Year-End To-Do's For Your Small Business

The end of the year is a busy time for many, as people finish up their work before taking time to celebrate the holidays. This time of year is especially busy for business owners. Year-end is the best time to check-in on your company and evaluate how business has been throughout the year. This could mean analyzing financial statements, conducting audits, and thinking about employee incentives as the new year approaches.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few year-end to-do’s for your small business. Once you complete these tasks, you'll feel ready to get in the holiday spirit!

Run Year-End Financial Reports

Year-end is the best time to run thorough financial reports. This will help you see where your business stands financially compared to other years and what you can expect for next year. If your profits are lower than expected, you may want to make some changes to make your business more profitable. If your profits are higher than expected, then it’s a sign that you can create higher goals for next year.

Your year-end financial report should also include a cash flow statement, which shows how your money was spent throughout the year. Are there areas you can cut spending? Analyze your spending trends and see what needs to change to make your business more profitable.

Update Employee and Payroll Information

Throughout the year, your employees may have changed addresses or phone numbers, which is why the end of the year is a great time to update employee and payroll information. There may have also been some employee turnover at the company, so make sure all your staffing records are accurate in your system.

Conduct a Physical Inventory

There are many benefits to conducting an annual physical inventory audit. It’s a great way to evaluate what products tend to sell better than others, as well as determine what products aren’t selling at all. Annual inventory audits are crucial for catching errors, such as missing inventory. You can also use this opportunity to better organize your stock.

Audit Your Company’s Website

It’s important for your website to be up-to-date. If it’s not, it could be misleading for potential customers and can drive away business. Use the year-end as an opportunity to audit your website and make sure that all the information, including links and contact information, is correct and that all the pages work.

Examine Your Staffing Needs

If your business has grown exponentially then it might be time to consider hiring more staff. Make sure to adjust your budget accordingly if you plan to add more staff to the team in the next year. On the flip side, you may have the opposite problem where you need to downsize or create new roles to accommodate your current staff better.

Think About Year-End Incentives

Your employees have spent a year working hard, and the holidays are a great time to treat them. Think of ways that you can honour your staff, such as introducing flexible schedules, extra time-off, or giving a year-end bonus. They’ll be more motivated to continue working hard when they return to the office in January.

Make New Business Goals

Many people create New Year’s Resolutions or goals for themselves, and, as a business owner, you should be creating goals for your business. Create a list of things you’d like your business to accomplish in the next year, such as financial growth or expansion. Take a look at your list from the previous year and base your goals off those results.