Preparing For The Silly Season With Business Buddy

Holidays are nearly here and many business owners will be hanging out for a break, but before the relaxing can start there may be some long pre-Christmas hours and hopefully some celebrations. By now, all of the bookkeeping, payroll, holiday cover staff and party plans should be well-organised but sometimes it’s not so easy to manage all these tasks when work is hectic, which is where Business Buddy comes in, facilitating the essential things on that end-of-year ‘to do’ list.

Business Buddy recommends planning for good cash flow. Having the capacity to purchase large quantities of stock for Christmas or surviving unexpected bad debts that can happen as the year closes requires good cash flow management.  People should think carefully before giving extended credit to a client who may be caught up in the Christmas spirit – buying the latest gadgets for their staff but not paying them. Subcontractors can avoid stagnant cash flow by ensuring they have several clients so if one goes under, work will still continue with other clients.

Another essential is to adhere to strict terms of trade and chase outstanding debt before it blows out of control and takes your company under.  People should also stay in touch with their bank business manager and arrange financial support in advance. If extra staff members are needed for busy periods or to cover permanent employees taking leave, employment contract requirements should be adhered to. Students are often looking for holiday jobs that give them good work experience and businesses can connect with this youthful employee pool through Student Job Search.

Planning for holiday pay now will keep employers and their teams happy during the festive season, and a cloud-based payroll system such as FlexiTime, simplifies accounting for variable hours. It is recommended people ask their accountant for advice if they don’t know what their legal obligations are for employees working on public holidays or if someone ends their employment on Christmas Eve.

Working flat out to meet deadlines and staying open for longer hours to maximise Christmas sales doesn’t make it easy to keep up with paperwork but working with Business Buddy will. The technology is so simple to use and definitely pays for itself at times when you wonder how you can squeeze one more job into your day. People should also have a chat with their accountant before they plan their work Christmas party with the expectation that they can claim the entire cost as a tax deductible business expense. The same goes for giving staff gifts, which could incur fringe benefit tax.

Contact a Business Buddy at Astill Hawke and Associates for the best advice to make the silly season the success you want it to be. Go to http://www.businessbuddy.co.nz .