Step 1: Add up the fixed monthly costs
- Rent and service charge.
- Electricity, water and generator fuel.
- Internet and phone lines.
- Cleaning and waste.
- Security and guards.
- Insurance and licences for the premises.
- Maintenance and repairs.
Step 2: Add the costs that scale with people
- Desks, chairs and equipment, spread across their useful life.
- Tea, coffee and snacks.
- Printing and stationery.
- Parking and transport allowances.
- Lunch or meal stipends if you provide them.
Step 3: Decide how much you could remove
A fully remote company can remove nearly all of these costs, apart from a small address or meeting room. A hybrid company might give up half its space, or move to a shared desk system. Be honest about leases: you may be locked in for months or years, so the saving may begin later than you would like.
Step 4: Subtract the cost of running remote
- A work management platform such as JOBOHIVE.
- Any home internet or data allowance you choose to provide.
- Laptops or equipment you already pay for either way.
- Occasional team meet-ups.
The formula
Monthly saving = (fixed costs + per-person costs) × share you can remove − cost of remote tools and allowances.
Example: a company with rent and running costs of 900 dollars and 25 staff costing 40 dollars each per month has a monthly office cost of 1,900 dollars. Removing 60 percent saves 1,140 dollars. If remote tools cost 62 dollars, the net saving is about 1,078 dollars a month, or roughly 12,900 dollars a year. Your numbers will differ, which is why you should use your own.
Costs people forget
- Commuting time: hours your team spend in traffic are hours you pay for but do not get.
- Hiring radius: an office limits you to people who can reach it. Remote opens a bigger talent pool.
- Sick days and lateness linked to travel.
- The cost of expanding to a bigger office as you grow.
What you must keep in place
Savings only hold if you keep standards. You still need a way to record attendance, track time on projects, handle HR and communicate. Our home page has a savings calculator that does this arithmetic with your own numbers, and subtracts the plan that fits your team size.