and availability do make communication slightly tricky. To deal with the anomaly, there are several tools available online at your disposal to keep a track of the progress and make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Have a Contract

Always have a tightly knit contract before working with outsourcing firms. These organizations usually continue their support even if the developer leaves the project by any chance. However, if the freelancer quits, your project might end up in a dump. Therefore, these first offer insurance for the codes to keep you afloat even if something crashes.

web developers working on project -DepositPhotos

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source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/outsourcing/web-dev

Basic Accounting Terminology You Should Know

The beauty of technology is shifting how the accounting and finance departments work. They’re automating the busy work and focusing on strategy more than ever — meaning less busy work and more opportunity to positively impact the business.

Whether you’re an accountant thinking more strategically, or a non-accountant working more closely with the accounting department, we thought we’d take a minute to cover the basics and how they fit together. From GAAP to the month-end close, here are 16 basic accounting terms you should know:

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

Accountants follow a consistent set of principles to ensure financial records can be understood easily and compared between companies. Following GAAP is important for creating clear financials and is required in many cases, like at publicly-traded companies. A lot of our other terms reflect the GAAP approach to accounting.

Cash Basis

Cash basis accounting tracks income when it’s received and expenses when they’re paid. It’s the simplest option but doesn’t always work well for larger companies. In fact, many companies are required to use the accrual basis instead. Speaking of accrual basis…

Accrual Basis

Accrual basis accounting records income when it’s earned (not received) and expenses when they’re incurred (not paid). See the difference? For example, the utility expense for August would be recorded in August, even though you don’t actually pay that power bill until September. And the power company will record the income on their books in August even though they don’t get paid until the next month. How do they do it? With AR and AP.

Accounts Payable

Expenses that have been incurred but haven’t been paid become accounts payable. That August utility bill we mentioned above…yep…accounts payable. It’s a liability account that shows up on the balance sheet because it reflects something the company owes to an outside vendor.

Accounts Receivable

Income that’s been earned but not yet received becomes an account receivable. This is the August utility bill from the utility company’s side of things. For most companies, this would be the accounts of clients who purchased on credit and will pay their balance later on. AR is an asset on the balance sheet because it reflects the future benefit of money the company is owed.

General Ledger

The general ledger is a record of every financial transaction for the company. It used to be a big, dusty book. If it still is…there are better options available. The general ledger will be the proud parent of your financial statements but hold on just a second…

Trial Balance

Your trial balance takes all the accounts from the general ledger and makes sure they balance. In other words, the debits and credits need to be equal. This is a quality check to make sure everything was entered correctly because if the debits and credits don’t balance somethin’ ain’t right.

Financial Statements

The most common financial statements are the Profit and Loss Statement, the Balance Sheet, and the Statement of Cash Flows. They paint a clear picture of your company’s financial health and current position. Let’s take a quick peek at each.

Profit and Loss Statement

The profit and loss (or income) statement shows your income and expenses. By comparing money in and money out, you can see how profitable the company is over a period of time. If it’s not, don’t panic, the P&L can also help you figure out why so you can fix it.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows what you own and what you owe. Your assets are listed here and so are your liabilities. Unlike the P&L, the balance sheet shows the business at a specific point in time rather than over an entire period.

Statement of Cash Flows

The statement of cash flows adjusts the P&L to reflect only the actual money that’s gone in and out of the business for the period. Changes to accounts receivable and accounts payable are taken into account (pun intended) to show what actually changed hands. It’s especially important if you track income on an accrual basis because you need cold, hard cash to pay your expenses. If you’re not collecting it, you could be in trouble.

Accounting Period

When we say “accounting period” in reference to statements, it’s not a new kind of punctuation. Accounting details are measured in periods (typically months and years) and everything needs to be recorded in the correct period. The Matching Principle of accounting requires expenses to be accrued in the period the company benefited from those expenses.

Allocation

Accountants allocate amounts to different accounts or different periods. In some cases, they may need to allocate an expense over several periods or allocate budget items across several departments. When they allocate costs over several periods to reflect the long-term use of an asset (matching the expense to the benefit provided) it’s called depreciation.

Depreciation

Depreciation — it’s why your dad told you a car’s value drops the second it leaves the lot. But in accounting, it’s something slightly different. Depreciation is used to allocate the useful life of an asset over several periods. For instance, if you buy an expensive piece of equipment that will last 10 years, you might use straight-line depreciation to expense 10 percent of the cost each year. This provides a much more accurate financial picture than one big expense in year one and no expense in the remaining nine years.

Reconciliation

Reconciliations are like a mini internal audit of your accounts. You reconcile to make sure every transaction is included and that the amounts are correct. You do that by matching opening and closing balances in your accounts against an external source like a bank statement. If something doesn’t match, it’s time to dig down and see what’s throwing off the math.

Month-End Close

The month-end close is the perfect way to wrap up the period. The closing process involves reconciling as many accounts as possible and verifying information so accurate financial reports can be created.

woman accountant -DepositPhotos

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source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/accounting-terminology

The Bannersnack Guide to Create Engaging Instagram Carousel Posts

Every year, Instagram is gaining more and more popularity, and it’s easy to understand why—the nifty, visually-oriented platform provides many options for brands to advertise their products and services.

The carousel upload feature was launched In 2017, allowing users to upload up to ten photos or videos as part of the same post. Ever since, this feature has been quite popular since it enables brands to advertise multiple products or services in one post, master visual storytelling, and build meaningful relationships with target audiences.

These are just a few of the many perks of the carousel ads and posts, but the question at hand is, how can you create engaging Instagram carousels?

Bannersnack.com is a visual production platform. Therefore they cater to the needs of marketers at every given occasion. Over the years, data showed us that the most successful campaigns have something in common—great design. Carousel posts are no exception to the rule. Hence, Bannersnack has mapped the most important design principles, elements, and steps towards creating engaging Instagram carousel posts.

They were also curious to see how popular this feature has become and learn more about what makes people engage with a carousel post from an analytical point of view.

With this in mind, Bannersnack has teamed up the experts at Socialinsider, a social media competitive analytics, benchmarking, and reporting tool for a study conducted on 22,360,021 Instagram posts.

They looked at a high number of posts, published between 2017 and 2020, out of which 2,949,312 were carousels, and here’s what they discovered:

Courtesy of: Bannersnack

The infographic was first published on the Bannersnack blog, as part of “The Ultimate Guide to Creating Engaging Instagram Carousels.”

Looking Into the Carousel Data

• From 2017 to 2020, Instagram carousels rose from 3% to 19.44%.
• Carousel posts get the highest engagement rates of all posts, with an average of 1.92%, compared to 1.74% and 1.45% for single post images and videos, respectively.
• Using more slides has proved to boost the average engagement rate by up to 2%.
• Carousels featuring videos only get more comments, reaching an average of 26 comments per post.
• The highest engagement rates per post (2.33%) were obtained from mixing images and videos in the same post.

How to Design Engaging Instagram Carousels

Sticking to a few basic design principles can make or break your Instagram carousel posts. Here are a few design tips and tricks to ace your next carousel posts:

• Use the AIDA principles, focusing on attention, interest, desire, and action.
• Keep brand consistency in mind and use your signature color palettes, fonts, visual elements, and shapes.
• Writing compelling copy and readable content is essential.
• Choose the right size for your carousel posts.
• Use margins to create proportions.
• Focus on creating a flow that encourages people to swipe.

Final Thoughts

Carousel posts with great design and copy can help brands stand out from the crowd and tell unique visual stories, and the data confirms it.

Plus, with the average attention span getting shorter and shorter, it’s easy to understand why Instagram Carousels are so popular nowadays, as they deliver more information in a shorter time.

Plus, Bannersnack is now supporting the creation of carousel ads and posts, so you can give it a try here, it’s free.

woman holding mobile phone displaying Instagram login -DepositPhotos

The post The Bannersnack Guide to Create Engaging Instagram Carousel Posts appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/marketing/social-media-marketing/ig-carousel-posting

Checklist for Purchasing a Business

Are you thinking about buying a business? It might be a great idea if you do your homework. It’s a complex solution that requires careful analysis of the physical property, financial reporting, and the relationship between the company and its customers, the community, and competitors.

Don’t try to do this analysis alone – get professional help to evaluate your business, especially if you do not have a minimum of three years of experience in owning and managing such a business.

The good news is, with a marketplace designed to buy and sell businesses, and with a certain preparation, the complicated process of purchasing an online business can go smoothly.

Why Buying a Business is a Great Idea

It is understandable why buying a business is so attractive. When you get the “ready-to-go” business you do not have to build relations from scratch – the business already has established relationships with both customers and suppliers. Then, you get the credit history together with the business and, if the company has a good profit history – financing will be easier to obtain. But the best thing is that transactions can start immediately; current stocks can be sold for immediate cash flow.

However, when buying a business you should know that the cost can be higher than starting from scratch, as you often buy “goodwill.” Also, existing problems may be hidden until you actually make the purchase. So, do not just dive in without thorough preparation and thinking.

First Steps

Here is a short checklist of the first steps:

• Proof of business suitability
• Do research online
• Check a vendor
• Check the reputation of the business
• Analyze your competition
• Establish business opportunities
• Find your team

To be more detailed, first – search for your favorite business and see if it is suitable. Things to consider are industry, income, flexibility, and other components that are vital to you being a potential enterprise owner. Then do a thorough online search and discover as much about it as possible.

After that, you might want to get the vendor’s personal information, as well as personal recommendations. It is advisable to look at business ownership documents to check the seller. Ask questions and ask why they have decided to sell. Reputation is also a concern, so contact some of their customers, a few of their suppliers as well as their credit associations.

Think about the future – discover opportunities to grow your business and measure its possible future success. Consider if you could use the resources currently in hand to generate sales and determine the business’ longevity.

And finally, when you are good to go – seek help from business professionals who can often guide you through the various processes in terms of finances and legalities.

Thorough Examination

Of course, those first steps are just the beginning. Go deeper and explore assets – ask for a complete list of assets to sell and check their status. Make sure they adhere to the applicable regulations. If an asset is leased out, does it have terms within reach, and is taking over the current lease an option, or will the seller pay it?

Also, you should consider the state of intellectual property – get a detailed list that includes all trademarks, patents, trademarks, logos, etc. and check their ownership. Then, do not forget to examine business finance – get the details of the enterprise’s financial situation dating back three to four years. Find out if the business is one that you can afford.

Then you should thoroughly check the entire premises- get copies of all leases of buildings used and go and look at each of them. Determine if it is possible to continue to do business on the premises and if the rental conditions are appropriate. Will the development of facilities nearby have any effect of the business’ ability to generate income?

Don’t forget to browse the warehouse – does the existing warehouse include old or any unsold goods? Has your current stock level been depleted? If the answer is yes, you would need to look at how much it would cost to increase your stock.

Exploring insurance is also a good point. It is better to make sure all taxes and insurance premiums are current. Are there enough assets insured? Will you be able to get such coverage?

Pay attention to check permits, licenses, and all contracts – consult with the respective authorities regarding permits and licensing regulations for business and premises. It is also good to find out if transferring permits and licenses is an option.

Another thing worth attention is the employee database – get a database of employees with all their personal details including how much they each earn and their rights so you can balance the finances against the cost of employment. Will various personnel continue to work with you? And if not? What time frame is needed to hire new employees if current employees resign, and would this have negative consequences when starting a business?

And, of course, the business would be worthless without its customers. View customers and customer relations history of the business- view customers lists to see how strong the link is between the business and its customers.

Final Steps

To put it short:

• Seek legal counsel
• Verify Contract
• Understand the non-competition clause
• Permit to verify

More precisely, get a professional to handle the Sale and Purchase Agreement, the lease, and all the documents related to employees. Verify the contract or make sure that draft Sale and Purchase Agreement includes comprehensive guarantees, for example, the deposit should be due on the same date that the settlement is done and other very important regulations. It is vital that all the terms and conditions are thoroughly read through and checked before you sign.

And finally, if the purchase is subject to the approval of financing by your financier, the relevant condition must be included in the Sale and Purchase Agreement.

All in all, pay attention to the legal aspects of the purchase and consider consulting a professional in case you feel unsure about anything.

To Sum Up

When you make the decision to buy a business, it is important that you maximize your investment. It is imperative that you are well educated about the important process to follow so that you can be sure you are going to make the right decisions.

If you follow these steps carefully, you can be guaranteed that you will buy a stable and flourishing business.

businessmen shaking hands -DepositPhotos

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source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/business-expansion/acquisition-checklist

Business Benefits of Good Health and Safety

No matter what business you are running, there will always be times where health and safety may be put at risk. This can occur due to the unexpected and must at all cost be avoided if due to negligence. Your business, employees, and customers are all affected by what happens within the business, and this is affected by health and safety within it.

Creating a health and safety policy, training your staff, and even getting assurance are important steps but what most important is that health and safety guidelines are met and should be one of the first things you focus on if you’re serious about running your business well.

A business that is run with good health and safety guidelines the following benefits:

Better Productivity

Employees will be more productive if there is nothing that hinders them from doing what they need to do. This increases the output of work they can complete within a day, eventually allowing them to continue with other tasks that speed up the workflow of your business. Making sure that they are in a stable working environment which does not put them at risk in any way will allow them to work better.

A clean workspace is more comfortable to work in and will allow your employees to focus more on the task at hand while also making sure that health issues will not occur such as illnesses or illnesses caused by dust, an unclean environment or even pollution of the sort. The reduction of absences due to injuries or sickness will allow your employees to maintain a steady workflow.

Fewer Accidents and Injuries

Making sure that safety is kept in check will come in handy later on as you can never tell when the slightest mistake may turn into an accident. Making sure that the working environment is set up properly may prevent accidents that may lead to injuries or even fatalities. By simply making sure that the structure, room setup and even wiring of a building are kept in order, you can prevent tons of accidents already.

There are also unforeseen conditions that may put your environment at risk such as fires, earthquakes and such but having a proper setup can ensure that they can be dealt with in a proper fashion such as training your employees or making sure the establishment is built in a manner to anticipate such accidents..

Expenses Will Be Reduced

The fewer accidents there are, the less you need to cover. The same goes for illnesses as these can occur as well in an environment that isn’t sanitary. If you can prevent factors that cause physical injury or illnesses in the workplace, you will definitely be saving more money. It’s important that you take care of your business and employees but it’s wiser to make sure nothing bad happens at all in the first place. Making sure that the business environment is clean and that all of the office spaces are safe will allow your employees to continue working without any risks.

Employees Will Feel Secure

It is important that your employee is comfortable or else they will not be able to work properly. If they feel they are at risk, they will not be able to focus and may, later on, have concerns that may disrupt or prevent their productivity. Having an environment that is clean and safe will reduce the chances of employees feeling or becoming ill and seeing that the environment they work in is secure will reduce any unnecessary caution they are taking.

Company Reputation

David Rowland, Head of Marketing at Engage EHS, knows the importance of safety in the business. He claims that “the role of safety in business is vitally important. It is imperative that we are proactive in developing a positive safety culture in our businesses. What we need is a genuine cultural shift, and this can have a profound impact on not just our workers, but also other KPIs such as consumer confidence and reputation.”

Business partners, investors, clients, and customers will all be affected by merely knowing if your business follows health and safety procedures. This will give them an idea on how serious your business is and if you will be able to provide your services properly. People that see a business that is unsafe or does not have a clean environment will come to the conclusion that any output from your business may be improper. This goes for companies providing products, food businesses providing meals, and even companies that handle client’s needs.

Business is affected by good health and safety in a lot of ways and this works as a chain reaction in most cases. Following such policies ensures the health and safety of employees are met which allows the employees to work properly, eventually leading to better output which will allow clients to realize that your business is a well established one.

Sources:

https://www.oshcr.org/what-are-the-benefits-of-following-health-and-safety-practices/

https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/business-benefits-good-health-and-safety

https://www.safetyworksmaine.gov/safe_workplace/safety_pays.html

safety checklist -DepositPhotos

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source https://tweakyourbiz.com/growth/personal-growth/safety-health

Gaining Customer’s Trust Using These 4 Communication Techniques

Your customer is your biggest priority in your organization. They are literally your bread and butter and need to be treated as such to ensure that they are loyal to your brand. The customer experience is currently one of the biggest differentiators in a customer’s choice of brand. 

In fact, research shows that 86% of customers will pay for better customer experience, and this is all based on how a customer is treated in the organization. Communication with the customer plays one of the biggest roles in customer experience, and brands are investing heavily in optimizing each touchpoint with the customer. 

80% of companies globally are now investing in their multi-channel platforms to ensure that customers’ needs are met on each platform. The power of customer experience has skyrocketed over the last few years and has little chance of slowing down. 

So, if you are looking into heightening your customer experience by tweaking your communication strategies, we thought we would help. Here are 4 techniques that you can implement over the next few months to really drive that customer experience up.  

Have a Personal Relationship With Your Customer

One of the most important things to consider is not to treat your customer like a number. In this day and age, a personalized interaction will go a long way between a customer and a company, so make sure you spend a bit more time on creating that heightened experience for your customer. 

If you are client-facing and manage a number of accounts, make sure you take the time to get to know who your customer is, their interests, and their buying behavior. By knowing this, you will be able to predict the next purchase and have it ready for them with an extra discount or added product to keep them around. 

Many client-facing executives ensure that the customer knows them by name by reinforcing the personalization with the customer. Whether it be wearing a customized ID badge at all times or leaving quirky business cards, it is vital to have that personal relationship established for extended brand loyalty. 

Ensure Those Communication Lines Are Open at All Times

While being available to your customer 24/7 is challenging, especially if you are working in a smaller company, you will need to ensure that your company is as transparent and available as possible. Promoting accessibility, transparency, and accountability is a key feature of gaining customer trust, and if you can demonstrate this practically to customers, you will start building a brand loyal customer base. 

You need to, however, keep in mind that different customers prefer different types of communication. Some opt for the traditional phone call, while others opt for email, WhatsApp, Facebook, or any other kind of instant messaging. You will need to be prepared for all types of requests. While some people hate picking up a phone call, in a lot of cases, you will find that this type of communication strikes a better cord with a customer and you can address any concerns or problems directly. 

Make sure you have someone who will be able to man your social media and chatbots. VoIP phone services are also a great investment for your company. Not only are they cheaper, due to using the internet, but your customer will have that instant access they need should they need support, troubleshooting or to have contact with an actual person in a company. 

Ensure Those Communication Lines Are Open at All Times

As much as you need to have an open line of communication with your customer, you will also need to ensure that communication is taking place within your company too. Customers are incredibly put off by breaks in service or something going wrong due to the lack of communication between departments.

No matter how big or small your company is, interdepartmental communication is vital, and there has been a defined move over the last five years for organizations to break down organizational silos. Sales staff and client-facing staff can action queries and requests easier if they have direct access to departments like warehousing or supply chain to track progress.  

One highly effective way to ensure that departments can communicate information to each other in real-time is by setting up team communication tools. There are hundreds of online tools and software for you to choose from. From instant team chats to task progress and monitoring tools, the options are endless. You also don’t need to pay an arm and a leg for them as many of the tools are free, or have a really low monthly subscription. It is really easy for anyone to log into a dashboard, check the status of a task, communicate with the assigned employee, and action it.

Take Criticism as a Learning Curve

They say that the customer is always right, but in a world full of perpetually unsatisfied customers, this is not always the case. However, in saying that, it is critically important to listen to what your customer has to say. You can learn a lot from simply listening to what your customer needs and wants, after all, they are the ones actually using the product or service. 

If you receive criticism or complaints, take time to actually take note of what they are saying and identify where you can improve your offering. You might find an opportunity to heighten your offerings and set yourself apart from your competitors. 

Send out surveys via your mailing system once they have used your services to find out how they found your service. Random surveys are also great to check in with your market and test out new offerings. Lastly, watch your social media. Facebook ratings are very important to monitor and should a customer leave a negative comment, do not delete it, but rather address it. You will demonstrate your accountability and transparency to other customers. 

Last Thoughts

Remember that the customer journey is a critical aspect of your business. From the first time your customer comes across your company to the delivery of the product or service, each touchpoint needs to be optimized for a customer to feel a personalized connection with your brand. Take the customer journey yourself to identify where the weak spots are in your organization. Enter from various points; social media, the website, and calling up the company to test what needs to be improved upon. And remember, ensure that client-facing staff is always educated, informed, and up to date with everything in the company. 

customer relations concept -DepositPhotos

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source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/relationships/gaining-customer-trust

6 Creative Ways to Overcome Purchasing Challenges

The pandemic has created many new challenges for companies, including state-wide shutdowns and new social-distancing requirements. One of the biggest hurdles companies have faced is procuring the supplies they need to keep their businesses up and running. 

In the first wave of the pandemic, we saw shortages driven by increased demand and supply-chain bottlenecks. In the second wave, many businesses are struggling with cash-flow issues that make purchasing a challenge.

To rebound from the pandemic, your business needs to be able to procure the supplies and materials it needs. You can’t afford to be stymied by a sluggish supply chain, and you shouldn’t have to choose between placing an order and keeping your employees.

Here are six ways to overcome any purchasing challenges you may face during the crisis:

1. Uncover weak points in your supply chain. 

One unexpected consequence of the pandemic was that it exposed several weaknesses in the global supply chain. Consumers found supermarket shelves empty — not because there was a shortage of food or toilet paper — but because truck drivers could only work so many hours and were waiting in long lines to pick up deliveries.

Supply-chain disruptions are one of the most devastating purchasing hurdles your business could face during the pandemic. The key to minimizing these disruptions is to first identify factors that could put your supply chain at risk. 

These can include a lack of transparency on where goods come from, the need to transport supplies from overseas, and ordering from a sole-source vendor. If you don’t already know where your materials come from, now is the time to find out.

3. Diversify your supply chain. 

Once you understand where your supply chain is vulnerable, you can begin to address those weak points by finding other suppliers. Working with a supplier that has factories spread across multiple countries can help minimize disruptions to your supply line in the event that one country becomes the next coronavirus hot spot.

Another option is to source supplies locally or regionally. Although it’s often more expensive, working with a local supplier can reduce lag time from shipping, and many customers are willing to pay more for items that are made in the USA or locally grown. Even if shifting away from overseas suppliers isn’t financially feasible now, identifying another supplier you could fall back on creates an added layer of security.

3. Join a group purchasing organization. 

As companies reopen for business, many leaders are looking for creative ways to cut costs without laying off employees. One way to save money is by sourcing supplies more cheaply. This used to be difficult for small businesses that didn’t have the purchasing power of a giant corporation, but it isn’t anymore.

By joining a group purchasing organization, your business can access the lowest bulk rates available. You can think of group purchasing like splitting the cost of a Sam’s Club membership with your in-laws: Everybody gets the cheapest price without having to buy a lifetime supply of paper towels.

4. Review the terms of your supplier agreement.

If certain items aren’t available from a group purchasing organization, take the time to review your existing agreement and negotiate with your suppliers. In some cases, you may be able to get a lower price simply by changing your ordering practices. 

Many suppliers offer discounts for purchasing in higher quantities less frequently or consolidating your deliveries. You might also be able to get better pricing by working with only a handful of vendors who can meet all your needs.

5. Apply for federal relief. 

Reopening for business post-coronavirus can feel like a catch-22: Your business needs to ramp up sales to rebound from the pandemic, but after months of depressed revenue, you may not have the cash on hand to put in orders for what you need.

If that’s the case, you may be eligible for one of the loans offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA is once again accepting applications for its Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which provide funds for companies with 500 or fewer employees that are experiencing a temporary loss in revenue. Businesses that already have a relationship with an SBA Express Lender can access up to $25,000 cash in bridge loans as they wait for a decision on an EIDL.

Another way to free up capital for purchasing is to get payroll relief from the federal government. The Paycheck Protection Program has been extended through August 8, and the program will likely be included in the next recovery package. If the Small Business Expense Protection Act is passed, small businesses will be able to deduct expenses paid with a PPP loan from their taxes.

6. Take advantage of state-run assistance programs.

A loan from the state could be just what you need to free up capital for purchasing. Today many states are administering their own relief programs for small businesses, which may include low-interest working capital loans, tax filing and payment extensions, and relief from interest and penalties.

Pennsylvania’s Working Capital Access Program offers loans up to $100,000 for businesses with 100 or fewer employees. Illinois has created an emergency loan fund for businesses affected by the pandemic and the Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund. If passed, the RELIEF for Main Street Act would earmark an additional $50 billion for small businesses to be administered by local institutions. Check your state or county website to see what’s available in your area.

The coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on the entire global economy, but it’s hit small businesses the hardest. At a time when you’re making tough decisions related to staffing and customer safety, you shouldn’t have to worry about how to afford your next order or where you’re going to source raw materials. By finding creative ways to reduce expenses, free up capital, and protect your supply chain, you’ll be prepared to weather any purchasing challenge — now and in the future.

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