Running a small business can require you to wear many hats. The pace of business moves fast these days, and the most successful small businesses don’t just keep up, they stay one step ahead. With the end of the calendar year approaching, here are a few quick ideas to help prepare your small business for 2022.
1. Run Financial Reports.
It is always important to review the financial health of your business at the end of the year. Running financial reports can give you vital information to help structure your budget for 2022.
Profit and loss report – This report will show how much your business made this year, what your financial outlook is, and whether you have money in the budget to invest in more assets.
Balance sheet – This report shows what your small business owns, what the business owes, and what the business is worth.
Cash flow statement – This will show how your money was spent by your business throughout the year, whether through operating, investing, or financial activities.
Running these financial reports will also aid you when you prepare to file your business taxes and in creating budgets for the future. If you do not have any experience in creating these types of financial reports, you may want to consider outsourcing them to an accounting firm.
2. Organize Your Receipts.
Most likely you are using a software system to track your receipts. If you have chosen not to use software for whatever reason, you will want to collect and organize all your paper receipts before the end of the year. This will lessen the burden come tax season for both you and your tax preparer.
3. Audit All Vendor Information.
The end of the year is also a great time to go through your vendor list and verify that you have all the correct contact information like emails, phone numbers, and account information. This is also a great time to trim the fat and eliminate any inactive vendors from your files.
4. Audit Your Business Marketing.
The end of year is a great time to look back at your small business marketing efforts as whole and review what is working. What marketing channels are bringing in the most leads and customers, and what channels have the best ROI? Use this time to get a clear picture of how both your digital and traditional marketing worked over the year and assess what type of marketing mix you plan to have in 2022. Marketing channels can fluctuate over time but analyzing each channel year over year can help you identify trends.
5. Back Up Important Business Data.
Business experts have always recommended keeping important data in no less than two separate digital locations such as external digital drives and secure cloud software. In addition, you should keep one physical copy for your records. They call this “The 2:1 Rule”.
This also applies to documents and reports that you may use in your business or accounting software such as QuickBooks. Always download a copy of your cloud-based documents to a hard drive then also print out a copy to keep for your physical records.
6. Audit Your Privacy Protection Processes.
Protection of private information from identity thieves has become one of the biggest issues facing business owners in the past decade. Review what cyber security measures your business has in place to protect the private information your customers and your employees. Hackers are always looking for systems to exploit, so make sure that any cyber protection software you are using is up to date.
Identity thieves also can steal private information from hard copy files. Make sure that your business has a plan for securely discarding any outdated printed material that may have private information on it. Privacy laws can vary by state and by industry. If you are unsure of how to comply with your industry or local data destruction guidelines, contact a local secure document shredding company for answers. Depending on the industry, state, and city your business is in, you will want to be aware of any compliance issues. Perform a local search in your area, such as “top paper shredding company in Austin” or “document shredding in Atlanta” and research them to find the best solution.
Small Business FAQ
Yes, it is a good idea to run financial reports for your small business. Financial reports provide important insight into the financial health of your business. They can provide you with an accurate picture of your business’s income and expenses, as well as give you valuable information about your cash flow. This information can help you make smart decisions about how to use your resources and investments. Furthermore, financial reports can help you identify areas of opportunity where you can improve your performance. Finally, financial reports can help you track your progress towards achieving financial goals. All in all, running financial reports for your small business is a wise decision that can provide you with valuable information to help your business succeed.
Organizing small business receipts is an important part of running a successful business. Keeping accurate records of all your expenses and income is essential for staying on top of your finances. The best way to organize your receipts is to create a filing system. Start by creating folders for each type of expense, such as office supplies or travel expenses. Then, you can create folders for each individual receipt. Label each folder with the date, vendor, and amount of the purchase, and store the actual receipt in the folder. This will make it easy to find and review receipts when you need them. You should also scan all your receipts and store them electronically in a secure cloud-based storage system. This will make sure that all your records are backed up and easily accessible from any device. With this system in place, you can be sure that your business receipts are organized and ready when you need them.
Auditing your small business marketing is an important step to ensure you are getting the most out of your efforts. The first step is to determine what goals you want to achieve with your marketing. Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Generate more leads? Increase sales? Once you have established your goals, you can begin to analyze your current marketing efforts. Look at the channels you are using and how effective they have been for each goal. Take note of any successes and areas for improvement. You should also consider any changes in the market and competitor strategies. This will help you decide if any changes need to be made to stay competitive. Finally, it is important to test any changes you make and track the results so you can measure their effectiveness. By regularly auditing your small business marketing, you can ensure you are making the best use of your time and resources.
Backing up important business data is a critical part of running a successful business, as it ensures that all your important information is secure and protected in the event of a disaster. There are a few different ways to back up data, depending on your needs and budget. One option is to use an external hard drive, which can be used to store all your business data in one place. Another option is to use a cloud-based system, such as Google Drive or Dropbox, which allows you to store and access your data from anywhere with an internet connection. For the most secure option, you can also use an off-site backup service such as Backblaze or Carbonite, which stores your data in a secure location away from your office. Whichever option you choose, it’s important to make sure that your backups are regular and up-to-date. This will ensure that you don’t lose any important data if something unexpected happens.
