I know it is only the month of September, but the end of the year will be here before we know it! There are a few things you can do now to ensure you have the success you have been dreaming about all year long when the end of the year arrives. I do realize you have a lot on your plate at the moment. And that you want to enjoy every moment of the crisp fall air. However, tackling a tip or two that I share now will prevent a headache during the holiday rush!
1. Get Up to Date with Your Bookkeeping
The summer months tend to be busy with family time, vacations, and a little relaxing outside in the sunshine. All of those extra things you love doing during the summer may have led you to skip over your bookkeeping for a couple of weeks. Now you are behind, which is where you do NOT want to be as we get closer to the end of the year. There are too many things your books can tell you, as you complete your year-end tasks and prepare for next year!
Depending on how far behind you are, you can tackle this project in a couple of different ways. A month lost out on bookkeeping can simply include you sitting down and tackling it all at once. If you are two or more months behind with your bookkeeping, I recommend you do the most recent month first and then work backward. This may seem silly, but I always like to know how I did in the most current month. And it might light a fire under you to tackle the remaining months even faster.
2. Choose an Accountability Partner
If you are constantly finding that you are having difficulty getting your bookkeeping completed in a timely manner each month, or are struggling in other areas of your business, now is the time to choose an accountability partner.
An accountability partner should be someone who will not allow you to use excuses to get out of doing the things you should be doing in your business. So, while you can choose your best friend for this task, they might not be the right person if they can be easily convinced you will do everything on your list later.
I recommend choosing an accountability partner that you can also help. While they are holding you accountable, you can hold them accountable for their tasks.
3. Have a Conversation with Your Tax Preparer
Checking with your tax preparer throughout the year is always an excellent idea. I recommend doing this towards the end of the third quarter or the beginning of the fourth quarter every year. Before you make that appointment though, you must make sure your bookkeeping is up to date or the meeting will not be as productive as you both would like.
During your meeting, your tax preparer can tell you approximately how much your tax bill will be and if you possibly could be getting a refund. I prefer telling clients about their tax bills at this time of the year, so they can save up the money instead of panicking when tax season arrives.
Your tax preparer can also let you know if you should change from an LLC or sole proprietor to an S Corp if your revenue has significantly increased. Just remember, if you do change to an S Corp, you will need to be on the payroll and that might mean a few catchup payments for this year.
4. Set New Revenue Goals for Next Year
Towards the end of every year, you should be ready to set new revenue goals for the following year. Of course, once you have your new revenue goals, you must determine what you need to do to reach those goals.
How many new clients do you need to have?
How many new leads do you need to find those new clients?
How much marketing will you need to do?
Will an additional team member be necessary to reach your new revenue goals? Should you increase the amount of your new revenue goal if you do hire a new team member?
Taking the time to do these four things now will ensure you are successful when the end of the year arrives. And they will also ensure you start the new year off on the right foot!
Are you ready to end 2021 the right way and start 2022 off stronger than ever, but don’t know where to start? Contact me today and let’s create a plan that will get you caught up on your bookkeeping and keep your business moving forward.