Saving money is as important as making money – for, after all, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” And with small sized businesses, there is less room for waste and inefficiency because there is less capital to work with and higher per unit overhead costs.

That means small businesses in particularly must find ways to streamline their finances and save every penny they possibly can, while still looking and functioning in a professional manner that will impress their clients. The only alternative is stagnation or even closing your doors.

That said, the next question is obvious: how can it be done? In answer, we offer these 5 practical ways for small businesses to save money, boost their bottom line, and grow.

1. Use Free Invoicing

How can I invoice for free and still have access to high quality, customizable invoice templates that look sharp, include all the relevant pieces of information, and impress my customers? It’s not a trick question – just click on the above-given link and you’ll find out how.

Using free invoicing software, templates, and apps will allow you to partake of all the most important benefits of these tools: saving time, simplifying invoicing, getting paid faster, and looking professional to your clients.

You can always upgrade for a small price and gain even more valuable features, but using the free software for now will save you money and streamline your cash flow “pipeline.”

2. Partner With Other Businesses

Now, you can’t team up with your competitors, of course, but there are many “complementary” rather than competing businesses out there with whom you could partner. It can save both businesses money when they share mailing lists and other advertising data and even print joint same-page ads together.

Aside from marketing, consider bartering with other local companies. Often, you can trade labor or goods legally and both save. For example, an Internet provider might give a contractor who paints their office a year or two of “free” service.

3. Outsource To Save

In many cases, you are better off paying an independent contractor, a freelancer, or another specialist for their services on a one-time, as-needed, or even intermittent basis as opposed to hiring new labor in-house.

Remember that a new workers means a lot of extra expenses, which go well beyond the salary to include benefits, and perhaps, unemployment payments if you ever have to lay them off. Proudly hire exactly how many workers you need, all with top-tier skills or at least a good work ethic and the willingness to learn.

Then, do what you can yourself, without getting bogged down so you can’t manage your business OR attempting things you have no idea how to do! Outsourcing the rest is cheaper and gets better results.

4. Save On Your Website

Using a website building platform instead of hiring a full-scale web professional will save you a lot of money.

Of course, there’s a place for web designers and developers, but most small businesses can do well enough with a website builder like Shopify or Squarespace. Using these programs takes relatively little time or technical expertise.

5. Minimize Office Expenses

First of all, many small businesses need no office outside of the business owners own home. Renting office space can be expensive, so avoid it if you can. Plus, you can deduct the costs of running a home office for your business from your taxes each year.

If you must have a separate office, keep it small by letting workers work at home whenever possible. Buying used office furniture will help you save even more.

These are just five of nearly limitless number of ways you can cut expenses and thus boost the viability of your small business. Keep on looking, and you will find dozens of creative ways to save, and it’s going to make a big difference.