Your expenses are under control. The bottom line is healthy. But you’re the only one on the team who worries about whether you’re really getting a good deal.

You wonder whether you’re getting the best price on your expenses.

You haven’t shopped the office supplies lately. The phone vendor has been around for a couple of years, and you haven’t checked on better deals. You’re buying laptops from the same place you always use because it’s easy.

You’re sure you could be spending less if you tried, but who has the time to price shop?

Plus, you wonder whether shopping for a better deal makes sense when you could be billing your time out at $300 per hour.

That’s smart thinking. You ought to balance the potential savings against the cost of the shopping.

But you’re not alone. You’ve got a team of four. There’s you, your administrative assistant, the paralegal, and your office manager. Surely, someone has the time to shop.

You might think the logical thing to do is put the office manager on the task. I can’t argue with that thinking.

However, I have found better results by taking a slightly different approach.

The Alternative: Divide and Conquer

Let’s play the “cut the expense game.”

Start by dividing up the categories. Each of you gets several items from the profit and loss statement.

Split the accounts up among the team. Assign each account to someone.

• Let’s say you take responsibility for rent and payroll.
• Give supplies and postage to the administrative assistant.
• Let the paralegal have dues, advertising, and entertainment/meals.
• Give insurance, bank fees, and equipment to the office manager.

You get the idea. Keep spreading the accounts out until someone has responsibility for each of the various categories of expense.

Then let each team member go to town and cut the expenses. Your paralegal will start asking questions about dues. “Do we really need to maintain our membership in the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce?” “Can we cancel the Downtown Rotary Club dues since you haven’t attended in six months?”

Every expense will be examined carefully and enthusiastically. You’ll soon realize that the coffee delivery guy added a “fuel surcharge” six months ago without mentioning it. All sorts of things will emerge when someone is studying the invoices.

The cutting of expenses becomes a game that’s manageable by each player. Each person becomes an expert in a small area.

Each month, the bookkeeper will produce a report showing the progress for each account. At the end of the year, you can compare each account year over year. It’s fun to watch as expenses go down.

Dividing up the expenses and giving each team member some autonomy nearly always results in finding better deals.

Sure, you’ll end up paying for your networking lunch with a Groupon, but that’ll make for a good story with your new friend. Plus, you’ll have the extra money to buy dessert.