Any business owner will tell you how important it is they keep a close watch on expenses. After all, sales are often hard enough to come by, so letting profit slip away in the form of lax spending defeats the object of being in business.

There are many ways that you can keep your spending down such as Household Saver or bulk buying. It pays for the boss to be very hands on when it comes to sourcing products and services as it is he or she that has the main interest in keeping the costs down.

Make sure that the staff keeps receipts for every penny that is spent, so that you can see and analyse where the money goes. Look for opportunities to reduce costs even further by switching suppliers – do not assume that your current supplier is always the cheapest.

Sometimes you can obtain additional discounts by bulk buying stationary or other items, and do this as long as it does not mean overstocking. There is no point in buying five years of paperclips just to save a few pounds!

Don't let the money slip through your fingers because cost cutting is one of the most important ways to have a profitable business and every boss needs to have a tight grip on this aspect of the business.