Four Things You Can Do to End the Year Off Strong

The summer has come and gone, and the end of 2021 is rapidly approaching. For many business owners, Q4 is one of the busiest times of the year. 

The COVID-19 Pandemic has posed a whole new set of challenges for many businesses. These challenges include staffing shortages and securing emergency funding. Now more than ever, the start of Q4 is an ideal time for housekeeping and organization.

How can you start the new year off right? 

At the core of your planning, you’ll need to determine whether or not your business is prepared to close out 2021 strong AND put actionable steps in place to ensure the end of the year is a success.

We’ve compiled a quick to-do list to help business owners with this process.

Analyze Your Revenue

“The first thing we tell our clients, especially at the end of the year, is to take a hard look at their revenue. Everything starts and stops with understanding the numbers,” said Ron A Pac, Managing Partner of Trivium Point Advisory, Westchester-based wealth management and business consulting firm. 

“It’s important to see whether or not the decisions you’ve made are producing the revenue and results needed,” he continued.

Pac suggested asking yourself these questions:

What did you bring in?

Are you where you thought you’d be?

What is your current versus projected revenue?

Are you ahead or behind schedule? 

Taking an inventory of what is or is not working to generate revenue, will either force you to pivot if something is NOT working or double down and keep moving forward if something is.

Examine Your Books and Accounting

Though the Trivium Point Advisory team suggests meeting with your accountant several times a year, Q4 is a critical point for ensuring that your books are in order. While not always the most fun task, taking an honest look at your bookkeeping is imperative.

George R. Gerhard, the Managing Partner of Trivium Point Advisory, said, “If your accounting is not up to date or accurate, end of year planning will be nonexistent.”

Sit down with your accounting team ASAP and have them provide you transparency around your financials including revenue, overhead costs, tax preparation, etc. Without a clear understanding of your accounting, you run the risk of your business remaining stagnant.

Conduct Year-End Reviews

Q4 is a good time to provide your employees a review of their performance over the past year. 

Employees want feedback on their achievements and/or improvement opportunities, so as you clean things up for 2021 and get ready for the new year, staff reviews should be at the top of your to-do list.

For key talent, be prepared to incentivize monetarily, or for those that you’re not, explain why and what actions are needed to do so next year.

Some of the most successful companies are so because their people are motivated and know where they stand within the organization. 

Review Your Goals Professionally & Personally

In addition to reviewing your financials and employees, also take stock of your overall business and how it relates to your life personally and professionally.

Did your business allow you to accomplish your personal goals?

How do you “feel” as a business owner?

Said Gerhard, “You are in business to make sure you can do the things you want to do in your personal life.”

If you find that a majority of your time as a business owner is spent stressing about your finances, perhaps it might be time to have your financial plan updated and reviewed annually, or even better, quarterly.

Bring in the Experts To Help 

The work you put in now to ensure a seamless and successful transition into the new year can be made easier with the assistance of a trusted team of financial advisors to help you along the way.

Whether it’s managing end-of-year financials or creating bonus structures for employees, Trivium Point Advisory has guided many owners in Westchester and throughout the greater New York area around all areas of business management. 

Aligning with financial pros consistently can help position you for greater success in the future. 

Contact Trivium Point today to set up your year-end consultation.