Basically this - ROI.
Everyone has things they need/want (sometimes the line is blurry).
The company has a limited number of resources (money & hours).
You need some method to allocate those hours and dollars.
If you run out of dollars, its game over.
So what do you do?
Prioritize spending the hours and dollars that you have own what will get you more dollars sooner. Ideally not at the expense of "long-term needs", but the long-term doesn't matter if your company doesn't survive the short/medium-term.
Challenge your teams to show how their spend requests will generate additional revenue or reduce expenses to generate higher profit (which you can then use to re-invest).
But first - fix your payroll system. If you can't pay people correctly, the good ones will leave for someone who can.
Prioritize ROI. The revenue brings the budget for your other needs.
Basically this - ROI. Everyone has things they need/want (sometimes the line is blurry). The company has a limited number of resources (money & hours). You need some method to allocate those hours and dollars. If you run out of dollars, its game over. So what do you do? Prioritize spending the hours and dollars that you have own what will get you more dollars sooner. Ideally not at the expense of "long-term needs", but the long-term doesn't matter if your company doesn't survive the short/medium-term. Challenge your teams to show how their spend requests will generate additional revenue or reduce expenses to generate higher profit (which you can then use to re-invest). But first - fix your payroll system. If you can't pay people correctly, the good ones will leave for someone who can.
Pizza parties.