Preparing Your Budget for An Unpredictable Year

Preparing the 2021 FY budget is going to be a challenge for all industries. The uncertainty that lies ahead makes investment risky and cutting costs imperative. Business leaders will need to take a collective and collaborative approach to ensure financial standards won't be compromised. Knowing where to start could be stressful, so we've put together a few key items you may want to address first.

Here's what you should be considering as you plan your 2021 budget:

Financial & Operational Impacts of Covid-19

Operating through a crisis isn't a new thing. And while most businesses set aside emergency budgets, none of us could have prepared for today's volatile landscape. Same as any transitional event you’ve encountered, you’ll need to start with recognizing the impacts. Each area of your business has likely been affected, but how? Getting the complete picture from across your teams and sites will help you prioritize and project accordingly. Perhaps you’ll discover an area of business that’s worth investment considering today’s market and evolving need. Is the market better for one area of your business than another? Our favorite example, the beer company that realized their alcohol product is now more valuable being used and re-branded as a hand sanitizer.

Opportunities for Cost Reduction & Recovery

Every part of your business saw change. Did that change end up costing you more than it should have? Taking a before and after snapshot of all your expenses and measuring that variance can help reveal were costs rose and fell. It can also shed light on opportunities for outsourcing, saving you time and money. Could you have avoided those costs in the first place and is there a way to recover those monies? With decreasing resources, it will be a challenge to take the time to look back, but a strategic partner could help.

Increased Need for Visibility & Accountability

Owners. operators and managers at all levels are increasingly aware of the importance of data visibility. It helps to understand how budgets are being managed and allocated, identify potential risks and provides real insight into your business. Enhanced transparency and accountability by providing proper presentation and accounting will be important than ever. No area of your business is immune to the uncertainty that lies ahead. Having insight into valuable data will allow you to make informed decisions to help improve operations and finances.

While you may have enlisted outside support for larger expense areas, you could also largely benefit from outsourcing a deceivingly simple expense category-waste and recycling. Whether your organization has seen an increase or decrease in waste, the costs are still significant. And unless your teams or waste haulers are providing reports and insight into your services and costs, you won’t know if you’ve been impacted until those costs hit your budget.

For over ten decades Cass has taken the lead in enterprise expense management, shedding light on organizational costs that may be otherwise overlooked by typical financial procedures. We take the complex categories of your business and apply a closed loop methodology, resulting in cost avoidance and reduction. We leverage waste industry expertise and real-data insights for informed decision making. The data we collect is shared and accessible to you via our proprietary software, for internal reporting and stakeholder interests.

Cass Waste Expense Management delivers a centralized and standardized process for waste management across your sites. We work with haulers, as your strategic partner, aimed at getting you optimum services at the best price available. With Cass WEM you’ll have added data for reporting and stakeholder sharing. Our experts are with you every step of the way to ensure your organizations operational, financial and sustainability goals are met.

The need to explore and implement out of the box cost-saving ideas can be the difference from surviving and THRIVING in today’s challenging markets. And now more than ever, your focus should be on the services you provide and the people who need and make them happen. Consider entrusting Cass WEM to life the burden of waste, while delivering visibility and savings to help you prosper through the unpredictable year ahead.