The smell of the holidays is in the air, once again. Fallen leaves, the smell of pumpkin, and the excitement for winter and Christmas decorations are just around the corner. With time off and slow periods for some businesses, some business owners take a more laid back, casual approach to their processes. But we believe it should be the opposite.
We have formulated a year-end bookkeeping Vancouver checklist for business owners so they can wrap up their year and start the new year organized and ready to tackle 2020.
Review Bookkeeping
The first thing you should be doing is reviewing your bookkeeping to ensure perfect accuracy all across the board. It’s time to tie loose ends and make sure any missed months are accounted for.
- Clear up outstanding issues.
- Ensure the QuickBooks file is up to date and reconciled.
- Review financial statement accounts to ensure amounts are correct and reflect transactions.
- Review asset accounts, ensuring nothing is booked to an asset account incorrectly.
Reflect on the Year
It’s easy to get carried away in the busyness of your job and the day-to-day operations you are required to fulfill like emails, orders, client meetings and deals. It’s important to fully reflect on the year.
- What did you do wrong?
- What did you do right?
- Did you fulfill your goals?
- In which areas could you improve?
Develop Budget & Forecast
Developing a proper budget ensures you are staying on track throughout the year and not spending more than you have, or not using what you do have to invest in areas of your business that need work.
- Develop your budget before the year closes out. Preferably, you can do this before the end of each year’s Q4.
- Develop your budget inside QuickBooks – this will help guide your business in the right direction.
- Throughout the year, there must be budget vs. comparisons taking place to ensure you are on the right track. Don’t completely forget about your budget and freestyle the year.
Set S.M.A.R.T Goals
It all starts with good, smart goal setting, for both big and small businesses.
- Specific goals are definite, direct, and leave little for interpretation. They guide your business directly into where you want to get it.
- Measurable goals are defined by a specific numerical amount or value. For example, you may want to cut transportation costs by 5%.
- Attainable goals are realistic and actually possible to achieve. This doesn’t mean they have to be easy. Attainable goals can be challenging, making them that much more rewarding.
- Relevant goals focus on what’s important, putting the spotlight on areas of weakness and further growing areas of strength.
- Timely goals have a definitive timeline and a deadline. This stops distractions and keeps you on track.
Review Inventory
Keeping track of inventory doesn’t mean staying within the realms of what you sell, it also means counting your equipment.
- Count your printers, computers, or other daily necessities you have at your business and make sure they are working.
- Take note of broken items needing replacement or refurbishment.
- Count your inventory and double-check the value on the balance sheet, taking control of mistakes.
Plan Your Taxes
This is one of the most important parts of your year-end bookkeeping Vancouver checklist. Tax planning analyses your finances in terms of taxes.
- Make sure your subscriptions are renewed at the end of the year, saving you money in your taxable income (even though your expenses increase).
- Research other opportunities that allow you to pay the least amount of tax possible.
Get in touch with us for bookkeeping Vancouver services so we can help you tackle all of the year’s toughest tasks.
