As we enter the final quarter of the year, event season is winding down, the holidays are approaching, and the year is soon to be over. October is an excellent time to review and analyze your business over the last nine busy months and to begin to plan for the coming year. Do not wait until December and attempt to do everything needed as you will be rushed, stressed and possibly will make some costly errors.
Question: As we approach the last quarter of the year, what types of activities and plans should we should be conducting for our business. In your years of business ownership, what type of planning did you do?
Answer: We referred to October and the beginning of the fourth quarter as our “Company Review” time. The objective was to take an extensive look at various aspects of the company to make improvements that would positively impact our year-end results and begin planning for a successful new year.
In our “Company Review,” we examined the following areas of the business:
Financial results versus forecasts
With most of your special event revenue recorded for the year and with nine months of construction and residential building revenue, your company can have a good indication of performance versus projections. Are there any areas of concern? If so, you have the fourth quarter to make necessary adjustments or changes. Pay close attention to your accounts receivable and accounts receivable aging. Chances are, some of your customers have been just as busy up to this point and they may be behind on their payments. Review your payables to ensure all are current and there are no delinquencies.
Personnel
Your employees are your greatest asset, and this is an ideal time to make sure they are well cared for. For each employee, ensure performance reviews have been completed and if any are delinquent, as you now have time to resolve that issue. Due to new or increased responsibility, do any performance plans need to be updated or enhanced?
Validate and share with employees an accurate accounting of vacation days and personal holidays earned and yet to be taken. This allows time for days to be scheduled before year-end and minimizes the loss of unused time off.
Training
This is an excellent time of the year to plan for additional training for your employees. If continuing education units are required for certifications or permits, employees have time to fulfill these obligations. Cross-training for other job responsibilities can also begin during this time and continue into the winter months.
Equipment repair and maintenance
Trucks – Maintenance records should be closely inspected and reviewed. Vehicles will accumulate less mileage in the coming months. Now is the time to complete those minor “we will get this fixed when we have more time” repairs. Minor repairs can lead to major repairs if not addressed.
Units, sinks, sink stations – Inspect these pieces of equipment closely and make necessary repairs. For event units, determine if any need to be assigned as construction units due to wear and tear. This may determine if additional units need to be purchased to replenish your event unit inventory prior to your next busy season.
Restroom trailers – This is the time of year for remodeling, repairing or updating to be done. Of course, as the cold months approach, trailers should be winterized.
Preliminary inventory of equipment and supplies
Conducting an inventory of units, sinks and other equipment during the “Company Review” will make the year-end inventory much easier and more efficient. An equipment inventory now may reveal that additional purchases are necessary. This information will impact financial planning for the following year. Supplies and supply levels are also important to monitor now that the business cycle is slowing.
Miscellaneous Inspections
Now that you have the time, take the opportunity to evaluate items on a more detailed level. For example, inspect first-aid kits in each of the service and delivery vehicles for any items that need replenishing. Further, look at office supplies and determine if any items need to be reordered.
Meet with the accountant or financial adviser
Having reviewed the company’s financial results up to this point and evaluated equipment inventory levels, you may begin formulating needed purchases. The accountant can then advise, from a tax perspective, whether the purchases should be made in the current year or at the beginning of the next year.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Get a jump on your end-of-year planning and evaluation by starting in the final quarter. While October may still be busy for some PROs, starting to plan for all of these reviews is a first step even if the actual work cannot commence until November. Keep in mind that this work is important and should not be pushed until – literally – the end of the year.
