Operating costs are one of the biggest challenges for any charity. While you want to concentrate all of your efforts on your leading cause, there are always a few essentials that need to be dealt with – and paid for – first. Yet these overhead costs for services such as electricity and telecommunications can soon begin to add up.
If they get out of hand, charity operating costs can soon begin to eat away at your budget for more important things like staffing and services to those in need. Thankfully, there are a few ways to reduce them without affecting your organisation’s efficiency. In fact, some cost-reducing solutions can actually make your operations smoother while lowering expenditure at the same time.
Read on as we look at six ways to reduce your charity’s operating costs and ensure your funding goes where it’s needed most.
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1. Lower phone costs
Phones are a must-have for any charity. While we do live in an increasingly internet-based world, a professional phone system is still necessary for calls with your target audience, colleagues and service providers.
But with the cost of the landline, private branch exchange (PBX) and the sometimes-high cost of calls, they can soon become one of the highest charity operating costs.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a cost-effective alternative to traditional phone systems that don’t require a landline. Run through your internet connection, the service is cheaper to install and typically cheaper on a per-call basis too. For example, we offer a 5000 minute a month call bundle per user.
It’s worth mentioning, too, that in the UK physical landlines are being phased out. By 2027, organisations that still rely on a copper landline will have no choice but to switch to an internet-based system like VoIP. So, it’s better to make a thoughtful switch now than have to rush to switch when the deadline is near.
2. Skip the services and apps that do only one thing
In today’s working world, most offices rely on a host of apps – one for video conferencing, one for team communications, one to keep client data, and so on. The trouble is that when you use lots of unrelated apps for different functions, their small individual costs can become a significant part of your budget.
When this happens, it can help to find apps or subscriptions that offer more than one function at once.
For example, with Microsoft 365, you get secure email, spreadsheet and document apps we all rely on, and collaboration tools for your team like messaging and video calling. That means you don’t have to pay for a separate video conferencing service. Plus, you’ll enjoy smoother operations when all of your working tools interface naturally with one another.
3. Switching providers
Whether it’s broadband, energy or insurance, switching providers is one of the best ways to keep operating costs down. It allows you to continually make the most of special offers and new customer deals, as well as avoiding the higher tariffs some companies move you to when your fixed-rate or introductory offer expires.
According to price comparison site Uswitch, you could save £387 for energy and £159 on broadband on average each year.
4. Try remote working
With the average cost per person ranging from £200 to £1,400 in UK cities, office space is undoubtedly one of the biggest operating costs for any charity. Remote working can help you minimise or even eliminate these costs altogether.
Working remotely full-time means there’s no need for a permanent office space. This requires the right tools, including cloud storage, collaboration software like Teams and – as mentioned above – a VoIP phone system.
Alternatively, you can move to a smaller space by hot-desking, where workers use the office part-time and share desks. Or you could even share an office space with other like-minded charities to split the costs.
Either way, the key here is to ensure that your technology works anywhere your employees go, as long as they have a good internet connection.
5. Go Paper-free
The cost of paper soon stacks up – pun intended. While it may seem like a trivial matter, the price of paper, ink and eventually a new printer will all contribute to your charity’s operating costs. In fact, Gartner estimates that paper, printing, filing and storage accounts for as much as 3% of revenue.
By cutting it out, you’ll save a bit of extra money every week, month and year. But you’ll also be doing your bit for the environment, as well as saving on space and time. It’s estimated that simply looking for filed documents can use up as much as 30% of an office worker’s time!
In contrast, hosting your files in a well-organised system on the cloud can let employees find them near-instantly. As long as you have a high-quality, secure system, it’s also safer than leaving paper files around. In fact, reducing paper use lets you skip more fees – the costs of shredding when confidential files such as financial information need to be disposed of.
6. Automate where you can
We’ve already mentioned that a reliable phone system is essential. But answering the phone and managing routine queries can take up a lot of a busy worker’s time – reducing organisations’ efficiency and increasing payroll costs.
Fortunately, a good VoIP phone system can include features that manage these small tasks for you. For example, a virtual assistant can direct calls smoothly to the right person. And if someone leaves a voicemail message, the phone system can transcribe it and email it directly to your inbox, saving even more time. That’s a win-win for everyone.
Reduce your charity operating costs
Whether you want to sidestep the price of conventional phones or facilitate remote working to reduce office costs, VoIP is a cost-effective solution for charities across the UK.
At VS Group, we specialise in VoIP for charity, with over 500 clients in the voluntary sector to date. On average, our non-profit clients save an astonishing 30% compared to their previous technology expenditure. In other words, VoIP can make a real difference.
If you want to find out more about VoIP and how it could help with your charity’s operating costs, simply get in touch with our team. You can speak to our experts on VoIP for non-profits by phone at 0330 094 0170 and by email at customerservice@vsgcomms.com.
