For many small business owners, the fourth quarter signifies a final flurry of activity. Whether that is projecting inventory against sales or contemplating major purchases against anticipated revenue, for those who use QuickBooks software, it may seem as if the program takes care of the business loose ends on their behalf. As a result, business owners view the end-of-year task list as one less thing to think about in the middle of the night.
As a QuickBooks ProAdvisor and CPA, I work with many clients that rely on the program to close out the year. While QuickBooks has many features that allows users to work efficiently, that doesn’t replace the need to know what is going on with your business. Every business owner should be involved with the routine day-to-day activities while also becoming familiar with the benefits of using QuickBooks. 
Before sipping on the eggnog for the next few weeks, I advise clients of 5 important must-do tasks to ensure a smooth transition for their business into the new year.
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- Cash In. Cash Out.
How ARE you doing? Sure, it was a good year; but was it a great year? Do you make large purchases that will appear on your books during December or does it make sense to wait until 2017 and depreciate those purchases? How did the revenue projections you made at the end of last year materialize? What does the true flow of cash look like? Have you reviewed your financial statements?
- Lenders and Vendors
We advise clients to ensure their vendor information is up-to-date and do the same for any lenders who may be holding a loan for their business. As banks change names or merge, their contact info may have changed as well. Ensure your vendor 1099 forms are up-to-date and that the 1099 information has been inputted and formatted correctly into your accounting system so it will print effortlessly next month.
- Count. Count. Count.
Many business owners have an idea of the amount of inventory on hand, but not an accurate count. Same holds true for the “stuff” it takes to run your business, from the obvious, such as office equipment, supplies, and goods, to the items that may have broken or been taken out of service, such as old computers, broken furniture, or that dinosaur fax machine. When you are making the notations, list any additional action items that may need to be resolved or action taken as a result. Meaning, did you have to pay to dispose of anything large? Was there a replacement cost associated with a repair or warranty purchase / renewal? These little details add up!
- Work Perks.
Since your business issues W-2 forms, you will need to tally the costs for amounts paid and subsidized to your employees, such as healthcare insurance, life insurance, education or transportation perks, and other employer-paid benefits. Remember that some of these items may need to be added to your employees’ W-2’s so your payroll company needs this information as soon as possible.
- Be Intentional!
By getting into the habit of making an end-of-year budget, business owners will be reviewing how the current year has gone and be able to verify that everything has been recorded correctly. While creating the budget for the following year you need to give your best estimate of how the year will go. The budget you create is only as effective as the process of creating it; if you rush through creating a budget then chances are it won’t be very accurate when you review it next year at this time.
As you have read, there are only a few things business owners can do that yield a tremendous benefit. I understand it can be confusing and time consuming.
If you are a business owner in need of assistance with your smart end-of-year tasks to improve operations and maximize efficiency, contact me at rhuszai@zinnerco.com or 216.831.0733. I’m happy to help and ready to start the conversation. 
