9 Tasks to Complete Before 2016
1. Check and re-check your finances: If you aren’t an accounting expert, it would be wise to discuss your bookkeeping records with an accountant. They can help make sure you are on the right track. You will take comfort knowing your numbers are accurate come 2016.
2. Review your technology: 2015 has been a year of many POS software hacks. If you’ve been free from it so far, you surely want to stay that way. Check in with an IT provider or expert to ensure your equipment and technology is top notch and safe.
3. Evaluate your website: If you have an online presence, it’s important that you keep tabs on whether it’s working for you or not. Is it converting leads? Does it load quickly enough? Can your customers easily navigate through the pages? Are all of your product points listed clearly? This is the time to address those issues and make a plan to update the website in the beginning of the year.
4. Think about your marketing plan: What’s worked for you this year, and what hasn’t? Thinking about your marketing plan now will help you weed out the costly efforts that aren’t bringing you any results. This also means it opens the door for additional efforts that can help increase revenue next year.
5. Buy, buy, buy: We’ve mentioned this before, but making some big equipment purchases can help you during tax time. In many cases, you will be able to deduct the full purchase price of the equipment – but make sure you check with your accountant to understand any stipulations.
6. Get yourself, and your office, organized: Things are constantly go-go-go in the business world. Often papers are strewn about and dinner from last night is left on the desk and forgotten about. Starting off a new year with the same clutter will only stress you out, so take some time to organize your office space. Ditch any paperwork you won’t need anymore and even consider investing in some new furniture. New year, new office, right?
7. Check in with your employees and customers: They are both a great resource for you to understand what has been working for your company and what hasn’t been. If your customers don’t like something you did, or have suggestions for improvements, now is the time to listen. You can get great insight from the people that keep your business afloat on how to improve and keep them coming back throughout 2016 and beyond. Also be sure to listen to your employees, too. They are interacting first-hand with customers and understand the business side of things. Be open to hear their input and use what they say to improve next year.
8. Employee performance review and bonuses: If you had a successful year, reward the people who helped make it a success and present them with bonuses. But, use this as a learning opportunity, too. Sit your employees down individually to discuss their performance over the last year. By encouraging them to always aim higher, but filling them in on all of the ways they’ve been an asset to the company, you’ll help increase the likelihood of them sticking around year after year.
9. Set goals for 2015: Take a good, long look at 2015. What did you accomplish? What didn’t you accomplish, but wish you had? What was a “waste of time or money?” What really worked for your business? The New Year is the best time to make changes. Decide what your business goal is for 2016 and then set mini goals to help you achieve that success. As a helpful guide, we suggest reading “The Zigzag Principle: The Goal Setting Strategy that will Revolutionize Your Business and Your Life” by Rich Christiansen. He helps you identify where you are going and how to get there.
We hope these tasks will help you celebrate the New Year with a clean slate and a positive outlook for your business’s future.
– Alex Myers of Direct Capital
For more Information on how Legacy can help with your end of the year strategy, click here: http://www.legacypeo.com/peo-services, or call us at 210-471-2185
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