The More You Know: Year End Checklists

“Tis the season” means different things to different people.  For some it’s the season for giving thanks.  For others it’s the season for spending more time with friends and family.  For those involved in the finance side of small businesses: ‘Tis the season’ for making sure everything is in order!  Here are 6 must do’s that should be on every small business owner’s financial checklist.

Finish next year’s budget.  Ideally this is already done.  In reality, for many small business owners, this is still on the to-do list.  It is critical for small businesses to have budgeted for the coming year, and pay close attention to cash flow projections to anticipate any additional financing needs.

Get your year-end tax reporting prepared.  Make sure that your tax records are in good order.  Are you missing anything?  Now is the time to track down missing pieces, before the deadlines are too close.

Check your P&L.  Hopefully you had a good year, and it’s time to spend some money.  Will you distribute bonuses or gifts to your employees? Are there capital expenditures you can make before year end?

Identify Fringe Benefits that should appear on W-2’s.  Some items that could appear include health insurance, life insurance, educational reimbursements, moving expense reimbursements, and transportation subsidies.

Verify 1099 information.  Do you have a list of vendors and contractors that you need to issue 1099’s to?  You should make sure you have list complete with payment amounts, addresses, federal identification numbers and/or social security numbers.

Take an inventory.  This is the perfect time to take a physical inventory of your assets and/or products.  Make sure to update your accounting system accordingly.

If you’re a small business owner, make sure this financial check list is part of your season! If you aren't certain this is all in order, give us a call at 248.765.1796 and we'll see what we can do to help!

By Diane Stevenson | GenesisHR