The End (of the Year) is Nigh

It’s almost the end of the year. As one Cobbler put it, “Time to sh#t or get off the pot.”

Early November is the perfect time to review your year, wrap up any goals or projects that need to be done before the end of Q4, and take a look at what’s happening in your company.

In service of that, we compiled a partial list of things we think you should do before we turn the calendar over to another year.

Accounting
First, if you do not have an accountant/CPA or want to make a change, now is the time to do it. Come January CPAs are swamped. It’s also helpful to have a professional talk with you about what your business needs to prepare for the end of the year.

  • Talk to your accountant

  • Review outstanding payables and receivables

  • Get W9’s and insurance info from your subcontractors if you don’t have it already (anyone you paid more than $600 will need a W9, like your rent, lawyer, or another service counts.)

  • Review your cash flow and profits. Is it a good time to purchase equipment or small tools?

  • Review all your financial statements

  • Download your payroll reports

  • Review and account for your inventory and other property

  • Look for outstanding checks and clear those up

  • Add in out-of-pocket expenses

  • Compile your mileage

  • Reconcile bank and credit card statements

Management

  • Back up your information, including your cell phone, and create or find a system to do this routinely

  • Prep your files for longer-term storage

  • Create new files and system tags for next year

  • Audit your website, is it time for an update?

  • Create a list of your accomplishments for the year

  • Plan your end-of-year gifts and cards

  • Review your subscriptions and memberships

  • Get ready for Small Business Saturday

Planning

  • Create a budget for next year

  • Review your annual goals and set new ones

  • Review your clients and projects for the year, what predictions can you make for next year?

We’ll update this list as we come up with more ideas, but feel free to chime in in the comments if you think we missed anything!

Gretchen Bedell