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Do you love Christmas and the holiday season, or would you rather push through your work all year round? Christmas and the holiday season are great for employees to refresh themselves before a brand-new year gets underway and get the chance to be merry with friends and family festivities.
But what about your business? How will it cope during the holiday season?
Read on to find out more about maintaining your business while still enjoying the holiday season.
Planning ahead for the holiday season
Christmas may be a good time for your business – especially if you’re in hospitality, retail or own a jewellery store for example. However, the holiday season may be slow for other businesses, like corporate firms and professional services who choose to close over the Christmas break.
The not-so-good Christmas tidings:
- Customers and staff away on holidays
- Low seasonal demand for some products and services
- Overall disruption of the holiday season
So, you’ll need to identify – through past business records, whether Christmas time is good for your business.
Cash flow
Did you know that Christmas is the busiest time of the year for the Australian economy?
As most businesses will be working harder than ever right before the Holiday season, it may become harder to pay suppliers and staff. Cash flow is generally at its weakest between January and February. Yet it doesn’t have to be this way.
How to boost your cash flow:
- Invoice customers promptly
- Invoice customers correctly
- Chase up debtors
- Offer multiple payment options
- Establish or renegotiate payment terms
- Work through your business financial statement with your Gold Coast Accountant
Stock management
If you own a business, particularly retail – chances are you’ve ordered a lot of stock to get ready for Christmas time. However, you don’t want to have excess stock that locks up cash.
So, how can you predict what this year’s holiday season sales will be? By reviewing last year’s financials.
A good tip is ordering less but more often, which is good for cash flow.
Shifting dead stock is great, too. For Christmas, you can bundle stock together to get rid of unpopular stock. Why not give the gift of giving and donate excess stock to appropriate charities or use it in a charity raffle hamper?
Reviewing your business plan
In the midst of the holiday season – it’s beneficial to review your current and future business model. Keep track of every receipt, invoice, order and budget.
This will equip you with the tools and knowledge to review and optimise your business model for the future.
Looking after yourself and your staff
If business is slow over Christmas, why not take a well-deserved break?
No doubt you’ve worked hard over the year, so show yourself and your employees some appreciation by closing up shop for a week or so. Chances are you and your employees will come back energised and determined for a fantastic 2020 in business.
You can have your Christmas Pavlova and eat it too with these tips to stay on top of business in the holiday season.
Want to know more about optimising your business all year round? Contact your Gold Coast Accountant, to learn more about our business advisory services.
