End of the Year Checklist

What do you think of when you think of the end of the year? Taxes! What else? I know you’ve heard the old cliche; failing to plan is planning to fail.  We all know how important business planning is but it’s so easy to put off due to day to day events.  Hopefully this checklist will help inspire you to get to it.

  1. Get your financial books in order.
    • For some, this is a daunting task, and for others a breeze.  But whether you are a receipts in a shoe box person, or you have a bookkeeper on your payroll, you have to get this step done first.  Before you can move on, get everything entered.
  2. Determine your position.
    • Figure out where your business is right now.  To do this you need to look at three things:
      1. Finances-examine all your documents and analyze ratios
        • Balance Sheet
        • Income Statement
        • Cash Flow Statement
      2. Goals-evaluate your goals from last year
        • Did your business accomplish the goals you set for it last year?
        • Make notes about your accomplishments and lack of meeting goals
      3. Taxes-Evaluate your current tax stategies
        • Talk to a professional accountant or tax attorney to get advice on which tax strategies are best for your business and personal circumstances
  3. Plan for 2018.
    • So you’ve done some groundwork and you’re ready to start planning, so now you need to:
      1. Set goals for 2018
      2. Prepare action plans
      3. Start implementing action plans
  4. Get your tax documents prepared.
    • Either complete your tax documents yourself, or turn over all your documents to your accountant
      • If you are using a cloud based accounting software, your accountant may be able to log in and have direct access to your business records.

That’s it! You’re Done!

Hopefully this checklist will help make your transition to 2018 a breeze!