End of the year business checklist: 7 tasks to do now

Are you ready to kickstart a year of success?  

While it’s very easy to get caught up in the inevitable holiday rush of running end of year sales, reconciling budgets, and sending out final 2024 invoices, here are 7 things you might like to tackle now to enter 2025 with confidence.

7 things to do as a small-to-medium business before the year ends

The end of the year is the perfect time for reflecting, planning, and setting the stage for a fantastic new year. Here are 7 things to add to your to do list.

Rest and unwind

The new year is a great time for fresh beginnings and enacting exciting plans, and you’re more likely to succeed if you can start them feeling refreshed. Try to take a break this year, even if it’s just over Christmas and Boxing Day. Embrace hobbies you may have lost, spend time with family, or just slump in front of the TV if that’s what you need to feel at your very best as January 2025 rolls around.

Create a business plan

Have you got a business plan? If so, now is a good time for an annual review. If not, don’t worry, it’s never too late to crack out the spreadsheets, notebooks and highlighters.

The benefits of doing so are far ranging, with some sources saying:

• A solid business plan can increase loan approvals by 150%

• Approximately 7 out of 10 of fast-growing businesses have a plan

• A business plan could increase the chance of businesses growth by 30%

A business plan doesn’t have to be pretty, and it doesn’t have to fit a specific format if doing it that way doesn’t fit with your goals. What it does need to contain is your company goals, how you plan to achieve those goals, and how you intend to track the results.

Create a marketing plan

Once your business plan is on hand, it’s time to plan out how you will reach your revenue goals. For B2B businesses, this may include a go-to-market (GTM) plan. Again, this doesn’t have to be extensive or even something that needs to be shared with the rest of the company at this stage. But as the year wraps up, now is a great time to consider what went well with your marketing and sales strategy last year, what went poorly, and how you can improve for the new year.

Review your finances

Now is a great time for some financial housekeeping. Consider taking these actions before the year starts:

• Check if there are any overdue invoices lingering, before payment is delayed even further. If you find any, follow up with clients

• Reconcile your accounts and make sure you’ve submitted and paid all VAT bills for 2024

• Double check you’ve submitted and paid your corporation tax return. If not, confirm when your return is due and make a note to ensure you deliver the funds in time

• Check your company credit score so you can be sure you go into 2025 armed with the most up to date financial information about your business

Thank your customers

If you work at a B2B company, consider how you can express your gratitude for your customers’ loyalty. Some companies choose to send gifts (check if this is allowed in your industry before doing this), but you could also send warm thank you emails or provide a mini service as a thank you – for instance, if you run a website development company, you could provide a free end of year website audit.

If you work at a B2C company, you can do a similar thing but through different mediums. You could, for instance, send out a newsletter thanking customers and providing 10 tips to help them wrap up the year in style. Or you could provide a 10% discount code as a thank you for their loyalty, this has the added benefit of potentially driving further sales.

Check regulations and subscriptions

Double check all your licences and permits are up to date and do some research to confirm you haven’t missed any new compliance laws or regulations. This could prevent you from starting the new year with a penalty.  

Also, go through your current subscriptions as a company. Have you missed a technology update that could prove beneficial for your team? Is there a tool you’re paying for that is no longer valuable to your team? Do you currently hold the tech stack you want to start the new year with? Consider the items you’re paying for and decide if you’d like to continue paying for them in 2025.

Celebrate!

You did it – you got to the end of another year! Acknowledge your achievements and those of your team. Consider sending your team an email letting them know how well they’ve done this year, and take some time to appreciate how far you’ve come.

Find a business loan with Funding Options by Tide

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Please note that the information above is not intended to be financial advice. You should seek independent financial advice before making any decisions about your financial future.

It’s important to remember that all loans and credit agreements come with risks. These risks include non-payment and late-payment of the agreed repayment plan, which could affect your business credit score and impact your ability to find future funding. Always read the terms and conditions of every loan or credit agreement before you proceed. Contact us for support if you ever face difficulties making your repayments.

Funding Options, now part of Tide, helps UK firms access business finance, working directly with businesses and their trusted advisors. Funding Options are a credit broker and do not provide loans directly. All finance and quotes are subject to status and income. Applicants must be aged 18 and over and terms and conditions apply. Guarantees and Indemnities may be required. Funding Options can introduce applicants to a number of providers based on the applicants' circumstances and creditworthiness. Funding Options will receive a commission or finder’s fee for effecting such finance introductions.