Of course, it feels as if there is too much shopping and visiting and eating to be done this time of year to do anything extra.  But be kind to your future January-self and do these things now.  A little 4^th Quarter maintenance now will go a long way toward a relaxing new year!

Worker Maintenance

If you employ workers and/or independent contractors do this now so in January all you have to do is process and mail, because deadline for W-2s and 1099s is January 31, 2020

• Verify current mailing address for all your employees both current and former
• Make sure you have a W-9 on file for all your independent contractors

Clean Books = Happy Owner

Get your business’ books up to date now for this year.  Nothing worse than racing the clock in the beginning of the year to clean up from the year passed! 

• Reconcile all your bank and credit card accounts
• Make sure all income and expenses are input correctly
• Review reports to date to check for errors or omissions

Dream Big

What do you want your next business year to look like?  Are you hoping to invest in new equipment, a new product line, hire more employees?  If you know what you want to accomplish in 2020 then plan now.

• Tax planning – do you need to show more income in 2019 or possibly less income, or use some carryover from a previous year?  Now is the time to decide so that when filings are due you are not scrambling.
• What are your goals for your company? What needs to change in the new year to meet those goals?  New product, increased prices, raises for staff?
• When planning the benefits for your employees and the goals for your company don’t forget yourself!  The years keep swinging by apace, are your retirement savings keeping up? Maybe the new year means time to start or increase an automatic deposit into a retirement account.

Don’t just plan in your head, write it down!  Something happens when you commit your ideas to paper.  You are much more likely to follow a plan you have written down and perhaps shared with key employees or someone close who can check in with your progress throughout the year.  The most important thing is do what you can now to prepare for the next year.