Any start-up venture or small business is familiar with the need to follow a budget in order to keep their operations cash flow positive. While business might be thriving, you may unexpectedly encounter a period of slow sales or equipment expenses that may drain reserves and cause a cash crunch. Here is how you can be frugal and establish a business budget.

Get your finances organized and formulate a budget.

The first way you can reduce your operating costs is to get organized about what you are doing. If you aren’t familiar with how much inventory you have, you may make the mistake ordering too many unnecessary supplies. If your customer accounts aren’t organized, you may not be keeping track of what’s going out or what’s not coming in. If you have everything organized and documented, you can quickly access the information you need to operate more efficiently. You can rely on budgeting software to help organize the financial aspects of your physical organization. Watching the monthly expenses and intake is one way to be proactive in keeping your finances on track.

Take on some DIY opportunities with your marketing.

You might be tempted to outsource your advertising dollars to the professionals, but there are so many inexpensive ways for you to actually conduct your own marketing campaigns. You can save valuable funds for more extensive or necessary projects by taking advantage of social networking opportunities that promote your business. With photos, informative blogs and advertisements, you can drive traffic and increase revenue without having to spend a fortune on support services and blow your business budget.

Eliminate office waste.

It can be hard to determine what are considered unnecessary expenses, especially when it comes to labor costs. If business is starting to pick up, it might seem easier to simply hire temporary help. However, you might be able to rely on contract work and save yourself a lot of money. Crowdsourcing is a popular way to accomplish office or marketing tasks that can take up valuable time. You should also consider your physical location and the perks you offer. You maybe able to save on rent or utilities by downsizing, or boost your reserves by minimizing petty cash purchases.

It’s always a good time to get a grip on your business budget. During heavy growth, you can put capital into saving to help out when business may slow or incidents come up requiring additional funding.