Matt Gaylor says, "Business Owners, have you considered:

• Financial Review - have you reviewed financial reports (income statement, balance sheet) for this past year?  Have you devised a budget for best and worst case scenarios? 

• Business Insurance - Do you have coverage? What should be covered in business insurance (loss of income due to flooding, workers compensation, building/renters insurance just to name a few)?   

• Continuation Plan - what would happen if you can no longer work your business? Do you have an Estate Plan (Will and/or Trust) in place?

•  Disability Insurance - what if you are no longer able to meet the physical needs of your work?  How would you generate income personally? 

• Life Insurance - do you have life insurance?  Do you have enough?  Not sure, please contact us. 

• Rental Contracts - building rents should be reviewed for terms, annual increases and dates for increases.  Should you renegotiate your lease? 

• Service Contracts - Have you reviewed your service provider contracts?  Do you have a phone contract?  Can you reduce your expenses by reviewing your phone pricing and other services? 

• Equipment Inventory - have you completed an inventory of items for sale?  Do you have an inventory of equipment (for example, computers, printers, copies, fax machine, automobiles)?  Do you need to be budgeting for new equipment purchases for this year? 

• Credit Review - have you reviewed your credit history?  Have you reviewed any changes to lines of credit and/or credit card terms?  Do you need to renew lines of credit and provide financial information to your bank? 

• Corporate Records - have you noted corporate meeting minutes?  Have you documented major decisions made over the past year for the business (new line of credit, pay raise for employees, bonuses for staff, new office location/address changes, change in ownership of business, etc.)? 

It is helpful to reflect on the transactions of the past year and make a plan for the new year."