Business

Your business holiday checklist

2 MIN READ November 19, 2020
It’s been a whirlwind of a year! Whether you close down for the holidays or you’re operating all the way through, it’s important to have a plan in place. Do you have a schedule for when your staff are taking leave? Do you have quite…

Chase up outstanding payments
It’s probably not your favourite thing to do, but it’s a good idea to get all of your outstanding payments sorted before the end of the year. Is there one particular client who has been delaying payments for a while now? Given the year we’ve had, you might have offered a bit of flexibility, but you need to put your business first too.

Send out invoices early
Another way to make sure you’ve got all the loose ends tied up before Christmas is to send your invoices out early. If any clients have payments due during their closedown period, have a chat with them and see if it can be paid earlier. This will allow for both of you to have your accounts sorted before you shut up shop.

Create a staff roster
This one’s particularly important if your business is operating throughout the holidays. But even if you’re closing down, it’s good for you to know who will be away, when. Make a note of when each staff member will be working and when they are taking leave so you’ve got enough hands on deck over the holiday period.

Check your staff entitlements
Make sure you check through each of your employee contracts to remind yourself of their entitlements over this period. Keep an eye on the calendar for any ‘Mondayisations’ – when a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, employees who don’t normally work get the following Monday as their paid public holiday.

Know your expenses
If you’re planning a Christmas function for your staff, or sending out client gifts, you can claim these as business expenses. You can claim half of the cost of any items that are food, drink or entertainment related in your income tax return. If you’re considering donating to charity this Christmas, you can deduct 100% of the cost of this too.

If you’re preparing your business for the holiday break, get in touch with our friendly accounting team. We can get you sorted with expert guidance and advice to make your holidays stress-free!

 


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