It may be tough to seek out the best steadiness between managing the vacation rush and prepping for the brand new yr. Nonetheless, you’ve received a protracted listing of issues to perform earlier than January 1. These embody compliance to-dos, monetary statements, hiring wants, and extra.
Dedicate a while to your end-of-year enterprise guidelines to not solely end off on a excessive notice but in addition set your self up for fulfillment in 2022.
1. Evaluate upcoming labor legal guidelines
The beginning of the yr comes filled with new employment laws for a lot of states. Minimal wage will increase, paid go away adjustments, and different labor legal guidelines might be coming to your state. Take a while to evaluation our articles on what’s coming in 2022:
2. Replace worker handbooks
After reviewing upcoming labor regulation adjustments in your state, ensure that your worker handbook displays these new guidelines. If you happen to launched any new insurance policies in 2021(like advantages, wages, and extra), add them to your handbook.
If you happen to need assistance reviewing your insurance policies, Homebase HR Professional can assist. You’ll have reside entry to licensed HR specialists who can check out your current handbook and even show you how to construct one from scratch.
3. Double test FLSA compliance
The US Division of Labor is working to pursue any FLSA violations that occurred through the COVID pandemic attributable to employees adjustments. Throughout the pandemic, your workers might have transitioned to distant work. Perhaps you employed contractors, modified job duties, or made different choices round wages and work preparations.
No matter the way you tailored in response to the pandemic, now is an effective time to evaluation your wage and hour practices in case you get audited.
4. Run year-end monetary stories
Check out the large image by working an end-of-year monetary report. Your report ought to embody:
Your revenue and loss assertion will show you how to perceive the place precisely your enterprise stands financially right now and what your outlook is for 2022. In case your earnings aren’t the place you need them to be, you’ve the chance to make some modifications. In the event that they’re increased, now could be the time to make use of them to spice up your enterprise.
After working your money stream report, it’s time to research it. Your money stream assertion stories on the way you spent cash through the yr. Influx is how a lot cash got here in, and outflow equals your bills. Clearly, the purpose is to have a bigger influx than outflow. Check out your money stream to see what your tendencies have been for 2021.
5. Audit payroll data
Carry out an audit of the payroll data you’ve on each worker. Are all telephone numbers, addresses, and different mandatory data correct? It’s also possible to use this audit to replace worker statuses that will have modified.
Did you add any new advantages? Make these updates earlier than the brand new yr and guarantee all fringe advantages like firm automobiles, sick pay, and healthcare advantages are reported.
6. Examine stock
Conduct a list audit as near the top of the yr as potential. If you happen to discover any important points between your precise stock and what you’ve recorded, now is an effective time to look into why so you’ll be able to keep away from any inner loss.
Clearly doc all of your stock procedures, and in the event you’re nonetheless dealing with them manually, contemplate transitioning to an accounting or POS system to automate the method and stop pointless errors.
7. Assess hiring wants
Take a list of your present employees and determine whether or not or not you wish to rent extra workers based mostly in your objectives for 2022. Lining up your wants now gives you time to price range for these further labor prices.
That is additionally time to evaluation your compensation bundle and guarantee it’s nonetheless aggressive in right now’s market. Check out our current survey outcomes to study extra about what workers are on the lookout for with a view to appeal to prime expertise for your enterprise.
Inversely, you could be overstaffed attributable to altering enterprise wants. Take into consideration reallocating your staff to totally different roles, decreasing hours, or rearranging schedules so that you’re not overspending within the labor division.
8. Examine vendor data
Simply as your enterprise adjustments all year long, your distributors have possible made some updates. Confirm that the next are nonetheless appropriate for every of them:
- Cellphone quantity
- E-mail deal with
- Contact identify
Clear out any inactive distributors or incorrect data. Whereas going by means of your listing, you too can consider every vendor relationship and determine any negotiation alternatives for higher offers in 2022.
9. Resolve accounts receivable
Check out your working listing of unpaid invoices and shoppers that owe cash for accomplished work. Is the listing longer than you’d like? Begin the yr off with as few excellent invoices as potential by gathering past-due funds. It will enhance money stream and begin you off on the best foot.
10. Collect tax paperwork
Now is a superb time to get your tax paperwork collectively. Your beforehand accomplished monetary stories will show you how to full your small enterprise return, however you’ll additionally have to fill out the next kinds:
- 1099-NEC
- 1096
- W-2
- W3
- State and federal payroll returns yearly (Kind 940) or quarterly (941)
Moreover, collect your enterprise and private revenue in addition to all of your deductions. You possibly can study extra in our article about small enterprise payroll tax kinds. Want extra payroll assist? Take a look at our end-of-year payroll guidelines.
11. Evaluate and set objectives
If you happen to laid out a set of objectives for 2021, revisit them and decide what was completed and the place you continue to have room to develop. Ask your self the next questions:
- Did you obtain your objectives? Why or why not?
- Had been any objectives exceeded? Why and the way?
- What are your subsequent steps after attaining the objectives?
- How did any missed objectives fall quick?
- How are you going to work to realize these objectives subsequent yr?
After reviewing your earlier objectives, you’ll have a clearer image of what it is advisable to accomplish in 2022. Capitalize on this momentum by documenting your new objectives. Perhaps it is advisable to improve gross sales by a sure proportion, or possibly it is advisable to improve your coaching program to stop worker turnover.
No matter your new objectives could also be, develop a plan of motion for each — and be SMART:
- Particular
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Real looking
- Time-based
Break every purpose into bite-sized items you’ll be able to obtain every day. Establish measurable key metrics you’ll be able to recurrently assess. Take into consideration what you and your staff can really obtain and the way lengthy it should take to make issues occur.
12. Thank your workers — and your self
Your staff is probably going working the toughest presently of yr and will use a bit morale enhance. Take a while to reward them, whether or not it’s with a vacation occasion, an upgraded PTO plan, and even versatile hours to allow them to get their reward purchasing in. Doing so will improve your full-time workers’ loyalty to your enterprise and hold your seasonal staff coming again.
Don’t neglect to spice up your personal morale amidst the insanity. You’ve labored laborious this yr — you deserve a trip! Have a look at the 2022 calendar and discover some obtainable downtime you should utilize to hit the street and observe a bit self-care within the new yr.
13. Reassess your staff administration software program
Was your staff administration app as nice as potential this yr? Does it have all of the instruments you want, like communication, payroll, scheduling, time monitoring, and compliance? If not, the start of the yr is the right time to modify — and we advocate Homebase.
Homebase helps you optimize your schedule, adapt on the fly, and guarantee your staff is in sync, multi functional easy-to-use app. You possibly can ship useful alerts to workers immediately by means of our communication software and even totally automate your payroll course of.
Begin the brand new yr on the best foot by switching to Homebase and making work simpler for everybody concerned.
