Since business never stands still, it makes perfect sense that company owners tend to clock up the miles. Whether it’s to attend learning or networking events, meet a potential or existing client or focus marketing strategies on a particular geographical area, the company owner who goes nowhere is likely to find that their business will do exactly the same.
This level of movement comes at a cost though. It was announced last month that train fares are to rise by 3.5% in 2015 and, while petrol prices are actually lower than in 2013, they are still hovering around the £1.30 per litre mark, which is 50% higher than they were at the start of 2009. With travel becoming increasingly essential, how can companies ensure that they remain profitable while on the move?
Find out your travel costs
This is where it really makes sense to outsource accounts to a professional team like Sollertia, who can monitor the extent to which journeys are eating into your budget while you concentrate on running your business. It might be that a short trip is being made with unnecessary regularity, thus adding up over the weeks and months.
If any trends are identified, consider ways to work around them. Are you driving to locations within walking distance? Perhaps you could optimise journeys so that you call into points on your way to another destination?
Look into tax relief
If you can prove that your job requires you to travel from one place to another, you can apply to HMRC for tax relief. This isn’t limited to the costs of getting from A to B either; it also includes such matters as overnight accommodation, road tolls and parking fees.
Again, an outsourced accountancy services team can help you here. Business owners sometimes worry that they are claiming back on too much or too little, but professional advice will help ease any qualms you might have.
Travel the cyber-world
While travel can never be avoided, the increasingly digital nature of business and communications can limit the number of trips necessary. Conferences and seminars that may once have required a commute can often now be attended virtually, and are done so with such frequency that the portmanteau word ‘webinar’ can now be found in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Of course, sometimes there is no substitute for being there in person, but the world of 2014 does often allow us to save both company time and money by limiting the necessity to travel. Fortunately, when it can’t, it needn’t drive you to despair.