As the majority of any business’ workforce begins to wind down in preparation for the Christmas festivities, there is likely to be at least one person for whom the Christmas period is not so exciting, the business owner.
This is, in large part, due to the fact that business owners are faced with countless responsibilities year-round, including the Christmas and New Year period. The pressure to complete these responsibilities prior to the Christmas shut down can be a significant stress on a business owner.
However, there are a number of ways that a business owner can reduce the burden of these stressful responsibilities, and truly allow themselves to have a merry Christmas. Take a look at some of our top tips below:
Prioritise your workload
As a business owner you will already be familiar with the concept of prioritising your workload. However, particularly around the Christmas period, this skill becomes highly important as you ensure that all necessary work is complete before your planned shut-down. This will involve some forward planning, and delegation amongst your team, but in acknowledging and planning for what must be completed, you will save yourself a great deal of stress, and indeed be able to hit the ground running come January.
Invoicing and credit control
As Christmas and New Year falls at a crucial time of the month, just as you are getting ready to invoice clients and chase for outstanding invoices. To ensure your cash flow is maintained over those few weeks, and is in good stead at the beginning of the New Year, these tasks are of the upmost importance. One of the best ways to go about this is to enquire when an invoice will be paid in plenty of time, giving your clients a polite reminder that the end of the year will often see the office closed, and potentially encouraging them to pay that little bit earlier. In addition to this, ensuring your invoices go out for December earlier than usual, will mean that there will be no delay come the January payment run.
Payroll
Christmas is the time to show your staff how much they are appreciated. Businesses will choose to show this in a number of ways, from the works Christmas party, to bonuses, time-off or simply ensuring that they are paid earlier than usual. Organising payroll to ensure your staff have a very merry Christmas will not only motivate your workforce to complete their work necessary prior to finishing for Christmas, but it will also serve you well throughout the year by encouraging increased staff retention.
Many of these vital business tasks are often time-consuming for business owners. As a result of this, many choose to outsource these key administrative functions, not just during the festive season, but all year round. Zodeq’s very own 360 service ensures that business owners are able to take that all-important time away from the business around Christmas and New Year, confident in the knowledge that the business will be in the best possible position come the 1st January. Contact our team today to find out more about how we can support your business.
