New Year’s resolutions are all the rage once the end of the year is at hand, and why not? These resolutions help us improve ourselves and our quality of life and allow us to get a good grip on the New Year that is upon us; these resolutions basically act as a guide so we can start our journey in the New Year in the right way.
If you have your own business, then the New Year is a great time to start over or at least improve certain aspects about your business and how you operate. To help you out, here are some great New Year’s resolutions you can make as a business owner.
- Manage your books in a better way
Whilst you may think that managing your books is not really an exciting New Year’s resolution, it is still one of the more important things you can do for your business. If you don’t have up-to-date records, you won’t really know how well your business
is
faring. A good promise you can make yourself this year is to keep your books in order – make it a priority so you can manage it in a much easier way. Even if you dedicate just one hour per week to updating your records and transactions, this will already go a long way.
- Assess your list of customers
Now is also the perfect time to do something which you may have been putting off for a while: checking and assessing your list of customers. Make it one of your New Year’s resolutions to go through your client list and see which ones are a problem and which ones aren’t. Identify those clients which always give you trouble (such as those who don’t pay on time or who haven’t settled their accounts in months!) and see which ones you haven’t heard from in a while. This will also give you a chance to see which customers you can definitely build a stronger relationship with or those which you should prioritise. It is also a great time to find out which customers have stayed loyal to you all throughout, and perhaps even reward them in some way.
- File your self-assessment tax return early
The first few months of the year is always the time when hordes of business owners make a mad dash to get their self-assessment tax returns done before the deadline, so one New Year’s resolution you can make is to file your self-assessment tax return as early as you can. When you submit your self-assessment tax return in advance, you don’t have to hurry and risk making crucial errors. Plus, you won’t be suffering from undue stress, either.
- Review – and, if necessary, revise – your payment terms
Most business owners have difficulties collecting from their customers for the simple reason that they are afraid they might be offended. But those invoices have to be paid; otherwise you will be in difficulties.
What you can do as another New Year’s resolution, however, is to make a review of your payment terms. Go through your terms of payment and see if there is anything that is vague or unclear. Then it may be a good time to revise your payment terms and send the revisions to your customers (especially those who still have pending invoices) so they will be reminded. Having clearer terms of payment will not only benefit you and help you get paid on time – it will also help your customers since they are encouraged to be honest with you if they are in trouble as well.
If you would like to manage your accounts i
n a better way in the New Year, there’s also one thing you can do for yourself: enlist the services of an experienced and competent accountant. Many of the accountants central Londonoffers, such as those from GSM & Co., are fully equipped to help you with your financial management needs, whatever they may be.
n a better way in the New Year, there’s also one thing you can do for yourself: enlist the services of an experienced and competent accountant. Many of the accountants central Londonoffers, such as those from GSM & Co., are fully equipped to help you with your financial management needs, whatever they may be.
