The office is often the second-largest expense after payroll, so a CFO who can reduce it without compromising performance protects margins. Much of office overhead is flexible once you understand what people truly use, when they use it, and how long they need it. This guide walks through practical levers that work for lean teams, multi-location companies, and growing firms.
1) Shift to an on-demand space for meetings
Permanent meeting rooms may seem convenient, but they often remain empty for most of the week and still incur rent, cleaning, and utility costs. Pay only when teams actually gather. Companies like Davinci Meeting Rooms provide professional spaces, reception, and audiovisual support in cities where people are, so you avoid carrying long leases for rooms that sit idle.
It also helps remote teams meet clients in person without requiring everyone to travel to headquarters. Roll out a clear booking policy, set monthly ceilings, and tell managers to default to on-demand options before they reserve office space. This turns a fixed cost into a controllable one.
2) The cost of every software should be justifiable
SaaS can grow faster than headcount, so it needs guardrails. Begin by exporting all data from SSO, MDM, and expense tools, and tag every app to an owner, a cost center, and a business outcome. Eliminate idle seats, trial leftovers, and tools that serve the same purpose. You should also resize license tiers so people are not on premium for basic work.
Be sure to lock prices only after you understand real adoption. Ask for flexible bands so you can scale down when teams shrink. Additionally, set a small approved app list with per-user caps. New tools must ship with a clear use case, a concise pilot, and a well-defined sunset plan. Make sure to conduct a quarterly audit and share the resulting savings.
3) Retime vendor contracts to your fiscal rhythm
Auto-renewals steal leverage. Move renewals into one or two windows before planning. Create a one-page deal sheet for each major contract, and include usage, incidents, alternatives, quotes, and your walk-away number. Make sure to ask for metered pricing for variable services, and add service credits for misses that matter.
In addition, you should sign multi-year contracts only when price, volume, and switching risk are truly favorable. Select one person to manage each contract renewal and instruct them to initiate the process 90 days prior to its expiration. Preparation creates leverage, and leverage creates savings.
4) Redesign how, when, and where teams meet
Physical meetings are expensive; they use rooms, travel, and attention. Start by deciding which outcomes really need a live session. Some updates can be done via a short document, a recorded video, or a channel post. Keep live meetings shorter, add an agenda, and record so people who are remote can catch up later. You should also cluster in-office days by team so you are not opening space for two people or teams at a time.
Additionally, equip a few rooms well with whiteboards, good cameras, and clear audio so that hybrid meetings are painless. When it makes sense, meet closer to customers and stack two or three visits on the same trip. The goal is to have fewer meetings, higher output, and more cost-effective space utilization.
5) Build a lean travel policy that still wins deals
Travel should support sales cycles, customer needs, and hiring processes. Everything else can be done virtually. Set airfare and hotel caps by market, and require side-by-side price checks across channels. Reward early booking and shared itineraries, and ban premium cabins except for long flights tied to same-day work.
Additionally, consider choosing trains or coaches on shorter routes. Be sure to base approvals on the deal’s stage and meeting value. Track realized revenue per trip and publish ranges by motion, and teach your employees to schedule meetings per city. Smart travel reduces cost and still lands business.
6) Tighten procurement from request to receipt
Small leaks can add up over time. Standardize how teams ask for goods and services. Use catalog items for common purchases with fixed specifications and prices, and route exceptions to finance, legal, and security through a streamlined process. You should also require three quotes above a threshold.
Be sure to measure the purchase-order cycle time and hit the target. Publish a weekly dashboard by department, assign leaders a savings goal, and recognize them when they achieve it. Make sure to audit after the fact, and flag duplicate buys, off-contract vendors, and over-spec equipment. Close the loop by fixing catalogs and guardrails.
7) Turn facilities and services into sprints
Energy, cleaning, printing, and shipping often sit on autopilot. Treat them as projects with owners and targets. To save on energy costs, tune thermostats, add timers, and replace bulbs with energy-efficient ones. For cleaning, ensure that schedules align with actual occupancy and events.
Additionally, set printing defaults to black and white, enforce pull printing, and remove stranded devices. For shipping, restrict express to true emergencies and batch non-urgent parcels. Make sure to share before-and-after metrics with staff. Small behavior changes compound without drama.
8) Make cost ownership visible and local
People spend better when they can see the numbers. Provide managers with live views of their budgets, including unit costs, trends, and targets, presented in clear and concise language. Show them what space bookings, software seats, travel, and vendors are doing to their line.
Additionally, be sure to review costs monthly, highlight smart savings, and address patterns that drift. The finance department should set the rules, while managers make the day-to-day choices. Accountability plus autonomy keeps savings durable. When the manager who books rooms, approves software, or signs off on travel can see the cost right away, they make smarter choices.
Endnote
Cutting office overhead is not about starving the workplace or making people work in bare rooms. It is about aligning what you pay for with what staff actually use, week after week. Keep space flexible, cut unnecessary software subscriptions, and pull renewals onto your calendar instead of the vendor’s. Additionally, tighten meetings and travel to ensure that they serve outcomes, not habits.
You should also make purchases through a clean process, then check the results. Be sure to share numbers with managers so they can take prompt action. Start with a few moves this quarter, measure the results, tell the story, and then repeat. Savings will stack, and operations will stay healthy.
