Why you need to calculate household expenses, even if you have a small business

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Every year your company spends so much money on little things that it would be enough to buy a car.

Small expenses and irregular expenses are very often not taken into account, but in total for a year they are commensurate with fixed expenses. Fixed costs of the company - taxes, salaries, rent. These amounts are budgeted first.

Take, for example, a five-person firm in Veliky Novgorod.

• An office with an area of 30 m² with a rental price of 400 rubles per m² - 12,000 rubles per month.
• If utility costs are not included in the rent, then about 2,000 rubles will be added for water and electricity.
• Internet and telephony - one thousand rubles for each point.
• In office centers, alarm systems are installed in the offices, so we do not include additional security in the calculations, but if you need it, the console security costs about 3,000 rubles a month.

• Five employees with Rosstat salaries: the average salary in the Novgorod region is 30,800 rubles 30,000 rubles. In total, this is 195,300 rubles: 150,000 rubles + 30.2% (or 45,300 rubles):

  • 22% - to the Pension Fund;
  • 2.9% - to the Social Insurance Fund;
  • 5, 1% - to the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund;
  • 0, 2–8, 5% - contributions for injuries (the higher the risk class, the higher the rate; a web studio, for example, will pay the minimum).
• Suppose the company's turnover is 500,000 rubles per month. Then, according to the simplified system, a tax of 6% of income is 30,000 rubles.

In total, we get 241,300 rubles of fixed costs per month.

Some companies still have a monthly marketing budget, but in a small business, this expense is often sporadic. The rest of the expenses are usually completely forgotten, which is why by the end of the month there may simply not be enough money. Let's figure out how much money is spent on the household needs of the company and why it is worth planning.

What belongs to household expenses

1. Stationery

Often they do not notice spending on small writing utensils, buying them "in between times."

• Paper - 500 rubles a month.
• Notebooks - 1,000 rubles per quarter (~ 333 rubles per month).
• Pens - 2,000 rubles a year (~ 166 rubles a month).
• Boards (magnetic, cork) - 3,000 rubles a year (250 rubles a month).
• Markers - 200 rubles per month.

Total: about 1,450 rubles a month, 17,400 rubles a year.

2. Identity, souvenirs

The costs of making them should be attributed to marketing expenses if they are allocated in the budget. If not, it can also be classified as household.

• Business cards - 1,000 copies, 1,000 rubles a year.
• Booklets, flyers - 1,000 copies, 3,000 rubles a year.
• Mugs, T-shirts - 10 sets, 2,000 rubles a year.
• Calendars, badges, magnets, key rings - 100 pieces to choose from, 1,000 rubles a year.

Total: ~ 580 rubles a month, 7,000 rubles a year.

3. Snacks

It's not about a full meal, business lunches are often paid for by everyone. But if you have a corporate lunch included in the social package, consider it, of course.

• Water - 10 bottles (18, 9 liters) per month for 150 rubles, only 1,500 rubles.
• Cream or milk - 1,000 rubles a month (one pack for 100 rubles for three days).
• Coffee and tea - 3,000 rubles a month.
• Cookies - 1,000 rubles (1 kg for three days).
• Fruits (apples, bananas, pears) - 3,000 rubles per month (1 kg per day).

Total: 9,500 rubles a month, 114,000 rubles a year.

4. Repair and maintenance

Repair of computers, premises, furniture, office equipment maintenance. It is not required very often, it is not very expensive, but still.

• Refuel the printer once a month - 300 rubles.
• Plumbing repair every six months - 2,000 rubles.
• Repair (or cleaning, or minor improvement) of computers once a year - 2,000 rubles for each computer. Suppose there are five of them in the firm.
• Repair (or purchase, if the repair is not rational) furniture - 3,000 rubles per year.

Total: ~ 1,700 rubles per month, 20,600 rubles per year.

5. Transport

If the staff gets to work on their own, this, of course, does not need to be attributed to the expenses of the enterprise. But you or your colleagues travel to meetings and other events, shops or warehouses. Record the cost of gasoline (as well as a car wash and wiper if the trip is distant) and taxi.

• City trips - 15 per month, one trip - 200 rubles, only 3,000 rubles per month.
• Trips to another city once a month - 1,000 rubles.

Total: 4,000 rubles a month, 48,000 rubles a year.

6. Logistics

This includes all kinds of delivery.

• Delivery of contracts in the city five times a month for 150 rubles, only 750 rubles a month.
• Delivery of contracts to another city twice a month for 250 rubles, only 500 rubles a month.
• Delivery of souvenirs to partners four times a year for 2,000 rubles, only 8,000 rubles a year.
• Furniture delivery to the office or other courier services - 600 rubles per year.

Total: ~ 2,000 rubles a month, 23,600 rubles a year.

7. Training

• Courses for 3,000 rubles for each employee once a year - 15,000 rubles a year.
• Webinars once every six months for everyone - 2,000 rubles a year.
• Literature for an office library - one book for 300 rubles every three months, 1,200 rubles a year.

Total: ~ 1,500 rubles per month, 18,200 rubles per year.

8. Software

Even if you mainly use free software, specialized commercial software is still sometimes needed. This is also an item of expenses for your company, you do not need to allocate money for the required software from the manager's pocket.

Suppose that on Linux computers, and instead of Microsoft Office - OpenOffice, that is, the company does not pay for the usual office software. Most likely, you will need at least one program for a designer, or an SEO specialist, or an accountant, or a video editor, or a marketer. It can cost from 1,000 rubles a year to 5,000 rubles a month. Let's take the average amount - 2,500 rubles a month, 30,000 rubles a year.

9. Activities

You can do the event yourself: a master class, a seminar, a conference, a tasting, a presentation (part of the costs will be paid off by partner contributions). Or take part in someone else's event - a concert, a quiz, a city celebration, an exhibition or a fair. You will have to allocate ten thousand times.

Even if at your event all speakers agree to speak for free, and your staff will act as presenters and moderators, you need to:

• rent a hall - 15,000 rubles;
• organize a coffee break - 5,000 rubles;
• to issue handouts - 3,000 rubles;
• to arrange a room - 4,000 rubles;
• pay for advertising the event - 10,000 rubles.

Total: 37,000 rubles per event once a year. Partners and sponsors can partially cover the cost, so let's assume that our firm's costs were 15,000 rubles.

Let's summarize the amounts for all items per month and year.

Expenditure item	Amount per month, rubles	Amount per year, rubles
Chancery	1 450	17 400
Souvenirs	580	7 000
Snacks	9 500	114 000
Repair	1 700	20 600
Transport	4 000	48 000
Delivery	2 000	23 600
Education	1 500	18 200
Software	2 500	30 000
activity	1 250	15 000
Total	24 480	293 800

Almost 25,000 rubles a month is about the same as keeping one full-time employee part-time (including deductions, full-time staff costs 39,000 rubles), and 300,000 a year is like a used sedan. Such costs should be regulated. List your spending by the proposed items. It is possible to move the required amounts from one item of expenditure to another, and the total budget allocated per month for household needs should not be exceeded. In three months you will find patterns and be able to plan more accurately.

What will help you save

1. Careful cost analysis

This is the first way to save money. Understanding what the money goes for, it is much easier to control it.

• Create a table where you will enter expenses. Enter headings ("Office", "Food", "Education", etc.) and label the spending.
• Assign a person in charge so that one person will manage the money. The rest will agree with him on all expenses (or even take accountable money from him).
• Collect and store all receipts. So you can double-check the amount or clarify the item of expenditure.
• Get a corporate card and pay everything you can with a card or under an agreement to an account - this way you can avoid confusion with cash and checks.

2. Rationing

Do not be afraid of spending on petty expenses, the main thing is to understand that they are. Keep records and put them in the budget, then the money will be there at the right time.

Calculate your average monthly expenses and then limit your spending to this amount if it suits you. If waste and overruns are obvious, cut back.

3. Selection of purchased resources and suppliers

See what you can buy cheaper without sacrificing quality (stationery, shelf-stable foods) and negotiate a discount as a loyal customer. Or even buy everything you need in bulk.

Souvenirs and handouts come in different levels. You can cut costs by about half if you choose smart, rather than “chic” options: business cards made of ordinary cardboard with stylish designs instead of luxurious embossed craft materials, for example.

Whether to save on food or not is a matter of company policy. You can limit yourself to a minimum of supplies: water, tea, coffee and cookies for guests.