The fittest time for festal cheer.” ― Walter Scott
On behalf of everyone at Brinen & Associates, happy new year to our clients, readers, friends, and peers.
In the event you partied early and neglected some “end-of-year shop upkeep,” don’t worry. You can still use this week to get your business running smoothly in 2017. But I encourage you to hustle and take care of the following in the next few days before your employees and clients have recovered from their hangovers.
- Review your website. Make sure all data and information is current, all the way down to your company’s copyright information at the bottom of your web page. If yours is a business that advertises special discounts and promotions, and those deals ended in December 2016, remove them from the site and replace with applicable New Year’s promotions. If your site is public-facing, you don’t want to field calls about expired deals and promotions.
- Payroll service. Since we’re in “review” mode, why not call around to other processors for some payroll quotes? Anyone who knows me knows that I strongly advocate for owners to hire outside companies to handle payroll, no matter how small their business. You might be able to negotiate some favorable deals and start the year with some extra savings.
- Tax preparation. Like it or not, The Velveeta Raccoon will be sworn in as the next president of the United States in a few weeks. As we discussed, all sorts of odd tax plans and changes will begin to take effect. Review your books from the fourth quarter to see if you can reduce income as much as possible to counterbalance whatever happens from the new administration’s asinine proposals.
- Set your goals for 2017. Your company’s goals should always be on your mind — heck, they should be stitched to the insides of your eyelids. Gather your employees, let them know they are appreciated for what they helped accomplish in 2016, and what you expect them to achieve over the next 362 days. Depending on the structure of your company and how transparent you are, this is the time to reveal your budgets, as well.
It’s a new year, and new people will come to you and vice versa. This is the week to set the tone for 2017 and make a good first impression on these new employees, clients, partners, buyers and sellers. Contact Brinen & Associates to discuss best practices to keep your business running in a smooth and organized fashion.