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End of Year Planning for Your Practice

The final months of the year are within sight, making this the perfect time to ensure success. Fill the next few months with actions that will make next year, tax season, new initiatives, etc. easier and more effective. If that sounds like a tall order, don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated and there is plenty of time to make a difference.

  • Tie up loose financial ends: Get caught up on expense reconciliations, pay outstanding bills, gather and organize all documentation you’ll need for tax season, and take note of where your current processes are failing you. Fix those issues to make the rest of this year and future years easier and less time consuming to manage.
  • Know your finances: Compile the three basic documents every business needs – the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. Partner with an accountant if necessary. The key is to know where your practice stands.

Your practice’s financial status is the foundation for what it will be able to achieve in the future. There are also valuable lessons in those books that will help you improve your practice every year.

  • Evaluate this year’s goals: Where does your practice stand? What is left to be done and how will you make it happen? Were these goals realistic? If not, why? If so, what kept you from making progress before now?
  • Brainstorm goals for next year: If you have a long-term strategic plan for your practice, draw on that to flesh out what you’d like to achieve next year. Involving your team can be a great way to help them understand how their work impacts the overall practice and to help you understand their perspective on the state of things.
  • Identify and improve critical business processes: Talk with your team, learn about their pain points, and carve out time to alleviate them. Look at next year’s goals. Which processes will you need in order to be successful? For example, if your team is growing, you’ll need robust hiring and onboarding processes to find the right candidates and help them get up to speed quickly.
  • Review your key business functions: Are your sales plans working? Do your HR processes fit your business? If not, improve them now.

Conducting this work before the very end of the year will give you a chance to get back on track where necessary and boost morale where you’re already succeeding. Don’t be afraid to make it fun!