To offset rising costs, manage those non-billable hours efficiently.
No doubt you have noticed the cost of fuel lately - no matter where you live it seems to be hitting new highs. And you have seen it show up on your financial statements as an increased cost of doing business. No additional return, just a greater cost. These kinds of costs dig deeply into our profits, and we have very little input into how they are set nor can we do much about them, except suffer the lost net income. What we can do, however, is re-examine our cost structure and find ways to pare down our current costs. Though they usually seem firm and unable to cut unless we drop some element of service or the quality of our service, both of which are unsuitable alternatives.
Maybe technology can help. Technology brought us simplified accounting, more effective dispatch capability, more accurate payroll and warehouse records, easier written communications, and a host of other time-saving and economically efficient processes. It even allowed us to reduce personnel costs.