December 19, 2019 Your 2019 End-Of-Year Business Checklist

As 2019 draws to a close, it's important to take time to maintain your business, plan financials, tie up loose ends, and plan for the future

December 19, 2019

The new decade is just around the corner, and New Years’ Day will be here before you know it. It’s an exciting time for everyone, and most people are looking forward to spending the end of 2019 celebrating the holidays with their family. While you personally might be ready for the end of 2019, is your business ready? There are a few things that every good manager or business owner should take care of before closing out the year, so use this list to make sure your company is prepared for the new decade.

Make Repairs

The end of a year is a great time to wrap up repair projects around the workplace, whether it’s fixing an old piece of equipment or updating a section of your workspace to improve employee comfort. Try to use the start of the new year as a deadline for most of your major projects; the more you can get done before the end of the month, the better. Just remember that some aspects of repair and improvement take time, and these aren’t always things you can rush. For example, you’ll want to allow for some time for things to settle before employees enter a new breakroom or workspace. According to a report by CBC Marketplace, VOC levels over 500 ppb could cause problems for people with chemical sensitivities. Allow for this extra time, and you’ll be set to make full use of the new space at the start of 2020.

Take Care Of Maintenance

As is often the case at the end of the month, you’ll want to make a list of all the maintenance that needs to be done around the workplace. This should include as much of your equipment and other workplace items as you can think of: machinery, utilities, vehicles, and more. For vehicles, remember to include any maintenance you would on your cars at home and then some, such as changing the oil. Automobile and truck engines are the world’s biggest consumers of lubricants, using 20 million tons per year.

Remember to calibrate essential workplace equipment as well; regular calibration ensures consistent results and performance, and these are vital for success at the start of a new fiscal year. ISEA recommends more frequent gas calibration testing if environmental conditions that could affect instrument performance are suspected, such as sensor poisons. ISEA allows for less frequent calibration verification under certain conditions, but the interval between testing should never exceed 30 days.

Train And Retrain

In many work environments, employees have to keep up with regulatory training requirements. For example, any warehouse environment with forklift operators will need to ensure those operators undergo regular training and authorization, and the process requires renewal every three years. The end of the year is the perfect time to schedule those training sessions; it’s easier that way to keep track of whose authorizations need renewal. At the end of the year, try to organize your employees’ certification information and figure out who needs retraining in the year to come.

Settle Financials

One of the most important things you’ll want to take care of at the end of the year is your company’s financial planning. Set aside enough time to budget for the upcoming year and finalize tax information for the past year of business. Don’t forget to budget for industry-specific expenses when going through the numbers; often, this can include a budget for legal issues or liability, especially in industries where workers may deal with difficult conditions. Five of the most common types of personal injury cases are auto accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, product liability, and wrongful death claims. If anything happens, you’ll want to have a financial plan in place to limit the damage to your business.

Plan For The Future

Finally, take some time at the end of the year to sit down and plan your goals for your business over the next year, and possibly even longer into the future. Where do you see your company growing? How can you make your business or workplace align more with your mission statement? For example, if you have a goal of creating an environmentally friendly business, lay out the necessary steps in order to achieve that goal over the next year. Consider adding solar panels to switch to renewable energy; in a near-record Q2 2017, the U.S. installed 2,387 megawatts of new solar power capacity. This goal is becoming more attainable year after year, so look into what steps you can take in the coming months to improve your business.

As 2019 draws to a close, it’s important to take time to maintain your business, plan financial assets, tie up loose ends, and plan for the future. Use this list to help you organize your end-of-year business plans and start out 2020 strong.

About the Author
Louann Moss holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing. She currently writes for a variety of industries and can’t resist a good story when she comes across one.

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