When your business starts expanding, it is both a significant milestone and terrifying. There are suddenly a lot of things that you have to know how to do. Or at the very least look like you know what you are doing. One of those things is knowing when you buy extra machinery or materials for your business. You can expend fully without meeting the higher demands.

So what should you be doing when it comes to buying things for your business

This is a super obvious thing, yes. But, if you aren’t making clear lists, then you might buy too much, too little, or on a whim. All of which can be dangerous. So, before you head out there ready to snap things up, think about what you really need. If you struggle with the whole process, you might want to consider eflow procurement technology, which makes it very easy to get everything under control.

When making your list write down things that you cannot expand without, and a list of things that you could take or leave. This will help you know where you should be spending your money.

New Or Used

If you don’t have the budget to stretch to the new versions of everything, then you will have to settle for second hand anyway. But in general, second-hand machines and goods are perfectly able to do the job at hand, they just cost less and have done it more than once.

You will need to be careful though, and purchase something that is more lightly used, than something that looks like it has had a serious previous few years. You can expect a pretty significant saving, between 25-50 percent, and with that saving, you can either put money back into the business or find other ways to expand.

Auctions, liquidation sales, and even garage sales can get you what you want so always keep your eye out.

Quality over quantity – always. No matter what you are buying, stop buying the cheapest version. It is usually cheap for a reason, and in the long run, you will spend more replacing it so often than just buying the one that cost more in the first place.

Think about the workhorses in your company. That is where your cash investment should go. If you have office work or work online, then you should really look to put your cash into computers. If you are running a restaurant, then your money will go into your kitchen and pans that you cook with. Just remember, if you can’t run your business without it, you need it and should spend the appropriate money on it.

Finance

If you are in the middle of the growth period, your finances will expand and contract at a rapid pace. But take it easy, you need to make sure that you have a cushion. Try not to run anything through your credit lines, because if the current business boom doesn’t last, you might find yourself having to pay a lot back.