The end of a year in business is the perfect time to reflect and tie up any loose ends so you can go into the new year with new goals to achieve. It is also a great time to look back on your finances and makes changes where necessary so you can be successful in the year to come. You can create a plan to take you into the next year, with what you’d like to achieve, the profit you’d like to make and how you’d like to see your business progress. Below, we’ll look at some of the best ways that you can prepare your business for the end of the year. 

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Review your year 

What better way to get ready for the end of the year than to review how your business has performed, and what it has achieved? Look at reports to help you, like your profit and loss, and cash flow statement to get an overview of how your business has managed financially throughout the year. From this, you will be able to identify any trends that may carry through into next year, so you can be better prepared for them – such as an increase in spending at a certain time, like around Christmas, as well as having the ability to reflect on where there is a period of slower spending so you can brace yourself for this too. Taking the time to reflect on the past year allows you to determine whether you met the goals you set for your business and if you have had a successful year in terms of meeting objectives and making a profit. 

Identify next year’s opportunities 

Once you’ve taken the time to review your year, you can start identifying next year’s opportunities. Has your business grown to the point where you may have to buy bigger premises or move to another location? Or maybe your business is struggling and you’re thinking about diversifying to give revenue the boost that it needs. Looking at your reports will allow you to reflect on whether your business is thriving, or whether it needs improvement – so going into the next year, you can do all you can to get it back on track, which brings us to our next point. 

Create a plan 

When you’re approaching the end of the year, creating a plan that you can carry forward into next year is essential. Creating a plan allows you to include goals that you may not have managed to hit this year and allows you to think about how you can finally meet them in the months to come. If your company has had a successful year, your plan can include growth strategies, and how you are going to put them into practice. You could include a plan for managing your taxes, investing for the future, or saving money so you have a cushion to fall back on in difficult financial times. 

Yearly taxes and deductions 

At the end of the year, you’ll what to do all you can to tie up any loose ends, so that you can come back to a fresh start, without the stress of taxes to sort. Make sure that you are up to date when it comes to tracking and inputting expenses that you can deduct to lower your overall taxable income. Make sure that your receipts and business credit card statements are categorised and accounted for. Of course, you have to keep track of these throughout the year to make the process successful, not just as we’re approaching the end. But going back and ensuring everything is in order means you can come back in the new year and start fresh. 

Make changes 

Reviewing your expenses means that you can make changes for the better. If you are struggling to pay for stock, overheads, or your premises, it may be time to make some cutbacks. Obviously, it helps to be sensible with this – try not to make cuts that will be detrimental to your business.  If you have outgoings like subscriptions that you don’t use, make sure you cancel them. If you think you are paying too much for energy bills, call your provider and see what they can do. Comparing providers can also help you to find a more affordable solution that can help you to save money in the coming year.

Marco