It’s Budget Season! Five Quick Ways to Reduce Expenses

It’s budget season, the time when all operators sharpen their pencils trying to find opportunities to reduce expenses.  Independent owner-operators have to be particularly focused at this time of year to finish the fourth quarter strong and make good decisions to set up the first quarter for success.  Unlike national and regional chains that are able to absorb unexpected negative trends, independent operators do not have the margins to operate profitably while carrying aging and bad debt; increased fixed costs such as insurance and benefits; or dips in occupancy.  The good news is that there are some great solutions available!

Senior Living Smart hand selects Partners with solutions representing every area of operations, management and marketing to help independent operators improve profitability and performance and we have discovered some wonderful solutions.  Here are just a few:

• One Management Solutions http://www.one-mgmt.com will analyze your food, paper goods, supplies and energy (in 15 unregulated states) costs.  They only charge a percentage of the savings they realize and will even help renegotiate contracts with existing vendors.
• Zipmark  https://www.zipmark.com reduces aging and improves cash flow by creating an online portal for your community that families can log into on any mobile, tablet devise or online to pay their bills.  Zipmark has a digital check solution and the funds are available to the community the next business day and they are guaranteed so there are no bounced checks/ insufficient fund fees.
• CareConnect http://www.careconnectbyesco.com   installs and maintains award-winning, state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure at Net $0 CAPITAL COST to you! That’s right: your community gets installation and use of a best-in-class telecommunications systems including wireless.  They provide your staff and residents with better Phone, TV, and Internet services – all for less than current rates.
• Insurance, Payroll and Employee Benefits are a major expense for every community.  At Senior Living Smart, we have selected Propel Insurance http://propelinsurance.com and PayDayHR http://www.paydayhr.com because they understand our industry, offer best-in –class products, great customer service and they create valuable business partnerships with their clients.   With 2200 HR laws currently in place, ObamaCare on the horizon, worker’s comp costs rising and OSHA compliance concerns, it is important to have the right partner to stay informed.   One thing you do not want to put into your budget is a preventable lawsuit!
• Managing labor expense and reducing overtime is another area communities can control to improve performance.  We have chosen Voicefriend http://www.voicefriend.net  because their technology automates the time consuming process of tracking down employees to fill shifts.  All employees are loaded into the system with all their contact information so when a community needs to fill a shift, they simply enter the specifics into the systems and it notifies the staff by text, phone and email.  It even allows you to prioritize per diem, part time and under 32 hour employees first to reduce overtime.

At Senior Living Smart, we are committed to helping independent owner-operators improve profitability and performance and leveling the playing field by providing the same resources typically accessible to regional and national chains.  Check us out and check out our valued partners!