It’s year end, and while you may be focused on those holiday sales and promotions at the moment, you should also keep an eye to certain tasks and activities that are best handled before the year draws to a close.
Put these on your to do list now, and you’ll be able to celebrate the New Year with no worries.
1. Changing Your Business Structure
If you’ve been operating your franchise as a sole proprietorship, you might want to consider a change. Both the LLC and S Corporation provide some great benefits for your business, such as separating your personal assets from those of your company, as well as some tax incentives.
If you form a new business structure before the end of the year, you may be able to use that structure for your 2016 taxes, which may help you pay less!
2. Cleaning Up Your Accounts
If you manage your own accounting, you might not spend a lot of time reviewing your expenses. This can make for a pretty big headache come tax time, so use the next few weeks to ensure that each of your expenses are appropriately categorized.
Running a profit and loss statement can help you see discrepancies that you can then fix before you hand your P&L over to your tax preparer next year. It can also give you a good sense of how your year went for your franchise. Are there areas you need to cut back on spending, or where you would like to expand in the coming year?
3. Updating Your Marketing Plan
While you may continue to do much of the same in terms of marketing your franchise in 2017, it’s a good idea to review your existing marketing plan and make tweaks where needed. Technology is changing marketing so much, so you need to ensure that your plan is keeping up with the best way for you to connect to your customers.
For example: if you still have “use MySpace to reach customers,” it might be time to bring that strategy into the 21st century! Try out Instagram or Twitter as an updated tool to connect with customers. If they don’t net positive results, try something else. Your marketing plan should continually evolve to fit your changing needs.
4. Converting Holiday Help to Permanent Staff
If, like many franchisees, you hired temporary help for the holidays, you might want to consider offering at least a few of these employees a permanent position in your franchise. After all, they have learned how to do their job in your company, and if they have proven their ability to be responsible and effective in those roles, why not bring them on indefinitely?
Take inventory now of who you’d like to be a permanent asset on your team. Broach the subject before they have started looking for work for after the holidays, to ensure you get your pick of the litter.
These manageable tasks, if checked off your list before December’s done, can set you up for success in 2017.
Image: Photospin
