It seems that, with the challenging times we’ve all had recently, Christmas can’t come fast enough this year! With businesses up and running again and trying to catch up after the lockdown period, it would be wise to get in early and start prepping your business for the busy holiday season.
Here are some tips on how to get your business Christmas ready:
SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS – STAFF
- Notify your team members of your closure dates – it is important to confirm these dates with your employees as they will need to plan their leave.
- Communicate your business’ policies for claiming annual leave over the holiday period clearly with your employees.
- Ensure that, as an employer, you are up to date with Fair Work Australia provisions and pay rates for public holidays, as entitled employees will need to be paid public holiday leave – click here for more info.
- Update your and your relevant staff members’ auto-signature with your closure dates.
- Schedule an ‘Out of Office’ email message and get your staff team members to do the same. Remember to include special contact details if clients still need to get in contact with your business.
- Compile a priority list of tasks that need to be completed over the festive period and delegate to an employee or outsource to someone like a Virtual Assistant.
JINGLE BELLS – KEEP CLIENTS INFORMED
- It is never too early to notify your clients/customers of your close down period. This will allow them to plan ahead, making sure that any work not completed by the close down period can be scheduled ahead in the New Year.
- If your opening hours change during the Christmas period, be sure to let clients know in advance.
- If you are planning to give Christmas cards or gifts to clients (and staff!), get onto it early as the workload will build up as it gets closer to Christmas.
DECK THE HALLS – PLAN AND PREP SOCIAL CONTENT AND PROMOTIONS
- Start scheduling social media content now! Christmas is a great time to be creative and have fun with your social media posts.
- Plan ahead for any promotions or advertising that can be undertaken for Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, News Year’s Resolutions or even Back to School.
- Be sure to add your business closure periods on your social media platforms to be sure that clients are aware of these dates.
‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY – CHRISTMAS PARTIES
- Consider your finances and budget when planning a Christmas party for your staff and/or clients. It can end up being quite costly!
- Be sure to familiarise yourself with the Australian Taxation Office’s allowance for Christmas parties and Christmas gifts – click here to find out more
WILL YOU BE NAUGHTY OR NICE? – ADHERE TO COMPLIANCE DEADLINES
- Even though many businesses will be closing up shortly before Christmas Day, compliance deadlines such as lodgement of activity statements will still be valid and will need to be adhered to.
- If you need any assistance from your bookkeeper, be sure to contact them prior to Christmas.
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS… SOME REST, RELAXATION AND REFLECTION!
- It has been a year filled with obstacles and challenges, so it would be only natural to want some relaxation and quiet time with your family over the festive period. Be sure to schedule time off in your diary.
- Leave a bit of time for reflection – Think about your business and its highs and lows over the past year. Do you need some support? Can you do with some help with your bookkeeping? Where can you make improvements?
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS – WE CAN HELP!
As always, the SYM Dream Team are here to help! Our purpose is to collaborate with business owners and their accountants by taking away the day to day headaches of small business compliance. So, if your business’ New Year’s resolutions are to find an experienced and hard working bookkeeping team to help with those headaches, feel free to contact us to find out more about the services we provide!
