End of the year business checklist: 7 tasks to do now

The end of the calendar year is the time to tie loose ends, evaluate business strategy, and do housekeeping. NEXT shares a small business checklist to help navigate tax preparation, bookkeeping, financial analysis, business strategy, and more.

1. Catch Up on Bookkeeping

Locate, consolidate, and record all paper and digital receipts of business expenses for the past year to make sure you're caught up on bookkeeping.

Reconcile your accounts receivable to help ensure your accounts are clean and auditable. Review and clean up credits and debits to know what your customers owe.

Do the same for accounts payable. Make sure you understand your obligations and reconcile variances.

If you don't have a certified public accountant or tax preparer you work with regularly, consider hiring one to help you with end-of-year cleanup. They can also help set you up for success come tax season.

Also, if you're still using spreadsheets (or even paper files), consider switching to user-friendly bookkeeping apps and accounting software such as Quickbooks or Xero to help you track books, automate revenue and track expenses.

To do:

1. Pay vendors or contractors.
2. Review accounts receivable to collect invoices due.
3. Upload or record receipts and transactions.
4. Finalize payroll records for the last year.

2. Review Your Financial Statements

Once you catch up on bookkeeping, figure out where you stand financially. Run financial reports to learn where your income came from, where you spent it, and where it's currently heading.

These reports should include:

• A balance sheet to track business assets, liabilities, and equity.
• An income statement that shows company profits.
• A loss statement that shows where you experienced financial loss.
• A cash-flow statement to document how much your company made over time—typically fiscal quarters.

These financial reports provide a head start on your taxes and reveal where you need to adjust to achieve your financial goals.

To do:

1. Run end-of-year reports.
2. Review reports and financial records to understand profitability.
3. Identify where you can reduce cost or grow.
4. Set a budget for the upcoming year.

3. Make a Plan for the Coming Year

Look at the landscape, set business goals for where you want to go, and create a plan to help you reach your goals. Pinpoint specific, measurable goals to help you stay focused.

For example, many business owners say they'd like to grow their business next year. But how, and through what means? Be specific. State that you'd like 15 more clients next year, or a move to a larger location by next summer, to allow for more accurate business planning.

This is also a good time to review your business operations. Do you need to hire more help? Should you renegotiate vendor contracts or research new suppliers? Is your pricing model still accurate, or do you need to adjust?

To do:

1. Create specific, attainable goals for the next year.
2. Make a plan or roadmap to achieve your goals.
3. Review vendor contracts.
4. Examine your staffing needs.
5. Audit your equipment and inventory. Differentiate between what's nice to have and what's critical.
6. Review your client list and thank them for being a customer.

4. Obtain or Update Your Business Insurance

Business insurance can help protect you from unexpected expenses after accidents or mistakes involving your business, employees, or customers. Ensure you have the right-sized coverage for your business and keep up to date to help protect your investment if something goes awry.

Small business insurance can cover a variety of incidents and situations:

• General liability insurance can cover property damage to other people's property and physical injury to non-employees at your business.
• Professional liability insurance can help protect your business if there are accusations of professional mistakes or faulty work.
• Workers' compensation insurance can help out if employees are injured at work and need help paying for medical expenses and lost wages.
• Commercial property insurance can help protect the physical gear and inventory you need to do business, including building repairs (if you own it) up to your policy limit.

If you're already insured, the end of the year is a great time to review and update your policy. For example, if you hired employees this year, you'll need to update your workers' comp insurance to reflect that.

If you don't have small business insurance:

1. Research insurance providers.
2. Get instant quotes to evaluate costs and compare policies.

If you already have small business insurance:

1. Review your insurance policies.
2. Double-check and update your coverage based on business changes.

5. Organize and Back Up Your Data

Losing control of employee, customer, vendor, or equipment data is the last thing you want. Cloud storage solutions manage all sorts of data and keep it accessible from anywhere. Organize all of your data into as few programs as possible, then back it up in case of a hard drive failure or a data breach.

Many backup options are available for small businesses, including Google Cloud or Dropbox.

To do:

1. Clear out your email inbox.
2. Organize your data files both on your local computers and in the cloud.
3. Consolidate the digital tools you use for business if you can.
4. Back up data and make a plan for regularly scheduled backups in the event of a system failure.
5. Protect your employee, customer, and vendor data with cyber insurance in the event of a hack, wire fraud, or data breach.

6. Revisit Your Advertising and Marketing Strategy

It's easy to neglect advertising and marketing for your small business when you're busy juggling everything. But know this: Consistent customer outreach is what helps you grow. It pays to promote the value of your products or services.

To do:

1. Review your online presence (web, maps, and social) and make improvements as needed.
2. Look at the data to determine which channels perform best to promote your business.
3. Pinpoint your target audience and decide if you're reaching them in the right place and at the right time.
4. Brainstorm new promotions and campaigns for the coming year.

7. Celebrate Your Wins

Show your appreciation to employees and customers. Don't forget to take a break and recharge your batteries so you can start fresh in the new year.

To do:

1. Do something celebratory with employees (and/or customers).
2. Volunteer or donate to an organization in your community.
3. Take time off to relax with friends and family.