Taking These Points Into Consideration Will Help You And Your Business Get Some Well-Deserved Time Off This Summer.
Tip #1: Chase unpaid invoices and invoice promptly and early
December can be an expensive month. Christmas gifts, events, bonuses and, for many businesses, a period of closure over the holidays. December is not only a costly month but also a month with fewer business days. This can create a tricky dynamic between bills and income, which takes a bit of strategy and know-how to manage. Make sure you have enough cash to cover any unexpected bills and to keep the business comfortably ticking over during the holidays.
Collecting as much money as possible before Christmas is a great way to head into the holidays in a strong financial position. Following up on unpaid invoices and sending out December invoices promptly is a good way to make sure you get a solid influx of money before you head away on holiday.
Tip #2: Get your holiday pay organised
Remember that banks don’t work during the holidays either, so make sure that all the payroll is cleared before the shutdown. Load wages before you go on your break so you don’t forget, and make sure you know if there are three or five pay-run periods between now and 20 February because that’s when you’ll have collected all the money for these, often light, billing months.
Tip #3: Set up your social media to continue over the break
Craft your Christmas and/or holiday break Social Media posts now, and schedule them to be uploaded on the right day just the way you want, so that you don’t have to worry about it during your break.
Tip #4: Setup your call-back list
Create a list of projects to do, and people you didn’t get a hold of, before the holidays and make sure that’s a priority for when you’re back in the new year. This means, when you start up again you’ll have a ready-made list of things to do and people to contact and you won’t waste time racking your brain for things you need to do or should have remembered. It’s all ready to go!
Tip #5: Set up your get-back-to-work plan
As mentioned above, have a few dates booked in the calendar so everyone is on the same page and all staff are off to a strong start when work starts up again. Organise a staff meeting, a welcome reception, and the critical work lists to address for your staff.
Tip #6: Set up an answerphone machine message and automated emails
When customers call or email you over the break, you want to tell them that you’re having a holiday and inform them when you will be back in action so they don’t feel ignored. So set up a special holiday answering machine message and an automated email that will reply to any emails that come in to inform them of your holiday dates and give them any other information they may need over the break.
Tip #7 – Get your tax sorted
There are several important tax dates in early January, and it’s best to be aware of those before the Christmas break so you can plan your finances accordingly. The January tax dates are below:
Jan 16th
- GST return & payment due (for the period ending November 30th)
- Provisional tax for March balance dates
Jan 20th
- Quarterly FBT return and payment due
- Monthly PAYE deductions for employers
Jan 30th
- GST return & payment due (for the period ending 31 December)
- AIM instalments are due if you file GST monthly and have a March balance date
If you can get the payment for these dates sorted before Christmas, it means when you return to work in January, you can focus on catching up on missed time instead of worrying about sorting tax.
We hope this article has been useful. Book a meeting here if you need our help or want to discuss any of these points further. We’d love to get together for a no-cost catch-up and discuss how we can help reduce your stress levels at this busy time of year.
