The sixth cause of poor cashflow – Overheads are too high

Trim costs, not capability: a practical guide to reviewing overheads

Most owners keep a close eye on day-to-day costs. Smaller businesses, in particular, are usually tight on spend. As your business grows, though, extra layers of approval and activity can creep in. The risk is that you cut muscle along with fat. The aim is simple: reduce waste without limiting your team’s ability to deliver.

Make the review a yearly habit

Lock in a thorough overheads review at the same time every year. Treat it like an annual service for your business: consistent, methodical, and focused on outcomes.

Questions that uncover savings without hurting performance

Budgets and accountability: Do managers and key staff have their own expense budgets? How are these set, tracked, and reported each month?
Debt costs: Have you reviewed interest rates, facility limits, and all bank or lender fees? Can you refinance, consolidate, or renegotiate terms?
Sales team spend: What guardrails apply to travel, meals, entertainment, vehicle reimbursements, and corporate cards? Are approvals clear and limits enforced?
Marketing effectiveness: What was the total marketing and advertising spend in the last 12 months, and which channels actually produced leads or revenue? Have you shifted budget toward the best-performing activities?
IT support and software: When did you last renew your IT support agreement? Is a fixed monthly fee available and still appropriate given any shift to cloud services?
Subscriptions: List every SaaS subscription. Who uses it, what plan are you on, and is there overlap with other tools? Complete a simple cost-benefit review for each and cancel, downgrade, or consolidate where possible.
Advisory value: Are accounting and advisory fees treated as a pure cost or as an investment tied to better decisions, stronger controls, and improved cashflow? If it’s the latter, ensure scope aligns with the outcomes you want.

How to keep overheads in line all year

Set budgets and monitor monthly: Agree annual budgets, then review actuals vs budget every month with clear commentary on variances.
Use simple dashboards: Track key overhead lines (marketing, software, travel, finance costs) and set alerts for unusual spikes.
Tidy purchasing: Centralise subscriptions, require purchase orders for larger spends, and time-box trials so they don’t become forgotten costs.
Negotiate proactively: Diary key renewal dates and approach suppliers early for better pricing or terms.
Document the rules: Keep short policies on cards, travel, reimbursements, and approvals so expectations are clear and consistent.

Where we can help

We can set up budgets, provide a monthly variance report, and build a lightweight spend dashboard so you can see trends at a glance. We will also map your subscriptions, identify overlaps, and recommend savings that do not weaken capability. Reducing overheads improves cashflow and resilience — and it’s easier with the right structure and tools.

Next steps

Book a short review to prioritise 3–5 overhead lines with the biggest impact.
Share your latest P&L and subscription list so we can complete a quick scan for immediate wins.
Agree a monthly rhythm for budget vs actuals and actions.

If you want practical, measurable savings without slowing the business down, let’s get started.