The Thanksgiving turkey was devoured and the holiday season is in full swing. That can only mean one thing for business owners. No, not shopping. No, not necessarily parties, unless they’re the ones you must attend with clients. The holiday season means YEAR END is coming soon – what is considered the most potentially non-wonderful and busy time of the year for companies.
After you give thanks for making it through another year, there are several other issues that you should be thinking about like managing payroll, dealing with employee benefits and such. Luckily, there are items you can check off your human resources and payroll to-do list now to make year-end and next year’s beginning run smoothly.
Have you been reconciling your financial and payroll accounts throughout the year? If not, right now is a good time to catch up if it has fallen by the wayside for the previous 11 months. Doing so is critical. Otherwise tax preparation will be delayed.
1. Have you reviewed your accounts receivables lately? Maybe you have some older invoices to collect or maybe some need to be written off. Evaluate invoices periodically to see where you stand on accounts receivables.
2. How will your business perform financially for the year? Make sure all expenses are accounted for and paid by December 31st. You may even want to pre-pay any known YE expenses. Delay any last minute income if possible. Strategies vary depending on the structure of the business and whether you are on a cash or accrual basis. Schedule time with your business accountant to discuss your options and which work in your best interest.
3. What about employee bonuses? Consider paying out employee bonuses around year’s end and try to coordinate them with the last payroll date of the year.
4. Are there any charitable contributions to make before year’s end? Choose one near and dear to your heart and enjoy doing something charitable and good for your tax burden.
5. Have you maxed out contributions for retirement via a 401k or IRA? Review where you stand retirement savings-wise even if you have some additional time to make the contributions before taxes are due. Remember, this is about taking care of things now versus putting them off till later.
6. Are you planning to purchase any assets or business property soon? You may be able to take advantage of favorable depreciation deductions or even expensing the amount of the purchase. Talk to your accountant about the best strategies to take full advantage of any opportunities.
Following the suggestions above can help your business end the year on a high note and make enjoying the holiday season a little easier. Still not enough time in the day? Then maybe this year’s end is the one where you gain time back by outsourcing your human resources to hr-haven. From creating a company culture, recruiting, benefits and payroll, every aspect is customized to where your business is today and where you want it to be at the end of next year.