As most of the country begins to wrap presents, business owners are also focusing on wrapping up the end of the year. Before all of your focus shifts to having fun with your family, it is important to put a bow on the year when it comes to your company financials. Today we dive into what Deitz Consulting will be taking care of for our customers so that you can make sure you aren’t missing anything.
Reconcile
If you have been following our content for any time at all you won’t be surprised to see the word “reconcile” again. Staying on top of your books/accounts and making sure that all accounts (checking, savings, etc.), notes payable and credit cards match their respective statements is a very important step in wrapping up your year. While this may take some time, it sets you up to start off your new year, and new tax season, with a great foundation.
While you are getting things organized, make sure that your balance sheet matches your tax return!
Cut your losses!
The end of the year is a great time for preparing yourself for new beginnings and the new year. Many times an important step in that process can be identifying accounts that should be voided and treated as bad debt. While nobody likes providing goods or services for free, there comes a time to cut your losses and realize that the time and money you put into trying to get these debts paid will far exceed the amount owed. Take wisdom from the royal philosopher Elsa and, “Let it go!”
Clearing bad debt from your accounts receivable will give you a more accurate forecast of income that you should actually be expecting. An accurate understanding of income and projected income gives you a great idea of the health of the company going into the new year.
Get a head start
It is never too soon to start getting tax documents together! There is no reason to wait for tax season to make sure you have up to date employee information such as:
- Correct legal names
- Current addresses
- Social security numbers
- W9s from contractors
Making sure that all of this information is up to date before the start of the new year will give you a head start on putting together W2s and 1099s!
Don’t let yourself get so overwhelmed that you don’t enjoy your holiday season! Leave plenty of time for family and friends, but you do want to make sure you don’t start off the new year with raw chaos. If you do find yourself feeling overwhelmed, your friends at Deitz Consulting are here to help! We are already taking care of all of this for our customers so that they can worry about the other aspects of running their business and spending time with their families. Let us help you so that your holiday season can be more holiday and less work!