This is part one of a two part blog…

When advising business owners one of the issues we insist they do is periodic reviews of their business. While year-end is a great time to take stock of the past year and lay plans for the New Year, you should also do mid-year and even quarterly reviews.

Here are three of the seven tips to get you started!

Run a Financial Check-Up - Are you where you had hoped to be finan¬cially for the year? Check your Profit and Loss, Income, and Expense Reports. Review your sales reports to determine the more profitable areas of business and areas where sales were sub par. Create a plan for increasing business in more profitable areas during the coming year. Either prepare to eliminate less profitable ventures, channels, or market segments or create plans to increase their profitability.

Prepare a Budget - Examine your projected budget and actual expenses for the year. Prepare a budget for the New Year, and resolve to stick to it! Factor in expenses for computer and software updates and purchas¬es of new equipment. Be sure to allow for changes in your marketing strategy for the upcoming year. Prepare a list of areas to cut if profits or cash flow start running below expectations and a list of contingent opportunities to add or increase if cash flow runs higher.

Plan to Succeed - Businesses that fail to plan, plan to fail. Create that fresh business plan you’ve been thinking about. Or, if your financial check-up shows variances, fine-tune your existing business plan for the coming year. Set aside some quality time in January to lay the ground¬work for future sales.