“Wrapping Up the Year” Checklist for Small Business

A quick glance at the calendar can send a shock of stress to the small business owner…how can it be the end of the year already? With so much screaming for your attention, it can feel overwhelming. Don’t worry, with a little organization you CAN get it all done. Follow our checklist to ensure everything is wrapped up nicely by the end of the year.

Team Member Management

• Conduct end of the year team member reviews. Provide constructive feedback to your team members. Praise their successes. Encourage reflection on their struggles and setbacks. Ask if they are happy with the direction of their role, and if there’s anything you can help them with. Talk with them about their life apart from work. Do everything you can to support them and ensure they feel valued, both as your valued team member and as an individual.
• Team member appreciation. Even a small gesture can make a big impact. Show your awesome team member(s) how much you value them. Give a holiday bonus, a thoughtful gift, a memorable holiday party.

Client Relations

• Write a thank-you note to all your clients. A handwritten card or letter helps your business stand out in a world of mass emails. Express how much you value your clients, and how you look forward to working with them next year.
• Assess every client’s worth to your organization. Evaluate whether it’s beneficial for your business to move forward with every client relationship. Weigh a difficult client’s benefits against the time, emotional exhaustion, and stress required to deal with him or her. Sometimes it’s not worth the income. When the costs are too high, it’s better for you and the client to part ways.
• Review financial records. Meet with your accountant to ensure your books are complete and up to date. Preliminary work now can save a huge amount of time come tax season (or in the event you get audited).
• Conduct a profit and loss report. Put in writing the financial state of your business. It’ll be a good analysis of this year’s progress and serve as a benchmark when you make financial goals for next year.
• Collect outstanding bills. Go through accounts and see which clients still owe money. If possible, get the payment before the year ends.
• Review payroll. Make sure all accounts are covered and there are no outstanding payments. It’s easy to forget about bills such as transportation reimbursement, so double check to be sure everything’s taken care of.

Business Management

• Backup all data. Save all your documents and contact information in the cloud or on an external hard drive. It’s tedious, but incredibly important.
• Write an end of the year memo. This memo for your wonderful team members is two-fold. First, celebrate the past year. Highlight accomplishments and successes of the organization as a whole, and spotlight individuals who went above and beyond. Mention notable changes, like welcoming new staff members or new clients. It’ll be a good refresher for you and your team. Second, build up enthusiasm for the year to come. Talk about goals and the vision for the upcoming year to provide a concrete direction for the business.
• Prioritize projects. Determine which projects need to be finished before the year’s ends. Tie up the loose ends for projects nearly completed, projects where it would be difficult to pause for the holidays, or projects for impatient clients. Set aside projects that can be easily started again after the holidays, or ones that benefit from a fresh perspective after the new year.

Self-Care

• Really relax and rest. Entrepreneurs can be the worst at self-care! But burning yourself out is terrible for your health (and productivity!) Be sure to set aside time during the scramble to take care of yourself with massages, a night of Netflix, whatever you need to fully unwind and recharge.
• Enjoy the holidays unplugged from work. By this point, you’ve done everything you need to do. Now enjoy your holidays!

If you need assistance accomplishing your end of the year administrative tasks, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We can handle short-term (or long-term) projects, freeing up your time to focus on other projects. Give us a call or shoot us an email today.