Starting a business, or reshaping an existing one, will be possible if your finances are under control and in a position where growth is possible. Payroll is an area which can easily inflate if you haven’t taken the time to assess the role and necessity of each resource, and maybe you haven’t changed your business and employee contracts to reflect the reality your business now exists in.

Subscription services have been a saviour for businesses who want to be a little more nimble with a reduced payroll headcount. If you haven’t considered this for your circumstances, let’s get clear on what these subscription services look like and what they can make possible.

1. Unlimited app development subscription

An app is a core part of any business, as this is the tool that your audience engages with and strengthens their advocacy for your product or service. By paying for an unlimited app development subscription, you can forgo the more significant cost of actually paying an employee to work on your app. This model means that any urgent upgrades, routine maintenance or issues are included in your subscription service rather than training up an employee that might take away the opportunity of other growth areas.

2. Human Resources and engagement coach subscription

A Human Resources Manager has several responsibilities, which is why it’s common that they have an offsides or two to manage the workload and pulse of employee sentiment. Now, this need can be replaced with HR subscription services which offer modern software to streamline the daily duties of this important part of a business, and allows HR managers to spend their time connecting with their workforce. It also replaces the need to hire employees or agencies to measure employee engagement surveys and strategies.

3. Creative tools and assets subscription

You may think that your creative tools and assets are too unique to be tasked by a subscription service, but there are so many tools and platforms that make this easy to do. Canva and other Canva alternatives will save you from hiring a graphic designer and even a social media manager, as infographics, social media tiles and flyers can be easily designed through these intuitive platforms.

The cost of these subscriptions will vary depending on your needs, so always start with a light model and scale up as required.

4. Office management subscriptions

Office managers really are a weapon that can transform your business, but you might not have the budget to cover the salary of such a candidate. This is where subscriptions can supplement these needs, with workflow apps and platforms bringing order and structure to your team and timelines. You can also find companies that offer a weekly clean and office plant care which saves hiring another internal resource, and you can even sign up to services that organise catering and gifts if you are in a client-facing industry and need to have these services on hand when required.

5. Payroll subscriptions themselves

The subscriptions we have discussed so far can reduce payroll, but payroll itself is a function that can be supplemented by a subscription service. Outsourced payroll and payroll software are booming globally, providing businesses with an easy answer to an overstretched or unnecessarily large payroll department. This option can also be a key one if you are a new business and can’t accurately predict your employee growth for the foreseeable future.

If your payroll isn’t where you want it to be now, don’t be hard on yourself as implementing these subscription services are going to really reduce your employee reliance. It might also be an idea to implement one at a time so that you can bring that service up to speed in the fashion you choose, before focusing on the next one.