5 Things Every Small Business Should Do Before the End of Year

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What is it that every small business should do before the end of this year? If you’re managing a small business or blog, you’ll want to ensure you’re ahead of the game when it comes to the holiday season.

Whether you’re ramping up for your busiest time of the year or getting ready for a lull in demand, you won’t want to overlook the critical things you need to do before the end of the year.

Vital Tasks Before The New Year

As the year wraps up, small business owners should get ready for success in the new year.

First off, review your financials. Check your year-to-date numbers against your goals. This helps spot any gaps.

Next, update your business plan. Fresh goals set you up for a strong start. Don’t skip tax prep. Organize records to avoid a rush. Also, show appreciation to your team and clients with holiday greetings or small gifts.

Lastly, plan a marketing push for the new year. A good plan keeps your business in customers’ minds.

To ensure you’re on top of everything that needs to get done, take a look at the vital tasks you need to carry out before the New Year approaches:

Do Before the End of the Year 

1. Back Up Your Data Before the End of Year

Every business should have a strategic data management in place. Losing any or all of your data could be disastrous for your company, particularly in light of strict data management regulations and legislation.

Fortunately, data companies can implement efficient data back and recovery systems.

This means you’ll never have to worry about losing customer or business data again. And, you won’t have to worry about increased downtime due to data loss.

If you have a blog you’ll want to be sure to back up the blog! Many years ago Inspire To Thrive almost disappeared from not having a back-up.

2. Consult Your Accountant

If your tax submissions are due between now and the end of the year, you’ll certainly want to meet with your accountant or bookkeeper.

However, even if you don’t need to file your taxes until 2024-2025, it’s still important to keep in regular contact with your financial advisers.

By doing so, you can incorporate your tax liability into your decision-making. This will ensure that you’re making savvy decisions when it comes to managing your company.

If you run a blog and make over $600 a year in the United States, you will have to pay taxes on the money. Don’t forget to consider expenses too.

3. Plan for the Future as Every Small Business Should Do Before the End of Year

2024 has been a tricky year for most businesses and 2025 might be a year of transition for your firm. The tax breaks may disappear in 2025 and have a huge impact on businesses.

Even the Chamber of Commerce strongly advocates extending the tax deduction on pass-through income, warning that if the deduction were to expire, affected business owners could see their top tax rates jump from 29.6% to 39%.

Meaning you’ll need to think of innovative ways to diversify and overcome the increase cost of taxation.

While no-one can predict the future, creating a workable plan for a variety of situations. This will ensure you’re able to continue operating, regardless of what happens.

4. Talk to Employees

If you have the staff or your work with subcontractors, now is the time to thank them for their efforts this year. It’s likely they’ll have struggled throughout this past year.

Showing your appreciation and gratitude will go a long way to keeping them motivated throughout the final quarter.

The same goes for any freelancers you may have that help you out. Make sure they know if you will be continuing to have them in 2025. Ilka Flood has a wonderful service to send out cards called “Send Them A Smile.” 

These cards are a great way to send out appreciation as something every small business should do before the end of the year.

5. Check Your Business Plan

Taking a moment to review your business plan for next year can be a real eye-opener. Have you set clear goals? Are your strategies still in line with market trends?

Look at your budget too. Is it realistic based on current performance and future projections? Think about any new opportunities you might be missing.

Maybe there are gaps in your plan that need fixing. Checking in now lets you make adjustments before you’re in too deep.

Conclusion: What To Do Before End of Year

While there’s still a good few weeks left of 2024, you’ll want to start looking towards the New Year when it comes to your business.

Be sure to look at tools that can save you time and money in 2025 as well as delegating time-consuming tasks to others.

By preparing for the future and implanting a growth strategy, you can ensure your business is ready for a prosperous and successful year.

What are you doing NOW to prepare as every small business should do before the of the year? I’d love to know the comments below.

Lisa Sicard
Latest posts by Lisa Sicard (see all)

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4 thoughts on “5 Things Every Small Business Should Do Before the End of Year”

  1. Donna Merrill

    Hi Lisa,
    Great advice to wrap up the year and plan for the new one. My fiscal year ends in November so I am wrapping things up. I am just starting to outline what I want to do for 2021. Now all I have to do is follow those necessary steps in order to make it happen :).
    –Donna

    1. Lisa

      Thanks Donna. Oh boy, you are probably working very hard this month. I hope it’s been a good year for you with the additional business you have begun! I can’t wait to hear more about it 🙂 Have a great week.

    1. Lisa

      Hi Sweety, Welcome to Inspire To Thrive. I hope it does help! I know I was behind the 8-ball last year. It’s easy to have that happen but if you are prepared you can save yourself a lot of time and aggravation. Have an awesome day!

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