Year-end checklist for your company

Whether you are an NGO or a company, the end of the year is definitely busy and stressful. These are the last weeks when you can finish fundraising campaigns or projects carried out throughout the year and end them with the desired results.

In the midst of this hustle and bustle, it is important for you, as a manager, to carry on with your activities that can help you grow your business without losing focus. Here are some things you can consider for this end of the year.

1. Evaluate the targets set for 2021

Did you create a well-planned plan at the beginning of the year? Very well. Go back to it and see what really happened in your company.

Even if you didn’t put the 2021 goals on paper, you certainly had the desired image for the end of the year in mind. How much did you achieve from what you set out to do? What could you do differently to get where you want to go?

If everything doesn’t go according to plan, don’t be discouraged. Usually, the goals set at the beginning of the year tend to be a bit optimistic to motivate you to shoot as hard as you can. Adjust your 2022 plans so that you can reach your 2021 goals, learn from your mistakes, and get better prepared for the coming year. If they are still important to you, include the goals you have partially achieved in planning for the next period.

2. Complete the financial analysis for 2021

Discuss with the accounting team and get an overview of the current year’s financial situation. See the fluctuations in financial activity month by month and compare it with the previous year to identify impact factors.

You can use the indicators in your profit and loss account, balance sheet, or cash flow plan. Each one will give you a different picture of your financial situation, so it may be helpful to use them together. The cash flow plan will give you information about the company’s actual inflows and outflows (as you can see in the bank accounts), the Profit and Loss Account will tell you if your company is profitable or not, and the Balance Sheet records everything your firm owns and owes.

See which segment of your operational business has performed best and invest more there for the coming year. Identify stagnant areas and see what needs to be done. Try to find patterns of activity over time and see how influenced your company is by seasonality. Calculate the required monthly amount to cover the operational needs and what is available for investments.

Identify the evolution of your situation from year to year and keep this information. It will be useful for next year’s planning.

3. Check the outstanding invoices

Put together the invoices issued but not collected and make one last attempt to bring the money to the company before the end of the year. Send reminders, talk to your customers, and if you need money urgently, don’t forget that you can use factoring services. This means that you can accept the payment of the invoice by an entity other than your client in exchange for a commission, following which he will recover his money later.

In parallel, see what debts you have: suppliers, salaries, taxes, and so on. Aggregate the information in one place and calculate the total due. In both cases, the amounts to be collected and paid are part of your 2022 planning.

4. See what to file at the end of the year

Verify in advance with the accounting team what kind of reports your company should submit by the end of the year. Get ready to file all the necessary documents ahead of time – you don’t want any surprises here.

Remember that institutions’ schedules can be unpredictable near the end of the year. The sooner you finish, the more you will enjoy your free time with your family or colleagues.

5. See what and if you can give any bonuses

It is customary to give a gift to your team at the end of the year, which does not have to be in the form of cash. You can organize the Christmas meal together or offer personalized vouchers according to their hobbies.

Before making any decision about this, check your cash flow plan and see if you can afford it. Quickly sign up for ThinkOut and you’ll have the answer to that question in minutes.

6. Take the team’s pulse

In addition to the performance review and task planning meetings for the new year, try to have a heart-to-heart conversation with your team over coffee. See what their plans are for the future, understand why they are still in it with you, and see how you can contribute to their development.

Personal meetings with your employees are an important step in increasing their satisfaction, so don’t skip them. Plus, everyone can give you ideas and perspectives for the future that you may not have considered yet.

7. Find an hour to reflect

Throughout the tumult of the end of the year, you need a little time to think about where you are and where you want to go by the end of 2022. If it helps, start putting your thoughts on paper, write, draw, scribble. You don’t have to figure everything out by the end of the hour, but try to end with a few sketches and general ideas about where you want to go with your business.

You can always turn to a mentor or business consultant to help you put your thoughts in order and prioritize the next steps.

8. Finish the financial planning for 2022

We are in the midst of a financial planning season. Have you started working on the 2022 budget?

If it is difficult for you to make a plan for the whole year, start with the first 3 months. Periodically go back over your budget and adjust where necessary, analyze, check, and try to estimate for longer periods of time if the specifics of your company allow. Read more about how to do financial planning for your business.

Don’t forget that for every financial target, you need a battle plan to understand what you and your team have to do. See what sales goals you’ve set for yourself, what marketing plans to support, what vendors to negotiate with, and so on.

You don’t need Excel and complicated formulas that give you headaches because ThinkOut helps you create and compare your monthly budget with concrete transactions in bank accounts. Sign up for a free account and see how easy it is.

9. Celebrate with the team

Even if you’re still working remote at the moment, you can plan something online to discuss the successes of the year, everyone’s contributions and plans for the future. You certainly know that these events add up to the satisfaction and general well-being of your colleagues.

Talk with the HR team and maybe think of a Christmas company tradition that you can keep year after year. It doesn’t have to be something unique, that no other company in the country does, but rather something that unites the whole company, an activity that everyone should look forward to during this period. As an example, we at ThinkOut, decorate the Christmas tree together and for the first globe, each person makes a wish for next year. Also during this period, we organize every year since 2016, the traditional Christmas meal at the office.

These traditions allow us to be able to discuss outside of the professional activity, to better understand the values ​​and aspirations of each one, and to get closer as friends, more than just office colleagues.

10. Take some time for yourself

You’ve probably heard this many times before, and you don’t know where to turn time for you in all the madness of the time. This year, more than ever, do not ignore this advice. You all went through a very difficult time, at the office and at home, we felt fear, helplessness, and even despair.

You need energy and strength to make things work in 2022, whether your environment is favorable or not. Take care of yourself and your health, go for a massage, run, swim, whatever you enjoy doing and relax. If you need it, turn to a therapist and try not to go through difficult situations on your own when they arise.

11. It’s about progress, not perfection

Even if not everything went the way you would have liked, remember that it is more important to move things and that you can learn something from any mistake. Think about what you could have done differently and not let yourself be overwhelmed by an inappropriate decision. Remember that finding out what not to do is also progress.