7 Tips For Business Survival During Inflation From Accountant Donald Williams

With the rise in everything from food to gas, rent to mortgage rates, everything around the country has been steadily increasing. Whether you are a bachelor simply trying to maintain a decent lifestyle or someone who has been a successful business owner, the current state of our economy is concerning. Donald Williams, an Atlanta-based financial expert, accountant, and the owner of Williams Accounting & Consulting who recently shared 7 Tips for Personal Budgeting During Inflation, shares tips for business owners to combat the rising prices and attempt to remain profitable during the times.

1. Accelerate Purchases

A business will want to accelerate purchases of products and services that the business knows it will need in the next month, quarter, or year because such products and services will cost more dollars in the future. For example, if a business needs a new desk for a new employee that will be starting in two months, the business will want to go ahead and buy that desk now before it increases in price in two months. The acceleration of purchases will result in dollar savings for the business.

2. Purchase Products in Bulk/Bundle Services

A business will want to start buying products in bulk when possible. For example, if a business uses boxes to ship its products and has sufficient space to store the shipping boxes before use, the business will want to purchase a large bulk of the shipping boxes now, store them, and then use them over an extended period of time. The bulk purchase will likely save money, but also, the purchase of boxes now will be cheaper than in the future. For services, a business may want to try to bundle phone and data, office Internet, software, and other recurring services for more favorable pricing.

3. Put Excess Cash into Interest-Bearing Investments

With inflation, cash that is not bearing any interest is effectively losing value, because $1 today will have less buying power in the future. A business will want to make sure that any excess cash is invested in interest-bearing accounts or other investments so that it is not losing value, as the interest helps to offset the decrease in value caused by inflation. During inflation, interest rates normally rise. Excess cash can be invested into interest-bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, or certificates of deposits, or it can be loaned out to other businesses for interest, or it can be invested into stocks and bonds that provide returns in the forms of dividends and yield that keep up with the rising inflation costs.

4. Increase Pricing

A business needs to be willing to increase its pricing during inflation. For example, a design firm that has been charging $200/hr. for its design professionals may need to increase its fees to $210/hr. or $215/hr. per professional so that the business’ higher revenue can be used to cover the business’ higher expenses. In some situations, a business may want to explain to its customers that the price increase is due to inflation.

5. Implement Variable Pricing

A lot of businesses charge fixed prices for their services, which poses a challenge during inflation. Instead, a business may want to make prices be variable. An example of fixed pricing is an accounting firm that agrees to prepare a company’s financial statements each month for $300. That accounting firm may instead want to negotiate that it can change its financial preparation prices from time to time upon written notice to the customer, which is variable pricing, to enable the accounting firm to increase prices to keep up with inflation.

6. Negotiate Fixed Expenses

A business may want to negotiate to lock in fixed prices so that the business is effectively paying less money in the future as a result of inflation. For example, a business may want to sign up for long software subscriptions, instead of just signing up for monthly software subscriptions, to effectively lock in a current subscription price that will be lower than the subscription prices over most of the next several years as such prices rise with inflation.

7. Consider Additional Debt.

In order for a business to be able to make purchases of products and services now, it may need to take on some debt. Given that most interest rates are still relatively low compared to historical levels, borrowing and taking on debt can be helpful for budgeting. Not only can the debt funds be used to make purchases now at prices that are lower than they will be in the future, but since inflation effectively decreases the value of the dollar, having to repay principal payments in the future is effectively less expensive since those repayments will be made with less valuable dollars.

For more information, visit Williams Accounting & Consulting.